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On Nov. 26 I wrote about two figurines sold at a recent online auction. At first glance, they appeared to be Siesta and Narcissus. On closer inspection, however, they reminded me of what happens to my cookies when I use too much baking powder: they get a bloated and puffy look. I concluded that these were fakes.
To be fair to Live Auctioneers, the auction house, the figurines were not identified as being from the Quaintance Studio, and the names Siesta and Narcissus were not used in the description.
Now we have a different circumstance: two lots offered at auction online by the same auction house were not produced by the Quaintance studio, but this time the name of Quaintance was invoked. The auction was held Nov. 30.
My blog entry, "Bronze," (Dec. 2016) was about five Quaintance figurines that were cast in bronze. The castings were not produced by the Quaintance Studio, nor with permission from the Quaintance estate. They are meticulously accurate reproductions of Narcissus and the four male swimmers from the Neptune's Children suite.
Only 100 such bronze castings were made — 20 of each. Apart from a bronze Narcissus sold on eBay in 2016, I have never seen one come up for auction or be offered for sale. But there they were, all 5. The auction listing described them as "Quaintance Vintage."
Here's the complete description for Narcissus: "George Quaintance Vintage Solid Bronze Narcissus Nude Male Statue Signed Sculpture Underside Copyright. Signed indistinctly. This subject is discussed by Ken Furtado on the artists GeorgeQuaintance Dot Com website." (Thank you for the acknowledgement.)
And here's the complete description for the swimmers, which were sold as a single lot: "Set 4 George Quaintance Male Nude Athlete Diver Swimming Wall Statue Sculpture Relief Bronzes."
The winning bid for Narcissus was $1000. The winning bid for the swimmers was $2200.
Several questions come to mind when considering whether to purchase lots such as the ones above. What is the motive for buying art? Is it to collect a particular artist regardless of investment value? Is it because the buyer admires the art, regardless of the artist? Or does the purchase represent an investment? More than one answer is possible, and different pieces of art might elicit different responses.
Thank you once more to A, whose keen eye keeps me aware of Quaintance items on the auction scene.
Changing the subject, my Aug. 18, 2024 blog said I would report on the results of the Aug. 22 auction by Swann Galleries of the lithographs Siesta and Preludio. The pre-auction estimate was $1000 to $1500 each. Siesta, which was signed, sold for $1100; Preludio, which was not signed, fetched $900.