Rago Arts and Auction Center
March 10
Folk art three-panel screen from Vancroft Lodge, W. Va.
Estimate: $30,000–$50,000
Price fetched: $180,000
When Joseph B. Vandergrift went to build Vancroft, his hunting lodge-cum-manse on the banks of the Ohio River in 1901, it’s fair to say that the Standard Oil heir was living large. His 500-acre, million-dollar shangri-la included a bowling […]

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Rago Arts and Auction Center
March 10, 2007
Frederick Rhead ceramic Arts & Crafts vase
Estimate: $40,000–$50,000
Price fetched: $516,000
Quick. Name the father of Fiesta ware.
Yeah, ok. Neither could I.
Well, his name is Frederick Rhead and one of his rare, earlier (non-Fiesta) vases just broke the world record for American art pottery at the Rago Arts and […]

We all dream of it: finding a sweet little treasure at a flea market or tag sale, only to discover that its monetary value is far beyond what we paid.
Lightning struck two days in a row last week, at Bonhams in London. First, a pair of collectors scored a coup with a diminutive piece […]

Sotheby’s
Faberge gold, gilded silver and translucent desk clock
estimate: $200,000–$300,000
realized: $1.2 million
It’s proven time and time again: single-owner sales with name recognition or connoisseurship status bring a premium on the auction block. The Lily and Edmond J. Safra collection, sold at Sotheby’s last week, was no exception. For those collectors who missed out on grabbing a […]

Rago Auctions
Marie Zimmerman carved wooden box, c. 1920
estimate: $30,000-$50,000
realized: $117,500
Remember interiors of the 90s? The Stickley and Tiffany knockoff businesses were booming. From movie sets to mall stores, Craftsman-style furniture and decorative arts were everywhere. These days, even though the winds of interior design fashion are blowing more in the direction of midcentury modern (think […]