Saturday Morning, September 26, 2026
The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music
He walked onward along the stream. Andante. Water splashed and droplets danced in the sunlight, teasing his ears, jumping and swirling from one rock to another. Allegro. A summer song. Water in a glass. Finger around the rim. A, then A flat, into B major, E, C, G. Harmony. D.C. al Coda. An endless symphony.
Out in the country, got to get away.
Maurice & Detmold lithograph from Kipling's Jungle Book.
The Village Club, 1903, 9 5/8" x 11 5/16"
He stopped and gazed across the orchestral landscape. A nightingale captured by a flute. A cuckoo mixed among the clarinets. And the quail, Adagio, echoing across the forest, guest of the oboe. Soaring hawks riding the strings. Then there was the woodpecker. Pure pizzicato. The composer was at home, removed from the noisy streets of Vienna. Here he could breathe, and hear. Ludwig van Beethoven, writing his sixth symphony, the Pastoral, remained at one with nature, his musical score, immortalized in symphonic scale.
Frs., Ltd. English 9ct gold ring - rampant wolf, in original ring case
Color my World
Sunlight, or moonlight. It was forever the light. Capturing it on canvas the task. His favorite, the sun-drenched fields surrounding Arles. Haystacks and sunflowers. Dapples of paint, strokes by the thousands, colors blended, layer upon layer, allowing for shadow, key to depth. Requests of Theo. Pigment powder packages arriving. From them, unlimited hues. Red, yellow, and blue blending beyond rainbows.
Henry Diltz - black & white, 8" x 12"
Capturing an iconic image. Henry would fill his career photographing baby boomer rock stars, many of his works featured on album covers.
Here, before his canvas, he found solace. Escape from the social skills so lacking. Alcohol his barrier from people. A drunk, they called. Crazy, they yelled. Not here where he worked and lived. Beyond that circle, removed from the torment, he remained. Starry, Starry Night...they're not listening still, perhaps they never will. Art his protectorate, self-expression, his raison d'être.
Less is More
I'm not returning to school. A sentence enough to break a mother's heart. He never did. At fourteen, he was cast into the world like a fishing line into the Mississippi River. Ironically, it was here he was baptized. His mother secured him a job in a print shop, setting type, a foundation for his education. This, and reading, a curiosity he carried his entire life. Mix in life experiences, add the spice of characters, sprinkle in life's scams and shams, and, Violà, Mark Twain, father of American literature.
Lucien Piccard 14k gold & garnet cufflinks.
Emerich Meerson, 17 jewels wrist watch.
Words were his weapon. The difference between the right word and the wrong word was like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. His lifetime output, prolific and poignant. In a few words, he could sum up a political argument, dismiss an issue, cut his opponent to his knees. A true gem. He arrived with Haley's Comet and, 86 years later, departed with its return.
Eyes of the Beholder
Aptitude. So important to self-satisfaction. The journey through life made easier when utilizing one's skills, strengths, passions. The key is early discovery. But barriers do exist. Family expectations. Unexpected turns. Bix Beiderbecke, one of America's greatest jazz cornetists, suffered horribly from alcoholism, dying in 1931 at the age of 28. His parents expected much greater accomplishments from him than simply playing an instrument, his natural talent for music disregarded. His meteoric rise in the Jazz Age meant little to them. To prove his success, he mailed home his records, one after another. But, when he visited, he found them stuffed in a closet unopened. Gone, gone, the damage done. Encourage, not discourage. A life lesson so nobly fought for in each one of us. Another week. Another exposure to life's oddities. This, the gallery's defining denouement.
Pair of Chinese foo dogs, ever vigilant of the human race, 8 " H.
Doors open at 8 AM. Auction starts at 9 AM. PA AU 1265L [bb]