Displaying items by tag: tribal art

In addition to a  legacy of classic films from Hollywood’s heyday, when the iconic actress Lauren Bacall passed away in August 2014, she left behind a stunning and thoughtfully assembled art collection. A selection of these works will be offered at Bonhams in New York on March 31, 2015, and April 1, 2015. “The Lauren Bacall Collection,” which includes paintings, sculpture, furniture, jewelry, and tribal art, is expected to fetch approximately $3 million.

Prior to the sale in New York, highlights from Bacall’s collection will embark on an international tour, making stops at Bonhams’ locations in Hong Kong (January 14-19, 2015), Paris (January 29-February 3, 2015),  London (February 16-19, 2015), and Los Angeles (February 27-March 6, 2015). The works will also go on view at the Grand Palais in Paris (February 4-6, 2015) and Bonhams New York (March 25-30, 2015).

A spokesperson for the The Merchandise Mart’s Chicago International Antiques and Fine Art Fair announced that after 16 years, the show will come to an end. The fair, which is held each spring, drew over 100 exhibitors offering everything from antiquities, americana and tribal art to modern masterpieces.

Chicago will not go without an antiques fair as the Palm Beach Show Group will hold its inaugural Chicago International Art, Antique & Jewelry Show from April 25 through April 28. The Palm Beach Show Group’s CEO/President, Scott Diament, announced the fair in May of last year and has since gotten the Women’s Board of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to host an opening night champagne reception on April 24. The Palm Beach Show Group produces a number of highly-anticipated art fairs including the LA Art Show, the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show and the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show.

The Merchandise Mart ceased hosting its high-profile annual modern art fair in 2012.

When Merton Simpson (1928-2013), a collector and dealer of African tribal art, passed away on March 9, 2013 he left behind a collection of museum-quality works said to be worth millions. Despite his illustrious holdings, Simpson’s family did not have enough money to give him a proper burial and his body is currently being held in a funeral home in Charleston, SC. Simpson’s son, Merton Simpson Jr., has started an email campaign asking friends of his father for contributions so that a proper funeral can be arranged.  

Simpson’s care and art collection have been continuously prickly issues for his family with accusations of mismanagement and exploitation flying freely. Simpson, a celebrated abstract expressionist painter, was a pioneering champion of African art in the United States. Sadly, his remarkable archive and renowned collection have become a source of conflict between his friends, family, and staff members and most of his holdings are being detained in the Manhattan gallery, which he owned.

A will from 2011 was filed in Manhattan last week for Simpson naming his son, Merton Jr., as an executor and dividing most of his assets between his two sons, his brother, and a nephew. Simpson’s family is still waiting for the court to deem the 2011 will legally valid and to name an executor.