The black and white photos were part of a stack in a low-cut cardboard box in a glass case at the auction house. I pick up early photos like these from time to time, and…
Tag: african american
I wasn’t paying too much attention to Eric the auctioneer as he peered at a ring in his hand. He was selling jewelry, and I had already looked casually at the carousel of jewelry on the table and…
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do…
Dust & dirt don’t silence piano player’s big sound
Posted in collectibles, and Music
The piano player in the auction house photo was singing his heart out. His scarlet lips and wide open mouth were a little off-putting to me, but I could feel the exuberance of his performance. He wasn’t a…
Reader asks about “Balky Mule” tray with African American motif
Posted in collectibles, and Glassware
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources for them to determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do…
A theater troupe’s African American marionettes
Posted in Art, collectibles, and Performers
At first glance, I could not tell what was in the row of cardboard boxes that filled the long tabletop at the auction house. There appeared to be about a dozen of them, with strings…
I was flipping through a box of books in a far back corner of the auction house, something I normally do when there are boxes and boxes of books for sale. I’m always on the…
The art of Samuel Countee
Posted in Art
The disappointment in my friend’s Valorie’s voice was palpable. She had missed the amazing oil painting of a guitar player by an African American artist named Samuel Countee. It was hanging on a wall near…
My friend Valorie pulled me aside as I stood listening to a curator expounding on artist Henry Ossawa Tanner’s painting “The Annunciation,” its brilliant light and shadows illuminating not only the painting itself but its message.…