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Maine Antique Digest, May 2015 21-D
- AUCTION -
☞
O
ne message came through
loud and clear from a Les-
lie Hindman single-owner
sale on February 22. Featuring
347 lots of Art Nouveau, it broad-
cast that while fans of the style are
considered a small cohort, they are
extremely selective and focused.
Art Nouveau may not be a barn-
burner in today’s market, but when
a remarkable collection assembled
by Louis Daniel Brodsky of the
St. Louis area came to sale after
his death, buyers came out of the
woodwork. The sale was a total
sell-through, absolute, white glove,
however you say it. To the walls.
Sale total, including buyers’
premiums, topped $1 million. The
result more than doubled the pre-
sale estimates.
By the time of his death in 2014,
Brodsky had lived many lives. A
Yale honor graduate, he followed
his passion by becoming a prolific
and widely published poet in addi-
tion to managing a clothing factory
and launching regional factory
outlets.
The sale was a standout because
each carefully selected lot was in
top condition and because the pre-
view and sale offered buyers a look
at more good Art Nouveau in one
place than most see in a lifetime.
Plus, the focused single-owner sale
offered goods relatively new to the
market.
Assembled in only ten years,
Brodsky’s collection came mainly
from known sellers of Art Nouveau
and was the best that he could buy.
“The beauty of these objects is
that it all looks good together,”
reflected Corbin Horn, Hindman’s
director of furniture and decorative
arts.
Put one or two pieces of Art Nou-
veau in a sale and they may do well
but nothing spectacular. Stepping
into an entire household of carefully
selected, 100% top-grade design is
another story.
We saw one viewer who upon
entering and spotting an entire liv-
ing room of period furniture and
accessories said, “You guys need a
defibrillator in here.”
Brodsky’s buys were from major
names in the genre. Purchased pri-
marily in Europe, New York, and
Chicago, the collection encom-
passed furniture, ceramics, silver,
glass, posters, prints, art glass, and
some jewelry. Some came from his
home territory in the Midwest.
Perhaps because it was such a
new collection, provenance was
easy to trace. Each lot description
included where Brodsky bought the
piece plus related references, exhib-
its, or museums. Sharp-eyed read-
ers noted many entries listing the
Colletti Gallery and Spencer Weisz
Gallery in Chicago and Macklowe
Gallery and other New York City
galleries, major auction houses,
sellers in London and Paris, plus
several galleries and an antiques
mall in Clayton near St. Louis
where Brodsky lived.
After Hindman opened a St.
Louis outpost in Clayton, Missouri,
in the summer of 2014, the family
approached her about selling.
Bridget Melloy, head of the St.
Louis branch, recalls her first look
at the collection. “It was like a
museum,” she told us. “You rarely
go into an estate and are immedi-
ately blown away. Our jaws just
kind of dropped.”
That impact was replicated for
viewers; walking into the assembly
with lots placed as they were assem-
bled by the owner was jaw drop-
ping. Kudos to staffers Rebecca
Williams, Mike Intihar, Will Krog-
man, and Andrew Tokarski for their
masterful work in the setup.
According to Horn, dealers,
many from New York City, led bid-
ding. Yet collectors dominated the
top buys.
Estimating the ratio of dealers to
private buyers at 60% to 40%, he
added that one New York area col-
lector, apparently bidding for some-
one else, bought about ten major
pieces of furniture, including a top
lot (two items reached $35,000).
Unwilling to reach for retail
prices, dealers dropped out when
lots climbed. The highest-priced
lots all went to collectors, and 60%
of the winning bids came through
absentee bids or in house. Only
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Chicago, Illinois
The Louis Daniel Brodsky Collection
of Art Nouveau
by Danielle Arnet
The sale was
a standout
because each
carefully
selected lot was
in top condition.
The Emile Gallé marquetry cabinet tied for the
top lot at $35,000. In varied woods, the body has
bird and floral motifs. Hindman photo.
Director of decorative arts Corbin Horn told us that
other copies of “Divan Japonais” by Toulouse-Lautrec,
1892-93, have sold for far less, but the $30,000 result at
this sale might have resulted from the tide of enthusiasm
generated by surrounding lots. Hindman photo.
Placed as they appeared in Brodsky’s condo are a $4750 Thonet fruitwood
parlor set centered by the cover lot, a $23,750 French walnut pedestal table
with trays and eight dished shelves.
Small though it may be at 50½"
high, the Belgian wrought-iron and
walnut music stand oozed Art Nou-
veau. No wonder it brought $8750
against a $1000/2000 estimate.
Estimated at
$1500/2500, the
French
cameo
glass and bronze
table lamp, 25¾" high,
soared to $23,750. The
domed shade is etched
“DeVez,” and the fig-
ural base is marked
“Ch Korschann.”
Hindman photo.
The $3750 oak bench with leather seat and back is joined by Henri de Tou-
louse-Lautrec’s $30,000 “Divan Japonais” plus two cast metal figural lamps
(on the bench) that sold for $875. A Belgian bust, partially seen left, sold for
$938, and a near pair of French marquetry tables fetched $2500. The French
cast metal winged statue at right brought $1625.