Over 50 examples will be featured in Christie’s September 29 sale of Fine American Furniture and Folk Art, including a superb group of 18 th and 19 th century Pennsylvanian German carvings, decorative whirligigs, and rare duck decoys. The Guennol Collection contains some of the most significant examples of American Folk Art sculpture ever to be offered at public auction. The Guennol Collection of American Folk Art Sculpture ![]() As Martin later wrote of the Guennol Collection, “we made every effort to assemble the best possible objects, whether ancient or relatively modern, whether from Peru, Babylonia, China or the shores of Gitchee Gumee, and whether of major historical significance or mere whimwhams…We sought to honor the ideal and the universal and the Collection is no servant to our contemporary culture.” The exceptional nature of the objects contained within the Guennol Collection is now legendary – in December 2007, the Guennol Lioness, an ancient Mesopotamian limestone sculpture, fetched $57.1 million at auction, setting a record price at auction for any item of sculpture. ![]() ![]() The Martins were unified in their passion for acquiring highly unique, finely crafted examples of sculptural objects across a multitude of cultures and time periods, from Middle Eastern stone figures to Pennsylvania German folk art sculptures. He was also a member of the acquisition committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in 1969 he enhanced the Museum of American Folk Art's collection with an extraordinary gift of 140 wildfowl decoys. A generous donor, he joined the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Museum in 1948 and later served as its chairman from 1984 to 1989. A sideline hobby in collecting stamps, books, rifles and cars expanded over the years to include fine art, antiquities, and folk art sculpture and ultimately became his life’s mission. He excelled at the rarified game of court tennis, and became an eight-time national amateur singles champion and 13-time amateur doubles champion in the sport. Martin was born in New York City and graduated from Princeton in 1938. A grandson of Henry Phipps, Jr., the business partner of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, Mr. The word ‘Guennol’ is adapted from the Welsh word for ‘martin’ – a nod to the place where Edith and Alastair Bradley Martin spent their honeymoon. The upcoming sales are truly a landmark opportunity for collectors to acquire objects of exceptional quality and provenance, many of which have been in the collection for over 60 years and have been seen only in the context of major museum exhibitions.”Īlastair Bradley Martin and The Guennol Collection While the Martins had a broad range of interests - from ancient Egyptian stone figures to 19 th century American folk art and 20 th century decorative arts - they had an unerring eye for quality and sophistication and consistently acquired the very best examples in their chosen areas of interest. Margot Rosenberg, Head of American Decorative Arts at Christie’s, comments: "The significance of the Guennol Collection to art scholars and historians cannot be overstated, and we are truly honored to offer this exciting selection of works on behalf of the Martin estate. The complete selection of works is expected to achieve in excess of $1.7 million. Over 140 items from this celebrated collection and from the Martin’s private residence in Katonah, New York will be offered across nine sale categories this fall, beginning with Christie’s sales of Fine American Furniture and Folk Art on September 29, Important Silver and Object of Vertu on October 19, and 500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe on October 21. ![]() Martin and his wife Edith built an encyclopedic collection of rare and important art works and sculpture known as The Guennol Collection, and donated or loaned many of their most important examples of Ancient Egyptian, Near Eastern, Medieval, Asian and American Folk Art to museum exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, among others. New York - This fall, Christie's is honored to present selections from the estate of the renowned collector Alastair Bradley Martin.
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