Litchfield County Auctions Auction Info Page

Litchfield County Auctions, Inc. PO Box 76 (425 rte 202) Bantam, CT, 06750 Ph: (860)-567-4661

UPCOMING AUCTIONS & EVENTS

February 13 – February 23, 2003: Exciting Single-Owner Estate Auction

The Fine Art & Antiques collection of Mrs. Melita Loew Blin + Selected Additions

Please click below to view the text catalog or a selection of photos.

Pictures of Pembroke House and 136 E. 64th St.

The living room at 136 East 64th Street, New York City

Litchfield County Auctions, Inc. is pleased to bring to auction this fresh to the market collection of fine art and antiques. The items come from the Penthouse Apartment of Mrs Melita Loew Blin and her late husband, Mr. Maurice Blin, at 136 E. 64^th street in New York City. It is interesting to note that some of the objects can also be seen in old photographs from the interior of Pembroke House, pictured above, where Mrs. Blin lived with her first husband, Mr. Arthur M. Loew, before it was torn down in the 1960’s. Ranging from paintings by some of the masters of the twentieth century all the way back to pre-columbian artifacts, the underlying threads that hold the whole collection together are those of consistently good taste and an obvious passion for beautiful objects.

A few of the most well-known of the artists represented in the collection include: Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Auguste Rodin, Aristide Maillol, Edvard Munch, Diego Rivera & Salvador Dali. Other only slightly less well-known artists include: Pierre Alechinsky, Joan Miro, David Hockney, Serge Poliakoff, Marc Chagall, Moise Kisling, Andre Lhote & Jean Paul Riopelle. Also included are works by George Grosz, Bernard Buffet, Pierre Eugene Montezin, Andre Bauchant, Jean de Botton, Andre Marshand, Camille Bombois, Julian Levi, Davidovich Burliuk, Jean Eve, Jean Hugo, Odilon Redon, Charles Salerno, John Bernard Flannagan and many others. Although a few of the works tend towards the abstract, it seems that Mrs. Blin’s taste was more for the figurative paintings: still lifes, landscapes and portraits which make up the balance of the group. Almost every work of art has a label on the reverse denoting the gallery where it was purchased and many of the works are being offered with the original bill of sale, most from the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s.

Almost as stunning as the Fine Art is the wonderful antique furniture, mostly French & English with a few other European & Asian pieces in the mix. Among the furniture, one of the highlights is a very nicely detailed Charles X mahogany & satinwood secretaire a abatant, circa 1830, with a grey mottled marble top above a document drawer. The fall front opens to reveal an ebony inlaid satinwood configuration of drawers and open shelf. Another exquisite piece is a Venetian carved & painted serpentine front commode, 18th century. It has a white & black mottled marble top of conforming shape with thumb molded edge and concave ends. It has 2 long drawers, hipped stiles, shaped apron and high modified bracket feet. The commode has a blue/green ground painted with red and white, and blue and green flowers, and green leaves and blue berries. Many of the pieces of antique French furniture are stamped with a maker’s name.

Other pieces that stand out in the collection are an inlaid Steinway Piano, custom made in 1890, which is among the items found in old pictures of the Pembroke House. A great Brussels Verdure tapestry panel from the 17th century, depicts a lively “May Dance” scene, with peasants dancing in a village under a floral wreath & men, women and children standing around a violin player. A South German Carved Wooden St. George and the Dragon, circa 1500, is one of the selected additions which came from an Austrian collector, also of the Upper East side in New York City, and a fine Renaissance or Mannerist Carved Marble Torso, probably French or Italian, from the 16^th or 17th century is being offered by a Connecticut collector.

There is also a wide variety of decorations and collectibles from Mrs. Blin. From Lalique glass figures to beautiful rugs, carved and gilded mirrors, tasteful chandeliers to silver, pottery and porcelain, the entire collection displays the talents of a very discerning eye. It is the type of collection in which items are often even better when one turns them over than one thought they might be. The Blin’s apparently enjoyed their collecting. The library is full of hundreds of art books, books on furniture, on ethnographic art and individual artists as well as several books that are collectible in their own right. There are closets full of Designer clothes and there are various miscellaneous items ranging from jewelry to stamps, and from hearth equipment to hat boxes.

There was a live viewing from February 20-22 at the Firehouse in Litchfield, CT, 258 rte 202. Exhibition hours were as follows: Thursday, 4-8; Friday 12-8; Saturday 9-5. The actual sale took place Online at Sothebys.com presented by eBay and ended throughout the day on Sunday, February 23. If you have any questions, please feel free to eMail lca@litchfield-auctions.com or to call 860-567-4661 (Office) or 860-567-9299 (Exhibition Hall).