The Noble Maritime Collection will celebrate the 35th anniversary of its annual art auction fundraiser on Friday, November 10
The Noble Maritime Collection will present the 35th Annual John A. Noble Art Auction as an in-person and virtual event on Friday, November 10 at the museum and via LiveAuctioneers.
Each year since 1988, local artists and collectors have donated fine art to be auctioned as a fundraiser for the Noble Maritime Collection, a non-profit organization.
All of the proceeds benefit the museum and yield up to 20% of its annual budget, making possible exhibitions and free and low-cost public programs including arts education for children of all ages and abilities.
This year’s lots include original lithographs by the museum’s namesake, John A. Noble (1913-1983); several watercolor and oil paintings; work in a variety of mediums by noted local contemporary artists; and vintage prints by world-renowned artists including John James Audubon (1785-1851) and Marc Chagall (1887-1985).
“There is no other event on Staten Island quite like the Noble Art Auction,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., Executive Director of the Noble Maritime Collection. “It is, perhaps, the borough’s biggest annual art sale and one of its most successful non-profit fundraisers. It is also great fun and ever-growing in popularity, for which we are most grateful, particularly as we celebrate this 35th anniversary.”
Scott Van Campen, Executive Director of MakerSpace NYC, will return for his fifth year as auctioneer.
The in-person event will begin at 6:30 PM with an open bar and a light supper. Catering by Framboise, led by Chef Frank Puleo, will once again cater the event with French cuisine.
The auction will start at 8 PM and will be simultaneously streamed on LiveAuctioneers.com for virtual bidding.
Major underwriting for the event has been generously provided by Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Company, Mrs. Jean Roland, and Flagstar Bank, as well as other business and community supporters that can be viewed at noblemaritime.org/auction.
Tickets are $125 each, or $90 for museum members. Reservations are required. Those who wish to participate on LiveAuctioneers can make a free account to register for the Noble auction. LiveAuctioneers registrations will be accepted through the day of the event on November 10.
To purchase tickets, view the art, and learn about live online bidding via LiveAuctioneers, visit noblemaritime.org/auction.
The auction art is currently being exhibited in two of the museum’s first floor galleries and features 44 lots, including antique and contemporary paintings, prints, photographs, jewelry, and unique objects.
There are three lithographs by Noble, including Topsail Sheet Hook from 1970, which has never before been offered in the museum’s auction. The others are Watchman of the Dead from 1959 and Wood, Mud and Water from 1982.
There are also rare prints by celebrated historic artists. Included are Snowy Owls by John James Audubon (1785-1851), published as a deeptone offset print in 1948; À l'Ombre des Revês from Chagall Peintures 1942-1945 by Marc Chagall (1887-1985); and The Marilyn Monroe Trip, VIII a serigraph in Day-Glo ink from 1968 by Bert Stern (1929-2013).
The limited edition print New York: The Abner Coburn Leaving the East River for San Francisco in 1886 by the museum’s late trustee and noted maritime artist John Stobart (1929-2023) will likely spark lots of competitive bidding.
Additionally there is a selection of fine art prints by Albert Maennchen (1873-1935), Charles Frederick Mielatz (1864-1919), Robert Volpe (1942-2006), and Herman Zaage (1927-2008).
Contemporary artists who have contributed prints to the auction include Staten Islanders Irma Bohórquez-Geisler, Bill Murphy, Colman Rutkin, Annamarie Trombetta, and Sarah Yuster, as well as William Behnken, Colleen Pike Blair, Miriam Quen Cheikin, Martha Ives, Robert Kipniss, and Ellen Nathan Singer. The selection includes lithographs, engravings, etchings, giclees, linocuts, mezzotints, and woodcuts.
A painting of note amongst the lots is Richmond County Courthouse—the center of Historic Richmond Town—by Noble’s friend and famed restaurateur Jack Demyan (1923-1999). It is a fine example of his quaint, folk art depictions of Staten Island landmarks, and the composition includes a pheasant, one of borough’s quirky fauna of days gone by.
Additionally available are paintings in various mediums by Brian Comforti, Ann Vaughan Leggett (1941-2014), and an unknown early 20th-century artist of the Scottish school, as well as Staten Islanders Halina McCormack, James McCormack (1938-2011), Anthony Roselli, and Grace Volpe.
The auction includes photographs by Emil Cadoo (1926-2002), Bo Kass (1938-2020), and Robert Parent (1923-1987), as well as Staten Islanders Bill Higgins, Jahtiek Long, Michael McWeeney, and Lance Reha.
Local artist and auction committee member Elle Finn donated an embossed pen-and-ink floral still life drawing, and a 19th-century example of the medium is also included with a striking pen-and-ink drawing of a tiger on a scroll by an unknown artist in the style of Japanese artist Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795).
Some especially unique objects in the Noble Art Auction include Sage Reynolds’s Bright Horizon, a tapestry made out of hand-painted paper; a composite box by The Reverend John Walsted (1932-2014) that features an egg tempera replica of Portrait of a Young Woman by Nicholaes Pickenoy; a sterling silver palmette pin by Valerie Quinlan (1937-2021) based on a design from Pompeii; a reproduction of the cover of an Italian Line promotional booklet from the museum’s now-closed Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea exhibition; and a coat and hat rack made by master craftsman Roger Sherry from vintage porcelain door knobs repurposed from his 1902 farmhouse.
Winning bidders through LiveAuctioneers can pick up their purchases at the museum beginning on Tuesday, November 14.
Shipping is available directly through LiveAuctioneers or through the museum’s partner, Postal Connections, 1365 N. Railroad Avenue, Staten Island. Interested bidders can get a quote before bidding and arrange for shipping by contacting them at (718) 980-2000 or postalconnections210@yahoo.com.
The Noble Maritime Collection is located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York.
The museum is open to the public Thursday through Sunday from 12 until 5 PM, during which time the auction preview exhibition can be viewed. Admission to the museum during regular gallery hours is by donation.
To learn more about this unique maritime museum, or for more information about the auction, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.