Visit the Neue Galerie in New York City to see Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Philip Chasen

My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, readership slows down in the summer, so I will only publish on Mondays until the weather gets cold and readership picks up.

The entrance to the Neue Galerie at Fifth Ave. and 85th St. in NYC

If you’ve seen the movie Woman in Gold, you know the fascinating story behind the Neue Galerie’s acquisition of Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. It used to be on exhibition at the Upper Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria. So after a visit there in 2013, I added a visit to the Neue Galerie in New York City to my bucket list. It took a while for our visit, but it was worth the wait.

The entrance to the museum

The museum is conveniently located in NYC’s Museum Mile, a stone’s throw from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s fairly small, but with a very high quality collection of German and Austrian art, including works by Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Alfred Kubin, and Egon Schiele. The Klimt display includes several wonderful portraits of Vienna’s society women, including two of Adele Bloch-Bauer (1907 and 1912), and paintings of Gertha Loew (1902), Elisabeth Lederer (1914-15), and Ria Munk (1917). Of course, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer is the stunning highlight. This great collection of masterworks is only on display until September 25, 2017, as several of them are on temporary loan.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer on display in the museum

After your visit in New York City to the Neue Galerie, consider a trip to Vienna, Austria. If you love Klimt, as I do, you’ll want to visit the Upper Belvedere Museum in Vienna. They’ve got the world’s largest collection of Klimt’s work, 24 in all, including the most beautiful painting in the world, The Kiss. For my blog on our 2013 visit, click Wow! If you love Gustav Klimt, you must visit the Belvedere Palace & Museum in Vienna, Austria

Time passes quickly and the eagerly anticipated Baltimore Summer Antiques Show is less than two weeks away, August 24-27, 2017. It’s not too late to make plans. Hotwire.com has a 4-star hotel for $85 a night that’s hard to beat. The Baltimore Show is the best show of the summer and possibly the best of the year. People fly in from all over the world to attend, including Europe and Japan. If you haven’t yet visited, you should. It’s big, with some of the best national and international dealers. You’ll also enjoy Baltimore. Hope to see you there!

Click Philip Chasen Antiques to check my website for the latest items and to look around. I recently added several new items and I’ll be adding more this week. They’re some of the best items I’ve ever had, so I suggest you click on the following link and take a look. Philip Chasen’s new items.

I will update it as often as time permits. We’re still very much in business between shows, so please don’t hesitate to email or call. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

The Art Glass Forum began its season with a lecture on Louis C. Tiffany, October 4, 2016

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Philip Chasen

Tiffany Water Lily table lamp, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Grant, 1974

The Art Glass Forum began its season this past Tuesday with a very interesting and informative lecture by Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, curator of American Decorative Arts of the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1994, on the works of Louis C. Tiffany. She is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on the life and works of Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Ms. Frelinghuysen made it clear that the museum would not own today’s fabulous collection if it weren’t for the generosity of many patrons, including Henry Osborne Havemeyer in 1896, followed by Robert Weeks DeForest and Emily Johnston DeForest early in the 20th century, Louis C. Tiffany himself, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Williams in 1969, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Grant in 1974, Robert Koch, Lillian Nassau, and many others.

Tiffany Favrile Peacock vase, from the Havemeyer donation

The Met’s Louis Comfort Tiffany collection began in 1896 with a donation of 56 blown Favrile glass vases and roundels from Henry Osborne Havemeyer, the sugar magnate, and one of the first collectors of Favrile glass.

Tiffany American Indian chandelier

In 1899, Tiffany was asked to design the interior of a home owned by Robert and Emily de Forest in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, near Tiffany’s country estate, Laurelton Hall. Even though Tiffany was asked to create a floral shade for the home, he purportedly responded “That is not what you need for your hall, you need an Indian Basket”, as the de Forests owned a large collection of Indian baskets and pottery. The result was a spectacular chandelier in the American Indian pattern. The chandelier did not make it into the Met’s collection until it was donated in 1969 by Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Williams, in memory of the de Forests.

Tiffany mosaic fountain, contribution of Lillian Nassau

One of the more spectacular items in the Met’s collection is a mosaic fountain, donated by Lillian Nassau in 1976. The background is entirely made of tiny mosaic tiles, called tesserae. It’s incredible in person.

The collection is much more extensive than I can cover here, including pottery, enamels, furniture, fabrics, jewelry and art. So I suggest you do two things. First visit the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art when you’re in New York. If Tiffany interests you, the museum’s collection will enchant you. The second is to join the Art Glass Forum and attend their monthly lectures. Click here for a link to their website.

Cute glass “food”

I hope to put together videos of the glassblowing demonstration we saw in Murano, Italy, for uploading to youtube soon. You’ll want to see it if the process of glassblowing interests you.

Our next show will be in Winnetka, Illinois, November 4-6, 2016. This is our only fall show in the greater Chicago area (and probably our last show of the year). We always look forward to exhibiting there, especially to see all our friends and clients. Put it in your calendar. It’s a lovely show!

Click here to check my website for the latest items and to look around. I will update it as often as time permits. We’re still very much in business between shows, so please don’t hesitate to email or call. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

A visit with John Atzbach at his museum of Shelby and Lamborghini automobiles

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Philip Chasen

John’s collection of Shelby Mustang automobiles

John Atzbach is a friend of ours who my wife and I met through the antiques business. He is a specialist in Imperial Russian antiques, and an authority on Fabergé enamels.

That's John by his pride and joy -- the first Shelby Mustang competition car ever built

That’s John, standing by his pride and joy — the first Shelby Mustang competition car ever built

So what does John do in his spare time? He collects, restores and displays important, vintage Shelby Mustang and Lamborghini automobiles. We visited him at his Issaquah, Washington, shop/museum.

John, 3rd from the right, with his team and his trophies

In 2015 John exhibited his race-trimmed ’65 G.T. 350 at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, as it was the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Shelby G.T. 350. John won his category and Road & Track magazine’s “car they’d most like to take home from the event”.

The Lamborghini section of John’s shop

The Lamborghini on the wall is a Diablo VT factory prototype. It used to hang on the wall at the Lamborghini factory museum, so John decided to do the same. It has no engine or transmission, but still weighs 1750 lbs.

Our visit was great fun. Thanks for your hospitality, John.

baltimore-8-2016 The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show is right around the corner, August 25-28, 2016. It’s the best show of the summer and maybe now the best of the year (with all the changes coming this winter in Miami). People fly in from all over the world to attend, including from as far away as Japan. If you haven’t yet visited, you should. It’s big, with some of the best national and international dealers. You’ll also enjoy Baltimore. Hope to see you there!

In the meantime, we’re very much in business. Call or email me with your wants or items for sale. If you have what I’m looking for, I’m paying the highest prices. My decisions are quick and my payments just as quick. Just snap a photo and email it to me.

I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. I will continue to list more as often as possible. Please click here to take a look.There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

Wow! If you love Gustav Klimt, you must visit the Belvedere Palace & Museum in Vienna, Austria

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Philip Chasen

That’s me and my lovely wife, Lia, blocking the view of the Belvedere Palace

One of the magnificent rooms of the Belvedere

If you like great museums, Vienna is the place for you. We visited a few, but were really blown away by the Upper Belvedere, one of two summer palaces of General Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736). The palace itself is a gorgeous Baroque building, designed by the architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (1668-1745), and built between 1712 and 1715. Today it’s a wonderful museum, with a great collection of paintings.

Gustav Klimt painting, The Kiss

Foremost is the museum’s wonderful collection of 22 Gustav Klimt works, including the truly fabulous painting, The Kiss. It’s really impressive in person and much larger than I imagined, almost 6′ square. According to the museum’s curator, Dr. Alfred Weidinger, the Belvedere purchased The Kiss for 25,000 crowns on the first day it was exhibited in 1908. That is today’s equivalent of approximately $250,000. Also according to Dr. Weidinger, no painting had been sold prior in Austria for more than 500 crowns. Klimt was certainly no starving artist.

Gustav Klimt painting, Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer

In 2006, Ronald Lauder (of Estee Lauder fame and fortune), paid $135 million for a 1907 Klimt portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, that was previously on display in the same room as The Kiss, at the Belvedere. Lauder purchased the painting from Mrs. Bloch-Bauer’s niece, Maria Altmann, who successfully sued the Austrian government to recover five Klimt paintings stolen by the Nazis from her aunt and uncle during WWII. The price Lauder paid suggests that The Kiss is one of the most valuable works of art on the planet. We’ll never know for sure as the Belvedere will never sell it.

That’s a Renoir on the right and a Monet next to it

Other great artists are well-represented in the museum’s collection, including Claude Monet, Egon Schiele, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Oskar Kokoschka, to name a few. The museum is not too large and not too small, just like Goldilocks porridge, but the collection reveals the Midas touch.

One wall with three Klimt floral paintings

No shows until late July, but we’re still very much in business. Please don’t hesitate to call or write. We’re always interested in buying, selling or trading.

Rare Argy-Rousseau elephant paperweight, just in

Click here to view French cameo glass for sale. We always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on our website and at every show.

A rare blue Tiffany Favrile salt, just in

Look around my website. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps.

There’s some great Loetz glass at the Glasmuseum in Passau, Germany

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Philip Chasen

My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, if you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday. We’ll be on vacation for most of May, so I may not be able to post anything until early June, but I’ll try.

A view of Passau, Germany, from our boat on the Danube

Guess what? I was able to write today’s blog from a riverboat on the Danube River in Austria. It’s a little late, but better late than never. We spent a lovely morning in Passau, Germany, where we visited a very nice glass museum, called simply Glasmuseum Passau. Georg Höltl assembled the collection, starting in 1959, when he bought his first piece. The collection contains a tremendous number of items, mainly from Bohemia and Silesia, from 1650 to 1950.

The entrance to the Glasmuseum Passau

The tour started on the fourth floor, and then proceeded floor by floor to the first floor. We didn’t know it, but the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) glass was at the end of the tour, on the first floor. The best Jugendstil glass is by Loetz, of which there were many outstanding examples on display.

A selection of rare Loetz black bottom vases

Loetz black bottom vases are rare and very desirable. There were quite a few examples in different shapes on display. The examples pictured above are a small part.

Some very rare decorated Loetz vases

The vases pictured above are wonderful, especially the front ones on the left and right. People would pay a lot of money at auction if vases of this quality were to come to the auction block.

All of the vases in this cabinet are examples of Titania glass

Loetz Titania vases have metallic designs under a layer of clear glass, which makes them paperweight vases. They’re very attractive, desirable and collectible. The cabinet pictured above was full of Titania vases and only part of the full selection of them.

More great decorated Loetz, especially the vase in the front, on the left

No shows until late July, but we’re still very much in business. Please don’t hesitate to call or write. We’re always interested in buying, selling or trading.

Rare Argy-Rousseau elephant paperweight, just in

Click here to view French cameo glass for sale. We always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on our website and at every show.

A rare blue Tiffany Favrile salt, just in

Look around my website. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps.

Great results for Louis Icart and the rest of the Milhous Collection at RM Auctions, February 24-25, 2012

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Philip Chasen

The auction is underway

RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, held an auction of the Milhous Collection of musical instruments, cars and collectibles, at the Milhous Museum in Boca Raton, Florida on February 24th and 25th, 2012. The auction was strong, with individual eye-popping results. Total sales were $38.3 million with 100% of the items selling – a superb result.

The museum was not open to the public, but I had the privilege of visiting about 15 years ago, when I sold five Louis Icart etchings to Paul Milhous. Wow, what a museum — filled with classic antique automobiles and the most amazing selection of meticulously restored orchestrions, assembled from all over the world. The music was fantastic, just like the best merry-go-round you’ve ever been on.

Original Louis Icart etching - Leda and the Swan, RM Auctions lot #364

Louis Icart etchings were a tiny part of the auction, but since I sold them to him, I’m mentioning them first. I’m happy to report they all did great! When was the last time you heard of superb prices for Louis Icart etchings at auction? It’s been a while. I hope this is the start of a new leg up in the market. Lot #364 was Leda and the Swan. It sold for a whopping $21,850, against a pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$7,000. Other great Icart results were Lilies, $9,200; Orchids, $9,200; Speed II, $7,475; and Waltz Echoes, $8,625. If you would like to purchase any of the same etchings, framed in the same 24K gold leaf frames, for a fraction of the price, please contact me. 516-922-2090 or philchasen@gmail.com.

1912 Limited Five-Passenger Touring Oldsmobile, RM Auctions lot #823

Top lot of the auction was a 1912 Limited Five-Passenger Touring Oldsmobile, sold as lot #823. It doubled its pre-sale estimate of $1,400,000-$1,600,000, to sell for $3,300,000.

1903 Ruth Style 38-B Fair Organ, RM Auctions lot #784

The top orchestrion in the sale was lot #784, a 1903 Ruth Style 38-B Fair Organ by A. Ruth & Söhne from Waldkirch, Germany. It sold for $1,265,000, within the pre-sale estimate of $1,000,000-$1,200,000. On a personal note, I tried buying one of the player pianos, but prices were too strong for me. Drats!

For the complete results of this extraordinary auction, click on the following link. The Milhous Collection results.

Our next show is the Pier Show in New York City on the weekend of March 17th and 18th. It’s always fun, so start planning your trip to the Big Apple!

In the meantime, we’re still in business, so don’t be bashful. Call or write!
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Very fine Daum blownout scenic vase with wheel-carved detail

Look around my website. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. I regularly add Tiffany vases, lamps and desk accessories, as well as French cameo glass by Galle and Daum Nancy and Louis Icart etchings. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

Do yourself a favor and visit the Tiffany Studios collection of the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Florida

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Philip Chasen

Thursday’s blog will be posted by 1 PM.

My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, if you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday. This Thursday’s post will be about the auction of the superb Milhous collection of musical orchestrions, rare cars and even Icart etchings (with very surprising results). It will be a good one!

That's me sitting in the rebuilt Daffodil Terrace

We were quite busy in Florida with four shows, but luckily we had a week off after the third show. On one of those days, we visited the Morse Museum in Winter Park, Florida. It had been about ten years since we last visited, and I just couldn’t believe how much I had forgotten. For me it was the highlight of our week off. Not only were there fantastic items on display, but the museum completed construction of a new wing that houses the reconstruction of the original Daffodil Terrace from Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall.

An incredible padded and wheel-carved Tiffany Favrile floral vase

Two rare Tiffany Favrile Aquamarine vases

Knock-your-socks-off Tiffany Favrile Lava and windowpane vases

There is an astonishing selection of very rare and very beautiful Tiffany Favrile vases in the museum that ranges from padded and wheel-carved to Lava to Aquamarine to red decorated to window vases. They’re breathtaking!

These incredible fruit doors led outside to the gardens of a Long Island mansion

The glass in this Tiffany Studios window is even more gorgeous in person

Then there are some truly exceptional windows and doors that will take your breath away.

You won't have any doubts about Tiffany's ability as an artist after you see this painting in person

Some remarkable examples of Tiffany Favrile enamel on copper vases

One of the rarest of all Tiffany Studios lamps -- Spider in the web, with mosaic base

I can’t show you every item in the museum, but use these photos to get a taste of what’s in store for you if you make the trip. The museum is located in a very upscale section of Winter Park. Take your time and eat a block away in an outdoor cafe and enjoy the town too. Winter Park is a suburb of Orlando, so it’s just a hop and a skip from all the big amusement parks. You’ll thank me.