Category: News
Winnie the Pooh
The Discovery of Winnie the Pooh Originals
We were wrapping up the initial examination and inventory for a client’s insurance appraisal. It was the end of a long but pleasant day filled with fine antiques and bold, historic and sweeping canvases of both equine and maritime art. Mr. Dykes and our client stepped past a little alcove bar, when our client waved a dismissive hand at four small framed drawings, and said, “Those are nothing, not worth including.”
It was one of those magic moments when time seems to stop for me and the lighting in the room seems to shift to a slightly brighter scale. I smiled as if possibly recognizing a long lost friend, then peered through my loupe at the few sparse strokes of the first drawing.
I bent to examine the second.
The third. The last. I straightened and said, “No, sir. We do have something very worthwhile here. Very worthwhile indeed.”
Less than five months later, we sold four of the original drawings from Winnie the Pooh. The sale was held in New York by Bonham’s and the total hammer price for the four lots amounted to $378,830.00. Collection of Ernest Howard Shepard Illustrations for Winnie- the- Pooh Sold for $378,830.00
Contact us today at (877) 260-3335 to set up an appointment to evaluate your fine art, antiques, jewelry and collectibles.
Art
Many times, people don’t know what they have and aren’t experienced in historic art pieces. If you suspect that some of your art is valuable, then we come to you for full photographic documentation art appraisals.
Once the value of the art is determined, Llewellyn Dykes Appraisals formulates a power marketing strategy to broker your assets at the best possible terms. Thus far, we have discovered and successfully represented more than $16,000,000 of art in the past few years.
Contact us today at (877) 260-3335 to set up an appointment to evaluate your fine art, antiques, jewelry and collectibles.
Watermelons by Natalie Gontcharova
Mr. Dykes did it once again. He documented and then scheduled the next Russian masterpiece for sale. A large oil on canvas, previously incorrectly attributed to Michael Larionov and valued at $50,000.00, was a vibrant still life titled “Watermelons”, actually painted by Natalie Gontcharova, and it was delivered by special transit to Christie’s in London.
This work, targeted at the explosive Russian art market and specifically aimed at the biggest Russian sale of the year in November, underwent extensive examination and authentication by independent experts brought in by Christies, and their research confirmed Mr. Dykes’ proper attribution. Later that year, Mr. Dykes’ identification of the artist was resolutely confirmed by a top expert in the field, Anna Gregorieva from Moscow State University. The sale took place on November 26, 2008 in London, with Mr. Dykes and his clients in attendance.
Despite the global economic crisis exploding at the time, the still life sold for 1.5 million British pounds or $2,250,000.00
Lilacs in a Vase
Mr. Dykes, Master Appraiser, GPPA, discovered and sent to market a Russian masterpiece.
While performing an insurance appraisal for a client’s art collection, Mr. Dykes challenged the value of $50,000.00 that had been formerly placed upon a Natalie Gontcharova still life, “Lilacs in a Vase,” circa 1905. Our appraiser absolutely stunned the client by throwing out the old appraisal and placing a value in the millions on the Russian oil on canvas.
After that, Mr. Dykes arranged a sale, and he and the client received confirmation from Christie’s that the work would be featured in their London sale in November.
Lot# 349, Oil on canvas, still life
“Lilacs in a Vase”, by Natalie Goncharova
(Russian, 1881 -1962) – sold for $2,890,00.00
Cathedral of Christ the Savior
Mr. Dykes while performing an insurance appraisal for a totally different client found more Russian masterpieces. This client had eleven works of art that had each been formerly valued between $5,000.00 and $60,000.00. The prior appraisals had been performed a few years ago, again by a very well-respected and internationally-known firm, but our senior appraiser stunned the client when he challenged the identification of a sweeping Russian landscape that had been valued at $27,500.00. Mr. Dykes said he knew at first look that the work was far stronger and more important than was previously thought. When he told the client during the initial examination that the work had been misidentified, the client disagreed, forcefully, citing the reputation of the firm that had done the previous work.
After intensive research, Mr. Dukes had all the documentation he needed to turn the client’s world upside down. The sweeping landscape, painted in 1871, was in truth a scene of Moscow, the Kremlin, during the time of the construction of the Christ Our Savior Cathedral, and had been painted by the extremely important artist, Alexei Bookshelf, personal artist and commission landscape artist for Russian Tsar Alexander III. A sticker on the reverse, written in Cyrillic, identified the painting as once the property of the Tsar! Two other of the same client’s Russian paintings had been misidentified or undervalued, too. Not surprisingly, when the works were correctly identified and valued, the client wanted them to go to market. Again, Mr. Dykes used his contacts and arranged a sale, placing three more works in Christie’s Important Russian Pictures sale in November in London.
Lot #275, Oil on canvas, Moscow (Russia 1824 – 1896)
Sold for $2,884,000.00
“View of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior from the Kremlin”, by Aleksei Petrovich Bogoliubov
Russian Pictures Auction
London Christie’s Important Russian Pictures Auction. Two of our client families each flew to London to observe the sale and were present, hearts pounding, as their paintings literally dominated the sale. The total sales for Llewellyn Dykes’ clients that day $6,629,080.00. Following are several of the works sold at that auction:
Lot # 280, Oil on canvas, (Russian, 1817 – 1900)
Sold for $782,800.00
“A Country Track by the Black Sea,” Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovski
Lot #292, Oil on canvas, (Russian, 1839 – 1915)
Sold for $78,280.00
“Horse and Sleigh,” by Konstantin Egorovich Makovski
A Country Track by the Black Sea
London Christie’s Important Russian Pictures Auction. Two of our client families each flew to London to observe the sale and were present, hearts pounding, as their paintings literally dominated the sale.
The total sales for Llewellyn Dykes’ clients that day $6,629,080.00.
The following piece was sold at that auction:
Lot # 280, Oil on canvas, “A Country Track by the Black Sea,” by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovski
(Russian, 1817 – 1900) – Sold for $782,800.00.
Horse and Sleigh
London Christie’s Important Russian Pictures Auction. Two of our client families each flew to London to observe the sale and were present, hearts pounding, as their paintings literally dominated the sale.
The total sales for Llewellyn Dykes’ clients that day $6,629,080.00.
The following piece was sold at that auction:
Lot #292, Oil on canvas, “Horse and Sleigh,” by Konstantin Egorovich Makovski
(Russian, 1839 – 1915) – Sold for $78,280.00.
Bogoliulbov Landscape
The Bogoliulbov landscape of the Kremlin and the Christ our Savior Cathedral was featured in Christie’s Magazine.
The Natalie Gontcharovatill life also received prominent placement and attention. Early November, 2007: The Christie’s catalog for the Important Russian Pictures auction was published and the Imperial Bogoliulbov landscape painting was chosen as the cover for the catalog! Write-ups, photos and research documentation for both the Bogoliulbov and the Gontcharova dominated page after page in the catalog.
Island Packet Article
Island Packet – Hilton Head Island, SC
Written by MAUREEN SIMPSON, Island Packet
Following are excerpts from the article. Click here to read the complete article.
Bluffton resident, Kelly Dykes… has sold $8.8 million in Russian art at auction in the last two years. Most recently, he represented the $2.2 million sale of a painting at Christie’s Auction House in London, a still life oil on canvas by artist Natalie Goncharova that belonged to clients on Hilton Head Island. The piece had been misidentified and undervalued at $50,000 by another appraisal company before Dykes’ evaluation proved its true worth.
“What excites me every day is knowing I’m going to walk around a corner in a client’s home and a piece of art or antique furniture is going to hit me like a 3-pound hammer in the sternum,” Dykes said. “That hard work the artist went through to make that one painting communicates across 20 feet and 200 years and speaks to me on a non-verbal, soul-to-soul level. That’s what gets me going. Everything after that is just research and details.”
[Mr. Dykes once owned]… a venture known as Bennie’s & Kelly’s Estate Auctions in Hardeeville.
“At the auction, I would identify what things were and date them and guarantee to the crowd, ‘If I’m wrong, you get your cash back,’ ” Dykes said.”Sitting in the audience were some estate attorneys on Hilton Head who would buy their antiques and art from me. They pulled me off to the side and said, ‘We want you to get certified as an appraiser.’ ”
After a year-long certification process, Dykes dove into the work and now, more than a decade’s worth of appraisals across the country later, he said he no longer has time for much fishing. Some of the work is repetitive, but Dykes said he lives for the treasures — such as another piece of Russian art that he represented for a Hilton Head client at Christie’s Auction House in 2007.
The painting, “Moscow. View of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour from the Kremlin,” was by Aleksei Petrovich Bogoliubov and had been misidentified and undervalued by another appraisal company for $27,500. After Dykes made his assessment, the piece ended up scoring the cover of the Christie’s Auction “Important Russian Pictures” catalog and went on to sell for $2.8 million.”
‘……….In the next few months, Dykes will be called on to appraise a piece of furniture in California once allegedly owned by Civil War icon Jefferson Davis and to represent a baseball at auction that was signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The job requires frequent travel, but it’s something he enjoys in this new phase of life, which has been a lot less taxing than his first career.’
“I would be happy in a cinder block house down on North Forest Beach with a short walk to the water and a good dog, but I’m a most fortunate man,” said Dykes, who has had job offers from famous auction houses, but prefers to be in charge of his own business when it comes to determining the value of items that are a part of people’s’ lives. “I’m fast, certain, deft and right, and I don’t think I would fit very well in a market where spin is valued over truth, where I can’t dictate my own ethics. I’m much more comfortable with truth.”
