Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working with collections of art, toys. Book, etc, but this new estate will be one that I will remember. I am happy to have the privilege to see and I hope in the near future, to have the pleasure of selling some of the items from one of the best Apothecary collection I have seen. Coming from one of the top collectors in Baltimore for his time, from the 1940’s onwards, this collection was the focus of Dr. Stephen J. Provenza.
I enjoy discovery and adding a piece of the puzzle of Baltimore’s History. Baltimore is one of older cities of the East coast, having or had had a large industry of Iron Works, the emanate Johns Hopkins University, the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, The Walter’s Art Museum (now and then) the BMA., and the list goes on. Having the chance to add to the discovery is a good feeling for Sturgis Antiques and me. I hope I can bring to light a forgotten collector and his collection.
Back to the collection of Dr. Stephen Provenza, he was a graduate of Baltimore City College, a Bachelors and Graduate Degree from Maryland School of Pharmacy as well as a Doctorate Degree from Milton University. He owned and operated his Pharmacy in famous and beautiful designed Medical Arts Building on Cathedral Street and Read Street for years. I will have a photographed posted soon of the Pharmacy that the estate has allowed me to show.
The Estate has kept this collection intact for over 40 or more years and this will be a re-introduction of the collection. In fact, they have copies of an Article written for the Baltimore Sun and Photos by A. Bodine. In the Article, it gives a background of Dr. Provenza as well as highlights of his collection. I have copied this article for you to read, please see attached photos.
This is a brief introduction of Dr. Provenza and his collection. The amount of items the estate has will be a large undertaking.Some of the items I have photographed are for sale and others will not be. Items that are for sale will be posted on the site. If you see an item in the photos and would like more information, please contact me.I hope you will enjoy seeing some of these items as much as I have.
If you have questions or if you are interested in a particular item, please feel free to contact me.
Friday, June 4th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Posted in Estate Sale, News
Domenico Morelli, 1823-1901, considered one of the most important 19th-century Neapolitan Italian painters. His career started at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Naples in 1836 and by 1868 Morelli became a professor of painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Art s in Napels.
He painting career starts as a Realist with his paintings drawing inspiration from the Romantics and images of the Middle Ages. By the time he becomes a professor at the Royal Academy, his paintings start to incorporate images and inspiration from Mysticism, Religious imagery and the Orientalists art movement. It is during this point of his life; Morrelli’s art shows Turkish, Arab and lore of the Egypt’s past imagery.
When Morelli dies in 1901, his estate and art is given to the government of Italy. His art has graced many museums and collection through the years and with the increased interest in the Orientalist and their styles this piece by Morelli is indicative of this growing taste. When this estate came to me, imagine my surprise in seeing this portrait of a Italian Zouave soldier. The painting shows a commanding presence of the soldier in his dress blue uniform and iconic Red Fez.
The signature located on the lower right is done in brighter red than in the fez, giving his signature prominence to the painting.
The painting is approximately 24 inches x 17 3/4 inches and the frame is 31 inches x 24 inches. The painting needs to cleaned and re-stretched which I can have done by my conservator. I can give you a detailed quote on the cleaning and restoration upon request.
I am happy to have Sturgis Antiques handling this prominent artist and will be happy to answer any and all questions about this painting.
Grace Turnull was one of the top women artists that Baltimore produced. She was born in the 1880’s, which gave her the fortune of being at the right time of Baltimore’s Artistic importance and recognition.
Baltimore in the early 1900’s was considered a major city, with the F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, H. L. Mencken, The Walters Art Museum, Hopkins and other great people and institutions moving here and operating, giving Baltimore a strong upper hand with intellectual elite and artistic people. These people and institutions helped pave the way and laid the foundation for the Arts in Baltimore and allowed it to prosper for many years. In some ways Baltimore beat out larger cities in clout and prestige, an aspect people have forgot.
In the Arts, Grace Turnbull pulled her influence from the social-minded trend in the arts as well as the Classics and contemporary Philosophy of the time. In her later life she blended these two ideas together creating art for social consciousness and awareness.
In the early 1950’s she put her thoughts and skills to the test, she created and designed medals for organizations that paralleled her ideals.
In these three examples I have for sale here, shows Grace Turnbull’s efforts with art in the style of social realism.Each Plaque was produced for the Maryland Conservation Association and shows the ideas of nature, purity and mans place in the balance of nature and society. On the back of each plaque, has a typed philosophical statement about the meaning of subject on the plaque. This is the combination, according to her biographical information, what she always wanted to produce, Art for social minded and conscious people.
Please take a look at these three pieces of a famous Baltimore artist as well as art from a time of social change and design.
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Posted in News
People have many different ways they mourn for the loss of close friends or family members and many times these are dictated through their religious associations or beliefs.
One example of funeral rites is the memoriam wreathes of the Victorian age. This sometimes-macabre practice of making a wreathe out of human hair is usually the first thing people think of when you say Victorian Mourning Art, but that is not always the case. Here is a wonderful example of the religious practice of Mourning Art. A common practice of placing a photo of the deceased surrounded by a floral wreath this time made out of Wool Yarn is just as creative with the intricate detailing of the flowers. The colorful arrangement of wool yarn flowers pay respect and highlight this woman’s life.
The other piece, from the same estate is remarkable in another way; the flowers are made of cut and dyed feathers arranged also in a wreath shape. Both pieces show the devotion and love for the deceased, this strong devotion led people to express and remember the deceased.
Please visit this new arrival and see into another world of remembrance and see how people of the passed showed their love and loss of someone close.
Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Posted in Estate Sale
After years of talking to this estate we finally agreed to start to post and sell this 500 + estate of Antiquarian and Out of Print Books. The estate has agreed with the first batch of 20 books with a wide arrange of styles and subjects. Six great First Edition with orignal clean dust jacket of Arkham House publishing and some signed by the authors. Arkham House had some of the best cosmic horror, fantasy and science fiction writers with incredible graphic covers. Some writers I have and that will be for sale are, Henry Whitehead, Clark Smith, Donald Wandrei and Frank Long. These are some of the best writing from the 1940's and 1950's in the genre of Horror in the vain of H.P. Lovecraft.
Here is a piece that is high on my list of wants for a long time, The Eccentric Mirror by G. H. Wilson published in 1806 by James Cundee in the complete 4 volume set. The original marble endboards with 3/4 Moroccan leather binding and many steel line engravings. A true rare and unique item that will be a major piece in a collector of Oddities, Medical or just the collector of Antiquarian books.
To contiue in that vein, an 1804 first edition of Lives of the Necromancers by William Godwin. This professional rebound edtion with marble endboards with beautiful Moroccan leather protects this un-trimmed book. A fantastic book of the early treatise on Occult, Magic and Early Culture's beliefs of the unexplained. A wonderful book in fantastic condition and a rare find.
I will have some piece on the site and I will be placing some of these books on www.abe.com, please go to booksellers and type in Sturgis Antiques or go to this link:
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Posted in News
Suzanne Duchamp (1889-1963) was born fourth out of six children and was the youngest sister of three famed Duchamp brothers, Jacques Villion, Raymond Duchamp-Villion and Marcel Duchamp.
After her studies at the École des Beaux-Arts she moved to Montparnasse Paris and where she quickly became associated with the growing movement of the Cubism. Her work at this time was a combination of Impressionism and Cubism, which will soon change after WWI, with the introduction of The Dadaist.
Her close association with her brother Marcel Duchamp and also by her friendship and future husband, Jean Crotti helped to further her artist career and creativity. Her art after WW I had a growing Dadaist feel which can be seen in Multiplication Broken and Restored completed around 1918/1919. At this time her brother, Marcel Duchamp started his creation of Readymades and Jean Crotti was earning praise for his paintings that were in the Dadaist style.
Suzanne Duchamp had success in the gallery shows while in Paris and had a major show with several pieces in 1920 at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris, along with Francis Picabia and Jean Crotti.
In this piece, which is dated 1929, Suzanne Duchamp has moved out of the Dadaist construction and once again uses Impressionism as her medium but has added the bold color pallet of Matisse and the expressionism/ colors of Fauvism.
This dramatic seascape, which is very similar to other paintings Suzanne Duchamp did in Nice, France is signed and dated 1929 in the lower right. The painting is one of strong composition and dramatic colors; this is a painting that shows her transition from the style of the time to an artist of creative expressive thinking.
This painting has been in an estate for 30 or more years. Please keep an eye out for more wonderful art and objects coming from this estate. If you have any questions or if you are interested in this piece, please email me or call.
Sports collecting: football, baseball, basketball, or the countless other organized sports have been a passion for many people. Baseball has always been at the top of the list as far as sports collecting goes and for many people Mickey Mantle’s signature is a prize for many.
One of the hardest aspects about sports collecting is the authentication and provenance of the item. This can be handled a couple of ways. One is being there and having the item signed to you by that person. Not everyone is lucking enough to have this and depending on the time some people were not alive when that sports figure was alive.
Anther way to get sports signatures and memorabilia is directly from an estate of that sports figure. In some cases this is the most secure and easily authenticated way.
I have the luck to have been introduced to such a family. This estate of Kyle Rote that I have the fortune to represent has been an honor.
Kyle Rote was the famous New York Giants player from 1951-1961. In his years after football, he remained committed to the sport of Football and was a noted Sportscaster. He did many charities and sports gatherings through the years and one such event were the 1983 Bally’s Salutes the “Greatest Sports Legends” October 6-9, 1983.
As you can see from the photograph and the Baseball I have for sale, it was an event of major sports figures.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me. I would like to hear your thoughts and comments on this piece.
Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Posted in News
I had the luck to find a piece that mixed two eras in one piece. One is the old tradition of scrimshawing made famous by the Nantucket whalers of the 1800's. The other side to this piece is the great design of the abstract figure.
This is an authentic sperm whale tooth that was scrimshawed by someone with training in Western thought of abstraction and also a love of the "primitive" cultural arts of the Eskimos / North West Coast of North American or another culture of similar aesthetics of design. My first impression and what drew me to this piece was the work and precision of the abstraction of the figure. My immediate thought was that this was a copy of a Paul Klee or a Joan Miro work that was transferred onto a whales tooth. Looking closely I saw the lines incised into the tooth and figured this was an original work. There are no signatures except for the base, which is signed by the woodworker. There is no listing for a woodworker named Alan Shapiro on the Internet.
The scrimshaw has another side that is unique and puts it more into the mid 20th century of design, the way the piece continues onto the back. Most antique scrimshaw pieces that I have seen are done on either side or with another piece on the other side of the tooth, but this piece continues around to the side and back. The art uses the shape and roundness of the tooth to complete the subject.
If you have any information on this piece or want to share your thoughts, please email me. I would like to hear what you have to say. This section, which this is the first piece I have wrote about is meant to be used as a kind of Show and Tell part of my website. I want to have pieces that are unique in my eyes or pieces that would need further time and research.
Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Posted in Site News
Hello and welcome to the newest section of Sturgis Antiques. In this section I wanted to keep my clients and interested and/or hopefully new client up to date on new and up coming estates to the store. My aim is to keep a running blog like newsletter about pieces that will come in as well as news on activities that Sturgis Antiques will involved in.
I hope you find this section interesting enough for you to follow and that you will find an item or items of interest. I am interested in hearing feedback and questions from you about an item.
The newest report about the store and website is that I will add new sections to the website. One that I am excited about is a section on pieces of significance and historical importance. I have over the years, tried to have a section of my store devoted to historical items and also items of the obscure and curiosity. This has been a growing part of my business that shows my dedication to the field of research and discovery. The first entry will be items that are currently for sale. Soon to follow will be new items I am working on, that will be later for sale. Stay tuned for the announcement of the official launch of this section.
These new improvements will be a beneficial tool for the store as well as the growing interest I have had with my new estates items.
