Divine Machinery

Though prices on Ferraris and Alfa Romeos can race into the millions, collectors can find classic cars starting at $20,000

Judd Tully
From the Print Edition:
Bo Derek, Jul/Aug 00

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Publicity didn't help the sports memorabilia sale at Christie's East on April 5, when a jersey worn by N.Y. Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio during the 1951 World Series struck out, failing to sell at $100,000 (est. $130,000-$150,000) due to lofty expectations on the part of the seller. "It was ridiculously overpriced," huffed one attendee shortly after the sale.

But the room went nuts for an autographed pair of fight-worn high-top shoes in size 13 worn by Muhammad Ali from circa 1972. Despite its sky-high estimate ($20,000-$30,000), the Everlast leather pair was a knockout at $25,850.

During a record-shattering $3.6 million photography auction at Sotheby's New York on the evening of April 5, "Rebecca, 1921," a unique platinum print by the modernist master Paul Strand, rocketed to $335,750 (est. $150,000-$250,000). Sometimes compared to the famed photographic portraits Alfred Stieglitz took of his wife, Georgia O'Keeffe, in the 1920s, this close-up tour-de-force of Strand's first wife was sold from the corporate collection of 7-Eleven Inc. That same evening, the market went mad for Edward Weston's 1923 platinum print, "Hands Against Kimona (Tina Modotti);" it flashed to a record $313,750 (est. $100,000-$150,000).

Bidders snapped to attention at a single-owner sale from the Williams Collection of Toy Soldiers that took place in cyberspace on Sotheby's Web site (www.sothebys.amazon.com) between March 27 and April 10. Britain's Set 317 Royal Field Artillery from circa 1930 boomed at $2,147 (est. $100-$200) and a Britain's Set 39a Royal Horse Artillery Gun Team from circa 1920 made $1,101 (est. $200-$300). A mixed lot of Britain brand footguards, Highlanders, Arabs and other painted warriors made $1,321 (est. $200-$300).

Back to the land of bricks and mortar, the March 13-14 sale of Hollywood entertainment memorabilia at Butterfields in Los Angeles included a sexy red-and-black sequined gown that screen siren Marilyn Monroe wore in River of No Return in 1954, the Cinemascope tale of a saloon singer with a gold claim during the California Gold Rush. It fetched $34,500 (est. $30,000-$50,000). From the Wild West days of black-and-white television, a partial ensemble of a brown suede cowboy hat, a vest and two shirts worn by "Gunsmoke" star James Arness galloped to a surprising $16,100 (est.$3,000-$5,000).

AUCTION PREVIEWS

The finale of summertime blue-chip sales takes place at Christie's London, King Street starting on July 5. A noted single-owner sale from the collection of Sir Julius Wernher, a nineteenth-century business tycoon who made his fortune in South Africa before setting up stately quarters in London and stuffing it with masterpieces, will be offered. Top contenders include a striking Portrait of Giacomo Doria by the Venetian master Titian, painted circa 1531 (est. $1.1 million-$1.59 million) and another Italian Renaissance masterpiece, The Rest on the Flight to Egypt by Filippino Lippi, dating from the fifteenth century (est. $636,000-$954,000). Previews are at Christie's King Street from July 2 to 5, time to be determined, with the auction July 5 at 7 p.m. Contact Christie's King Street at 44-20-7839-9060.

The impressive Old Master cavalcade switches to Sotheby's London on July 6 with what's being hyped as the most important early Italian painting to appear at auction since the 1970s. It's the thirteenth-century The Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels by Cimabue (Cenni di Pepo). Estimated to fetch in excess of $3.18 million, the page-sized oil on a gold-ground wood panel hung unrecognized for generations in an English castle in Suffolk. It's the first time a work by Cimabue, the trailblazing Renaissance painter claimed by some to have discovered Giotto, has appeared at auction. A second major religious subject, executed in oil on copper and dating from the Italian Baroque era, is The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, circa early 1600s, by Orazio Gentileschi, another Italian master (est. $2.38 million-$3.18 million). Previews at Sotheby's London from July 1 to 5, times to be determined, with the auction July 6 at 10:30 a.m. Contact Sotheby's London at 44-17-1293-5000.

For more modern tastes and milder budgets, a first-class single-owner sale of more than 500 limited-edition prints by the great English sculptor and draughtsman Henry Moore will be offered at Christie's London, South Kensington on July 19 (where less-expensive fare is offered than at the fancier premises on King Street). They include a striking nude duo, Reclining Figures: Man and Woman I, an etching in colors from 1975 (est. $1,272-$1,908) and a surreal-looking lithograph in colors from 1949, Sculptural Objects (est. $477-$795). The Henry Moore Print viewing is July 16 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., July 17 from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and July 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The auction is July 19 at 2 p.m. Contact: Richard Lloyd at Christie's South Kensington at 44-20-7389-2266.

For those hungry for lighter-weight fare, Christie's South Kensington's "TV Generation" auction on July 20 fills the bill with a nostalgically hip sale of toys, including a mixed lot of 24 Dinky toys. The standout is the Dinky No. 100 Lady Penelope's FAB I Rolls-Royce, finished in a rare pink finish from the late 1960s (est. $397-$556). The viewing is July 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and July 20, 9 a.m. to noon, with the auction at 2 p.m. Contact: Nigel Mynheer at Christie's 44-20-7581-7611.--JT

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