Americana, Midcentury, Art, Antiques At Benefit Shop Foundation Auction Nov. 20

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — The Benefit Shop Foundation Inc is known for eclecticism but its upcoming Red Carpet auction on Wednesday, November 20, will go well beyond the usual collecting categories. Ranging from antiques, artwork and jewelry to Oriental carpets, designer furniture and fashion, the auction also features three separate collections of Americana from area estates.

Kicking off the auction is a strong sampling of Americana, including mill weights, weathervanes, painted boxes, a Pennsylvania Dutch candlebox, folk art, whirligigs, trade signs and Outsider art. Highlights include a pair of antique and handcarved, painted haberdashery folk art sculptures of a man and woman ($100/300), originally from a New York City haberdashery shop, each 24¼ inches tall; and an oversized barnyard painted folk art dairy cow piece of decor ($100/300), 46 inches tall, taken off a barn in Lightfoot, Va.

Whimsy is a key buzzword of the Americana category, such as an antique folk art farming figural whirligig ($200/500) with two men and a donkey that came out of a New Hampshire estate; and a signed Mary L. Proctor mixed media folk artwork ($500–$1,000) composed of ceramic plate fragments and acrylic paint on wood board. The piece depicts a grandmother and child with dresses made entirely of blue ceramic fragments and handwritten on the verso is “My Grandma Old Blue Willow Plates / I remember when I was a child I broke my grandma old Blue Willow plates…”

A rare faux bois multitiered arched planter display from the Arts and Crafts era ($1/3,000) measures 66½ by 30 by 80 inches.

Highlighting artwork in the auction is a signed Edgar Degas (1834-1917) mixed media ($5/15,000) sketch of ballerinas, about 10½ by 7 inches.

Benefit Shop’s Pam Stone stands next to this rare and massive 104-drawer apothecary library card filing cabinet ($400/800) with hand dovetailing and porcelain knobs, which stands over 72 inches tall

Making quite a statement is this American elk taxidermy trophy mount ($1/3,000) by Connecticut Wild Arts Taxidermy, 91 inches tall and weighing about 300 pounds.

Also notable in the auction is a collection of folky painted double-sided trade signs, led by a “Woody’s Good Egg” sign ($200/300) and a life-size Uncle Sam folk art trade sign ($200/600). The most striking sign, however, is a colossal antique folk art display sign ($200/500) in the form of a white boot that measures 90 by 75 by 28 inches. It was believed to have been used on the roof of a shoe store.

Animals as a theme run throughout the auction and the first lot across the block is a lifesize, lion’s head wall hanging piece of Italian majolica ($100/300). The piece measures about 17 by 14 by 10½ inches. A veritable menagerie of lifesize animals includes an American elk taxidermy trophy mount ($1/3,000) by Connecticut Wild Arts Taxidermy, 91 inches tall and weighing about 300 pounds; a pair of life-size antique cast stone dog sculptures ($800-$2,000), each 28½ inches tall; and a vintage, floor-sized iron bronze dog sculpture ($200/500). Fine art will be prominently featured in this sale, led by a signed Edgar Degas (1834-1917) mixed media sketch of ballerinas ($5/15,000), colored pencil or pastel on paper, about 10½ by 7 inches; and an oil on wood panel signed G. Armfield ($500-$1,500) titled “White and Black Dog on the Scent,” 7¾ by 9¾ inches.

There are two examples of Aboriginal Australian art: a Johnny Yungut Tjupurrula acrylic painting ($500-$2,500) depicting a geometric pattern in tones of brown, peach and rust red, 24 by 36 inches, and a signed Judy Watson Napangandi acrylic painting on board ($500-$2,500), “Women’s Dreaming,” made in the Aboriginal dot painting style, about 16¾ by 20¾ inches.

A select grouping from a collection of African masks and figures includes a Nkisi Nkondi nail fetish figure ($100-$1,000) in carved wood with glass detailed eyes and belly, which is a power figure from the Bakongo People in Zaire, Congo, 28 inches tall. Also on offer is a Baule Kpan mask from the Ivory Coast of West Africa ($100-$1,000) having an elaborate coiffure and refined carving, the 15-inch long mask is made of carved wood and painted in red, black and white.

An expected standout in the furniture category is a rare Harvey Probber curved walnut top executive desk ($1/3,000) having a rolled edge, 84 by 30 by 35 inches. Other highlights include a rare 104-drawer apothecary library card filing cabinet ($400/800) with hand dovetailing and porcelain knobs, standing over 72 inches tall.

Rounding out the auction are a faux bois cement, multitiered arched planter display ($1/3,000) from the Arts and Crafts era, 66½ by 30 by 80 inches.

The auction gallery is at 185 Kisco Avenue, Suite 201. For more information, 914-864-0707 or www.thebenefitshop.org.