Real Estate

Ari Post • June 22, 2015

The historic results from Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on Nov. 4 brought in the highest total for a single auction in the company’s 270-year history: more than $422 million. Participants in the sales came from over 40 countries, with the highest number of winning bidders from the United States, Europe and Asia. However, the record owed a lot to the sale of three single works, by Giacometti, Modigliani and Van Gogh.
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Peter Murray •

Restaurant Nora has long been a staple of the D.C. food scene, visited by a number of presidents and dignitaries — the Obamas dined there for Michelle’s birthday in 2010 — not to mention foodies. Vienna-born Nora Pouillon is the chef behind the restaurant, and a Georgetown resident to boot. She led the organic food movement by opening the first certified-organic restaurant in the country, where she has hosted numerous national movers and shakers not far from Dupont Circle. Now Pouillon has released a book, “My Organic Life,” a memoir with the subtitle: “How a Pioneering Chef Helped Shape the Way We Eat Today.”

Pouillon lives in a unique pink, modern house on Reservoir Road between 32nd Street and Wisconsin Avenue, though she says the architect was forbidden from building in Georgetown again after unveiling the place, which she describes as in the style “Old Miami.” She moved to Georgetown 19 years ago from Adams Morgan, and despite being apprehensive prior to the move, admits that she now loves the neighborhood, saying its strongest attribute is its “mix of commercial and residential.”

Georgetowners can catch her out walking through Dumbarton Oaks or along the canal, window-shopping on Wisconsin Avenue and M Street — her favorite stores are Hu’s and Hu’s Shoes — exercising at the Four Seasons, or during cooler months, ice skating along the riverfront. She’s also been known to patronize Malmaison, which she calls underrated; Chez Billy Sud; the Grill Room at Capella; and when her namesake restaurant is out of a necessary ingredient, the farmers’ market across from Safeway. She professes love for nearly all things Georgetown. However she is not “a cupcake person,” preferring “salty and spicy” tastes to sugary.

Allison Silberberg doesn’t live here, residing instead in the Parkfairfax neighborhood of Alexandria, but she is a longtime Georgetown Senior Center supporter and served as president of the board from 2010 to 2012. On June 8, Silberberg won the Democratic primary for mayor of Alexandria. Currently vice mayor of Alexandria, she defeated sitting mayor Bill Euille, who has held the position since 2003. She also beat former mayor Kerry Donley, whose campaign called for aggressive development throughout the city.

Many observers expected Euille to easily fend off his challengers, but he and Silberberg were neck and neck as precincts reported in. Far outspent, Silberberg nonetheless ended up winning by 321 votes. The Washington Post attributed her win to her “warm and personable” nature and opposition to development in Old Town and elsewhere.

Some of Euille’s supporters are calling on him to campaign as a write-in candidate during the general election, but the party has warned against the move, saying they will put their full weight behind primary voters’ chosen ticket. [gallery ids="102107,133845" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner • June 18, 2015

1611 31st Street NW

Located near Tudor Place, this stunning residence in a coveted historic block has four bedrooms, five and a half baths and three fireplaces. On the entry level are an office with built-in bookshelves, a bedroom with an en-suite bath and a spacious family room. The generous main floor includes a renovated kitchen and a dining room/living room leading to a large patio. The stunning master suite is on the upper level. Outside, there is an enchanting garden perfect for elegant entertaining or escape.

Offered at $4,550,000
Washington Fine Properties
Nancy Taylor Bubes
804-432-4303
nancy.taylorbubes@wfp.com

Georgetowner • June 3, 2015

Christie’s

“Benefits Supervisor Resting”

Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011)

Auction Date: May 13

Estimate: $30 million – $50 million

Final Selling Price: $56.2 million

Sotheby’s

San Ildefonso Polychrome Lidded Jar

Tony Da (1940 – 2008)

Auction Date: May 21

Estimate: $25,000 – $35,000

Final Selling Price: $68,750

Bonhams

“…Emerging into an opening that appeared to have been formed partly by the ravages of the wind, and partly by those of fire”

N. C. Wyeth (1882 – 1945)

Auction Date: May 20

Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000

Final Selling Price: $1,325,000

Freeman’s

Napoleon III Twin-Handled Urn

Auction Date: May 19

Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000

Final Selling Price: $131,000

Georgetowner •

The Potomack Company

“Indian Capturing an Eagle, No 5”

John Joseph Boyle (1852 – 1917)

Estimate: $15,000 – $25,000

Auction Date: June 13

“Indian Capturing an Eagle, No. 5,” by renowned American artist John Joseph Boyle, depicts a young Native American man kneeling over an eagle and plucking a feather pensively from his catch. The sculpture was cast by New York’s Roman Bronze Works and presented in 1908 as a gift from Boyle to his friend, the industrial artist and art educator Leslie W. Miller

Freeman’s

Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976)

“Peel Park, Salford”

Estimate: $250,000-$350,000

Auction Date: June 16

Lowry’s paintings, featuring factories and textile mills in northern England populated by his iconic “matchstick” men and women, are by no means as naive or simplistic as they appear on first look. The throngs that haunt the canvases were, according to the artist, “part of a private beauty that haunted (me).” Peel Park, Salford, was one of his best-loved subjects. This work will be offered as part of the European Art & Old Master auction.

Christie’s

Grand and Petite Sonnerie Desk Clock,

c. 1925

Cartier, Paris

Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000

Auction Date: June 17

The dial and case of the clock are signed Cartier, Paris, and the movement and case are numbered. Part of Christie’s Auction of Important Watches, this superb piece has several exquisite features, including a white enamel dial, Roman numerals, an outer minute track with Arabic five-minute divisions, diamond-set hands, and a green guilloché case with white enamel border, the top with diamond-set initials.

Sotheby’s

Singing Bird Scent Flask, c. 1790

Estimate: $800,000 – $1,200,000

Auction Date: June 11

Unseen for generations, many of the timepieces in the Swiss Mechanical Marvels collection were created by preeminent artists of the late 18th and early 19th century, such as Jacquet-Droz and Piguet & Meylan. The highlight of the collection is the Singing Bird Scent Flask, a gold-enameled, pearl-and-gem-set piece, made specifically for the Chinese market. Music plays from the bird through a miniature six-pipe organ. The bird’s beak moves realistically, the body swivels and the tail goes up and down

Doyle New York

Gold and White Enamel Bangle Bracelet

Tiffany & Co., Schlumberger, France

Estimate: $8,000 – $12,000

Auction Date: June 11

This 18-kt. gold bracelet, signed Tiffany & Co., is part of Doyle New York’s Auction of Fine Jewelry. Including over 650 lots with more moderate estimates than in the Important Jewelry sales, the showcase includes glittering creations set with diamonds, colored stones and pearls, as well as gold, jewelry, fine watches and gentlemen’s accessories. Among the selection of fine watches for ladies and gentlemen are examples by Patek Philippe, Rolex, Boucheron, Graff, Cartier, Bulgari, Piaget, Blancpain and Tiffany & Co.

Christie’s

Diamond Rivière Necklace

Estimate: $ 1.4 million – $1.8 million

Auction Date: June 22

Part of Bonham New York’s Fine Jewelry Sale, this spectacular rivière comprises a graduated line of 51 round brilliant-cut diamonds weighing more than 70 carats, joined by a heart-shaped clasp weighing 2.04 carats and mounted in platinum. Each of the round diamonds in the necklace have ‘excellent’ grades from the Gemological Institute of America for polish, symmetry and cut — known in the industry as ‘Triple X’ (needless to say, this is extremely rare).

Caitlin Franz • May 22, 2015

Throughout its 125 years, the Secor Group, formerly known as Security Storage Company of Washington, has been led by just six individuals. Chuck Lawrence, who has been with the company for 26 years, is its current leader.

“We’ve reinvented it, while maintaining its history,” Lawrence said.

Secor Group recently revamped its logo and marketing campaigns to mark the milestone. But there will be no celebrations until the fall.

“This is our peak season,” Lawrence said of the summer. “We won’t have an anniversary party until September.”

A global force, the company operates in New Delhi, Belgium, 14 African nations and many other places around the world. About 40 percent of Secor Group’s business comes from D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Connecticut.

With its corporate headquarters on Florida Avenue, adjacent to Adams Morgan, Secor Group has large storage facilities at Dulles Airport and throughout the District, as well as 100,000 square feet of storage in Connecticut.

The company moved our most recent presidents into the White House. Its massive logistical operations support not only the movement of possessions, but also complete relocation services, including finding new housing at the destination, helping to close on the current property, locating schools and activities for children and setting up utilities for new homes.

The company motto has evolved along with its services: from “Keeping in safe custody” in its Security Storage Company of Washington days to “Assurance delivered” under the Secor Group umbrella.

According to Lawrence, it is the technology at the center of these operations that holds the company together. Secor Group is responsible for RedSky, the only software that creates a global database to track all elements of moving and relocation services.

This technology proved to be particularly important during the company’s involvement with shipping resources to West African countries on behalf of the U.S. government during the Ebola crisis.

The software allows clients, such as Anheuser Busch and the Department of State, to monitor the movement of their products and belongings, as well as to stay in constant contact with Secor Group staff.

Lawrence sees opportunities for growth through the acquisition of other companies. Secor recently purchased MilitaryOneClick, a website that receives two million hits a month and aims to provide military families with news and job listings. The company has also started working with Hiring Our Heroes to place veterans in positions throughout its transportation and relocation departments.

“We look to become more actively involved with the military,” Lawrence said.

Locally based and internationally minded, Secor Group appears to have hit on the perfect formula for continued success. All partnerships are highly integrated.

“It’s become like a family for a lot of us,” Lawrence said.

Peter Murray • May 21, 2015

Dubbed the “Queen of Laser” last year by the Washington Post, celebrity dermatologist Tina Alster lives in Georgetown with husband and lobbyist Paul Frazer. Their Federal-style townhome on N and Potomac Streets has been featured in the pages of Architectural Digest and the Wall Street Journal. In various earlier decades, it was a hideout for British spies, persons escaping from slavery and Confederate soldiers. One of its most famous owners was Herman Wouk, author of “The Caine Mutiny,” “The Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance.”

Owners after Wouk, Alster and Frazer redesigned the interiors to be simple, modern, elegant and sunny. The N Street house has been on the market for a few months, since Alster and Frazer purchased the penthouse in the Anthony Lanier-developed condo building on Wisconsin Avenue next to the C&O Canal.

If Alster and Frazer end up moving closer to the canal, they’ll be neighbors with National Public Radio CEO Jarl Mohn, who just moved into the same building. Mohn began his storied media career with almost 20 years as a radio DJ, then jumped to an executive position at MTV in the mid-1980s. Years later, he became president and CEO of E! Entertainment Television, best known these days for “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” He served stints on the boards of XM Radio and the Southern California ACLU, and currently sits on the boards at ComScore (a web analytics company), KPCC Southern California Public Radio and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Another media powerhouse, Fred Ryan, has been living in Georgetown for several years. Ryan, who served as chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan and helped found Politico, transitioned to a new role as publisher of the Washington Post at the end of 2014. He last made news in the neighborhood when he bought the Guards sign that used to identify that famous restaurant, which closed in 2012. The Guards was located at 2915 M St. NW, now the address of Maxime. Ryan lives on Q Street near 30th Street.

Donna Evers • May 11, 2015

Ralph Blane, co-composer with Hugh Martin of “The Trolley Song” – made famous by the 1944 film “Meet Me in St. Louis” – said he was inspired to write the award-winning song after he saw a photo of a trolley car in a 1900 newspaper, captioned, “Clang, clang, clang went the trolley.”

The concept that trolley cars, or streetcars, are nostalgic reminders of a romantic past must be what caught the imagination of at least three recent mayors of Washington, D.C., and that of many of the city’s inhabitants. But before we commit to the current proposed trolley lines, maybe we should take a look at the District’s checkered history with this mode of transportation.

The first form of public transportation in many U.S. cities, including Washington, was horse-drawn trolley cars that had steel tires and ran on rails flush with the pavement. These were popular from the 1860s through the 1890s, when they were replaced with electric trolley cars – a lot cleaner and easier to keep than horses. And, unlike the horse-drawn streetcars, they could climb steep hills, leading to the ever-expanding boundaries of the city and up Wisconsin and Connecticut Avenues to the new suburb of Chevy Chase.

When Congress approved the switch to electric streetcars, it prohibited overhead wiring and insisted that the electric cables be buried in the roads next to the tracks. This caused the system to suffer from the expansion and contraction caused by the summer heat and the winter cold. Historian Robert C. Post noted that the “demands of routine maintenance were relentless.” Nevertheless, streetcars were the main mode of public transportation for Washingtonians for many years.

The streetcars’ demise came about when a perfect storm of problems finally became insurmountable. By 1933, the consolidation of many streetcar companies resulted in the Capital Transit Company, which, in the beginning, had ample funds to deal with the constant repair problems, even though the increase in family-owned automobiles continued to chip away at streetcar ridership. As the number of riders decreased, the company was sold to a group of investors. Paying much less than the company’s value, these investors commenced to reward themselves with large dividends, depleting company reserves.

At the same time, the unions decided that their streetcar workers had gotten cheated out of their share of the riches. In 1951, they went on strike, creating what the AP reported to be “the biggest traffic jam in history,” with people abandoning their cars in the middle of downtown streets next to empty streetcars and trudging the rest of the way to work in the stifling summer heat.

After strikes erupted again in 1955, Congress decided to step in and take the company away from the greedy investors. It was sold to O. Roy Chalk, a New York entrepreneur who had to promise to close down the streetcar system and change it to 100-percent bus service, which he did. The last streetcar line went out of service in 1962. Schoolchildren were given the treat of riding on the last trolley, after which it was shrouded with black crepe and a mourning wreath.

We can only hope that if trolley service ever actually returns to the District, there won’t be a repetition of this history. Meanwhile, we can get in the mood to embrace the concept by singing “The Trolley Song” with Judy Garland, or the song in which Tony Bennett made the little cable cars of San Francisco so unforgettable.

Donna Evers is the owner and broker of Evers & Co Real Estate Inc., the largest woman-owned and woman-run real estate firm in the metropolitan area, and the proprietor of Twin Oaks Tavern Winery in Bluemont, Virginia. Reach her at devers@eversco.com.

Michelle Galler • May 7, 2015

The hobos feared the tramps and the tramps viewed the hobos as suckers for work. Hobos, wandering migrant workers, stopped in a place long enough to do a job and then moved on. Although tramps were traveling men, too, they rarely lifted a finger unless coerced. Yet, in the late 1800s, itinerants of both persuasions jumped the same trains, were locked up in the same jail cells and ate and slept in the same hobo “jungles.”

As they warmed themselves around the campfires and shared stories of their daily survival, the hobos whittled and the tramps carved intricate, and sometimes whimsical, objects that have come to be known as Tramp Art.

From the 1870s to the 1930s, this relatively little-known folk art blossomed. Although it may have originated with displaced individuals, many a farmer, factory worker and laborer turned out his own version of chip-carved and layered pieces in his own home-based workshops.

Actually, the name Tramp Art was applied to this art form in the 1950s. There were more than 40 ethnic groups creating this art in this country. There is even evidence of retired Civil War soldiers making tramp art in their later years.

Also known as chip art, tramp art shares its vocabulary with quilts, since both traditions use salvaged materials cut into geometric shapes and layered together to create utilitarian objects. Using recycled wood, primarily from the then-ubiquitous cigar boxes or produce crates, and with simple pocketknives as their primary tool, these unschooled artisans carved the discarded wood pieces into objects of every conceivable shape.

The art form was driven by the abundance of wooden cigar boxes and their availability to the artists. The wooden boxes were used for cigar sales in the 1850s, and – since revenue laws did not permit the boxes to be used a second time for cigars – enterprising souls found new uses for the boxes. Since the boxes were plentiful, free and easily carved, ornamenting them by chip carving became popular.

The technique consisted of notch-carving each piece of cigar-box wood with consecutive Vs around its edges. Then it was layered with another piece that had been notched similarly, each layer a bit smaller than the preceding one. The artist then had to assemble the individual pieces of carved wood into a recognizable object. Layer upon layer of decorated wood would become a decorative and, typically, functional item.

Another tramp art technique, called the “crown of thorns,” involved the interlocking of small, notched pieces of wood, much like a log cabin is built. The interlocking pieces were layered and formed a star effect.

Tramp art was an “everyman” craft, practiced by humble men who made objects for their own use or, sometimes, for barter: a picture frame for a daughter’s wedding; a jewelry box, festooned with hearts, for a beloved wife; a gift for a friend. These pieces spoke of devotion and love and the need for these workers to make things of beauty. The heart motif is a common one, as were stars and crucifixes.

Many dealers of folk art and antiques sell the myriad forms of tramp art, including boxes, picture frames, religious artifacts and even larger pieces of furniture. Some pieces were painted, and, these days, anything with the rich patina of old paint is sought-after. Many pieces were clear-coated to show the wood grain.

Prices for tramp art have increased significantly within the last decade, especially since American folk art has gained a huge following with collectors and decorators. Folk art – and tramp art, specifically – seems to attract many younger collectors, perhaps due to its whimsical nature.

The value of a piece reflects the intricacy of the object, the uniqueness of the form and the condition, but, generally, good quality examples can range from a couple hundred dollars for a box up to several thousand for an altar or a cabinet. The beauty of collecting this vintage art of hardscrabble origins is in appreciating how such humble materials have yielded such a tremendous breadth of very distinctive work.

Michelle Galler has been an antiques dealer for more than 25 years. Her shop is in Rare Finds, 211 Main Street, Washington, Virginia. She also consults from her 19th century-home in Washington. Reach her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com.
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Georgetowner • May 6, 2015

Sotheby’s
San Ildefonso Polychrome Lidded Jar, New Mexico
Tony Da (1940-2008)
Estimate: $25,000 – $35,000
Auction Date: May 21

Sotheby’s sale of American Indian Art is distinguished by the Charles and Sharon Aberle Collection, which features early and exceptionally fine Navajo blankets. The sale also includes diverse works of Native art from the Great Lakes to the Northwest Coast, comprising basketry, pottery, carvings and jewelry.

Freeman’s
Monumental Napoleon III Bronze Twin-Handled Urn
Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000
Auction Date: May 19

Mounted on a rouge griotte marble pedestal, this urn is offered as part of Freeman’s upcoming sale of English & Continental Furniture and Decorative Arts. The sale will feature rare works of 18th-century porcelain by Chelsea and Worcester, speaking to a period of production that was guided by a fascination with natural forms, driven by advances both in botany and in taste.

Bonhams
“…Emerging into an opening that appeared to have been formed partly by the ravages of the wind, and partly by those of fire,” 1925
Oil on canvas
N. C. Wyeth (American, 1882-1945)
Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000
Auction Date: May 20

The father of Andrew Wyeth, Newell Convers Wyeth was one of the great American illustrators. His “Treasure Island” illustrations are widely considered to be among the greatest of all time. During his lifetime, Wyeth created over 3,000 paintings and illustrated 112 books. The present painting is an illustration from “The Deerslayer” by James Fenimore Cooper.

Doyle New York
Russian Silver Gilt and Cloisonné Enamel Coffee Pot
Workmaster Fedor Ruckert, Moscow, c. 1896-1908
Estimate: $40,000 – $50,000
Auction Date: June 3

Enameled silver is one of Russia’s greatest artistic legacies. The acknowledged master of this work was Fedor Ruckert (1840-1917), a silversmith of German origin working in Moscow in the final years of Romanov rule. This exquisite piece is part of Doyle New York’s auction of 19th- and 20th-century fine and decorative arts, reflecting the opulence of the Belle Époque.

Christie’s
“Benefits Supervisor Resting”
Lucian Freud (1922-2011)
Estimate: $30 million – $50 million
Auction Date: May 13

As part of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale, this landmark painting by Lucian Freud will go on sale alongside equally monumental works by Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Franz Kline, Hans Hoffman, Jeff Koons, David Smith, Roy Lichtenstein, Wayne Thiebaud, Francis Bacon and others.

Bringing the Hammer Down
Final selling prices for last month’s featured Auction Block items.

Doyle New York
Frida Kahlo Archive
Auction Date: April 15
Estimate: $80,000 – $120,000??
Final Selling Price: $137,000?

Christie’s
Napoleon III Japanese Imari Porcelain Torchères
Auction Date: April 16
Estimate: $120,000 – $180,000
Final Selling Price: $149,000

Bonhams
Fair Copy of Enola Gay Log Book
Auction Date: April 29
Final Selling Price: $50,000

Sotheby’s
“Silent Seasons – Summer No. II”
Will Barnet (1911-2012)
Auction Date: April 23
Estimate: $60,000 – $90,000
Final Selling Price: $118,750

Freeman’s
Special Minguren I Coffee Table
George Nakashima (1905-1990)
Auction Date: April 22
Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000?
Final Selling Price: $55,000