Lot 94 Cast Brutalist Style Planter by Akron Ohio Favorite Don Drumm

If you grew up in NE Ohio like me, you’ll probably remember the mural on Rt. 77 near The University of Akron. Or maybe you dined at the Armadillo on Exchange street in the sixties. Perhaps you didn’t know it then, but you were witness to the work of Don Drumm. Don opened his studio in 1960 near the University of Akron. He pioneered the use of cast aluminum as a medium for creating art. Don worked at Penland School of Craft and has many awards and achievements. I used to visit his gallery as a kid with my mother, where we would marvel at the organic designs and shapes. When I returned to Ohio after graduating from SCAD, I applied for a job at Don’s gallery; unfortunately they weren’t hiring at the time (I think it was my Flock of Seagulls hairdo), but I didn’t mind. I still love his work, the timelessness of it, the memories of visiting the studio & gallery throughout the years and best of all, that he’s still creating art.

Now is the time to appreciate and purchase a Don Drumm work of art if not in our What’s Neue Pussycat-MCM Art & Design Auction, anywhere you can. To learn more please visit his website and gallery www.dondrummstudios.com. Neue Auctions has three of Don’s cast aluminum pieces in the current auction; lot 92 A large cast stag beetle, lot 93 a whimsical feathered bird, and lot 92 the Brutalist style planter featured here, measuring 12.5 x 22 x 11.75 inches and estimated for auction $2000-3000.

Cynthia Colling Maciejewski

Need to sell?

We have always been an online only auction company. Working remotely from home has it’s challenges and distractions as you already know, but we’re not new to selling online. Known for our bespoke service and evolving ideas about how to run an auction house, your safety is our main concern. What should you do? First, send us an email about your item/s with pictures and we’ll respond right away with auction estimate. Next, after your items have been approved for auction we’ll send you sanitized shipping shipping materials, instructions and a prepaid UPS label for pick up. Your items will be insure at our expense. Now you have no excuse to avoid Spring cleaning.

Who’s buying? 

There is hope. In Clare McAndrew’s recent report “The Art Market 2020”, she suggests that millennials are making the moves. Among collectors, McAndrew found that the surest indicator of online buying—and buying overall—is age: 92% of millennial collectors reported having bought art online. Her survey of more than 1,300 high-net-worth individuals also found that millennials were the most active collector cohort, with average total expenditures on art and collectibles of $3 million over a two-year period. Millennials now make up nearly half (49%) of all collectors globally, according to the report.

Surprisingly, millennial collectors were also the most active consignors, with 71% of millennial collectors saying they’d resold works from their collections (compared to just one-third of boomer collectors). The report also showed a high rate of resales overall, with an average turnaround time between the original purchase of a work and its resale of just four years.

“When you ask people their motivations for buying, everybody says ‘I buy it for passion’ and things like that, but when you look at their actual behavior, they’re getting in and out quickly, they have stuff in storage, some of them in long-term storage,” McAndrew said. “They’re acting very financially for being so aesthetically motivated.” That’s good news for sellers.

In certain circumstances, we are able to provide cash advances for consignments or outright purchases to help get folks through a tight spot. Email Cynthia or Bridget to discuss your options.

As we all contemplate and fret about the state of the planet there is an impetus to consume less and recycle more. That is what the auction business is built on. On that note, at Neue Auctions, Nothing is Neue!

Oftentimes, old is better.  Better quality, better design and better style. With the recent sale of famous decorator Mario Buatta’s Estate in New York last week, a cultural event for sure, fashion might finally steer us toward a reexamination of collector style.  After so much time with neutral color and pared down design and with mid century modern hogging all the air in the room, other styles start to look weird and exotic- in a good way. 

Hence, if we don’t already, we should learn to love charming imperfection, as all of these old objects that have been changed and used and worn over the years are perfectly imperfect.  I’m not sure I would have liked the 18thc. Venetian chair if it looked as it did when it was first new. It would be too shiny, gaudy, too colorful. But if you allow 300 years of age to take effect, you have something completely wonderful.  The wear of hands on wood and paint, the fading of the paint and the upholstery by the sun, the softening of the edges all contribute. This effect is hard won. 

Come visit us at Neue Auctions in Beachwood Ohio, in the Ohio Design Centre to preview our old and beautiful offerings and to participate in our sustainable business model by buying old things at auction!

As summer has sadly ended, it’s that time of year to happily focus attention once again on your interior spaces. Having a lovely, welcoming environment to come home to after a long, trying day is restorative to both one’s mental and physical health. In addition to relaxing the mind, it also engages the brain’s creativity channels. Whether it is realized or not, we tend to feel better in a well thought out space with attractive original artwork and well designed and arranged spaces. 

Our current auction scheduled for September 14 and 15 2019 is loaded with affordable original artwork for your looking, learning and decorating efforts. Look around your current residence. If you have plenty of wall space, we recommend filling it up Salon Style for an always exciting, engaging and original look. The Salon Style originated with art exhibitions in the 19thc. Where paintings were hung floor to ceiling.  

There are some great scenes in the recent film Mr. Turner, about the life of artist J.M.W.Turner which recreate the Royal Academy Exhibition. A must see, if you have not seen it. 

Modern Art looks wonderful hung Salon style, but why not mix styles together? It’s the privilege we have today that those in the 19thc. did not.  

When hanging a wall, focus on like colors or color families and consider the shapes and sizes of the frames. It can be a fun puzzle to create on the wall as you fit the pieces together. You can do this over time, and please do not worry about nail holes in the wall. They can always be filled.  

The first day of our auction includes multitudes of artworks with estimate ranges beginning between $100-$500. Some examples below and our auction online for many more!!!!