Sold! To the Lady Scratching Her Nose

Are you afraid of auctions because you’ve seen it happen in a movie: some poor woman in the 2nd row at a high-price auction scratches her nose and the next thing you know she’s writing a check for a silver-plated bed pan.

don't be afraid to raise that paddle

Most of us are familiar with ebay online auctions, where you can search and bid on everything new and used from clothes to books to doorknobs to dustpans to electronics to wine to cars and houses in the privacy of your own home. But there’s another way to bid on auction items: in person.

I first got the auction bug years ago when we lived in Connecticut. TBG and I loved taking long back road drives through the countryside, often stopping at antiques shops, country stores, tag sales, and eventually, country auctions. Fairly soon we understood how things worked, and although we never needed to bid on a tractor or a bakers’ dozen of chicken coops, we got the hang of it and enjoyed the show. Then we moved to Paris, and I began to spend alot of time at Drouot.

Not familiar? Drouot is a large auction house, over 150 years old, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, with auctions of everything from entire households of

Drouot auction house in Paris

furnishings to a single strand of pearls. I’ve been lucky enough to accompany friends who have successfully bid on a suite of wicker furniture, rings, antique linens, paintings, and tableware. Even more fun is to visit Drouot in the days prior to an auction and inspect the items up for sale: who knows what treasures might be in that locked trunk being auctioned “as is” or that 6 inch pile of sketches? Wandering from room to room listening to dealers, decorators, and doyennes is a real education in antiques (as well as a mini-French lesson!)

Now that I’m most-time in NYC, my favorite auction house is Doyle. I’ve gone to Christie’s and Sotheby’s, but they’re seem for more for serious collectors and missing the fun factor I’m after. I do like going to Swann’s and checking out the posters, photographs, and afro-american art; but  I’m loyal to Doyle. They specialize in fine art, jewelry, and furniture;  and simply, I like their stuff.

175 E 87th St NYC

Today I visited Doyle’s for a contemporary art auction. I’m signed up to receive email notifications of their auctions. But NYC  BFF  S (wow…that’s too many caps!) had given me a personal shout-out that we had to be there front and center Wednesday at 1pm, 2nd row. First step, I went to their online catalogue Tuesday to check out what’s being offered. I could also leave a bid online, but I live in NYC, so what fun is that? If I was really motivated I could have run across town and checked it out in person, but…not so motivated in the rain yesterday. So I looked at the lithographs I was interested in, noted their expected prices, and did some research online for similar lithographs and what they were priced at. tip: Do your homework before you go: don’t get auction fever, unless its for charity and you’re looking more to make a charitable donation than to make a good purchase.

So what was the auction action?  S and I arrived as planned, signed in, got our paddles and scored our desired seats. Today was again rainy and dreary. The room was nearly empty. But the tables up front were full of Doyle employees manning the phones with telephone buyers. And from what I could tell, the buyers in the room were all agents, acting for clients who were not present, or were buying for their stores. Several of them were on the phone throughout the auction, relaying all activity in detail (very annoying when you’re trying to hear the bids).

If there’s a recession going on, you couldn’t tell it in this room. We only stayed a couple hours, but only a few items were withdrawn for low bids. Most items exceeded the expected range, many considerably. I didn’t see any great bargains while we were there. For example, a Matisse autoportrait estimated at $5000-7000 went for $11000 on the phones, so I don’t know who the buyer was.  My checkbook stayed firmly in my bag, my paddle never budged.

But I had fun, learned a lot, and plan to drop by on Friday to check out the goods for Doyle’s High Society Sale on Nov 3, featuring designs by Chanel, Hermes, LV, and YSL. According to their PR: the worlds of fashion and society will converge at Maison Doyle New York during the High Society auction. At this exciting sale, Madame et Mademoiselle will find stylish costume jewelry by such prestigious makers as Chanel, Iradj Moini, Gripoix and Yves St. Laurent. Tres chic! Among the elegant accessories, hand bags and luggage are creations by Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Judith Leiber. C’est magnifique! Choose from the array of objets related to luxury travel for stylish accompaniments for jaunts to Palm Beach, Aspen or St. Tropez. Bon voyages!

And has Moi purchased at auction? Mais oui! Art on a cruise…does that count? Ebay, bien sur! The local hospital and church and non-profit group, of course! And soon maybe a new bangle for my wrist….shhhh….I’m not telling all my secrets. I’m an auction-aholic now.

Moi tip: If you’d like to learn more about buying at auction, there are alot of books and articles to help you learn the process, the lingo and prices.  Do NOT go unprepared, that could be a costly mistake. When you arrive at an auction you should always register and ask what the procedure is because there are often local customs that are unique to the area. I found a great introductory article online to get you started: 12 Tips to Buying at Auction: How to Get the Best Deal. It will help you figure out what kinds of questions you should be asking.

Sold to the lady with the iPhone!