What Night Does the Easter Bunny Come
What else did you expect? Last night at Sotheby's the auctioneer Oliver Barker, in black tie, opened the bidding on 43 lots from Bunny Mellon's art collection and sold all 43—a perfect sales record that auction insiders refer to as a "white glove" sale. This considerable distinction is a sure indication of the quality of the works, but plenty of sales chock full of exceptional art fail to sell out. It usually takes something more—an aura of glamour and mystery—to reach perfection. This year, a collection of John Lennon's memorabilia pulled off the feat. So did an assortment of heirlooms that once belonged to the Romanovs. In Hong Kong, a collection of contemporary Chinese art that once belonged to the owner of Weight Watchers, Guy Ullens, achieved the same level of flawlessness. It's rare company—the Tsars, the superstars, and the studiously thin. Bunny Mellon would have fit right in.
What could collectors and budding arbiters of taste learn from last night?
1. Buy what you like.
Courtesy Sotheby's
Bunny Mellon was not afraid to decide on an artist she liked and stick with the choice. Last night, the loyalty paid off, as plenty of Rothkos and Diebenkorns, two of her favorites, sold at the high end or well over top estimates.
2. Convince those who love you that masterpieces make a good gift.
In 1965, Mellon's husband, the banker Paul, gave her a Georges Seurat drawing for Christmas. Last night, the 12 by 9 inch work in black conté crayon sold for $5.3 million.
3. Get artists to like you.
Fred R. Conrad/New York Times/Redux
Bunny not only collected widely and in depth, she became friends with many of the artists she collected. So much so that they didn't think anything of it when she asked for the occasional small favor. The bronze coffee table with a cute lizard and bird drinking from a water bowl (specially made for her place in Antigua and painted white at her request by Diego Giacometti himself) sold for nearly five times its high estimate at $1.7 million.
4. Sometimes it's okay to insist.
Courtesy Sotheby's
Bunny liked blue. She wasn't obsessive, but she did like it a lot, and she managed to get it in everywhere, blue furniture and blue plates and blue napkins and blue ribbons on her designer gowns. Sometimes people who didn't necessarily really work in blue—like Lucio Fontana—could be persuaded, for her, yes, to maybe do a little something bluish, maybe even Yves Klein bluish. The above painting sold for twice its high estimate, at $965,000.
5. Recognize what you truly love no matter what the circumstance.
Diana Walker/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Bunny and her first husband Stacy Lloyd were neighbors of the Mr and Mrs Paul and Mary Mellon in Virginia. When Mary died, in 1946, Bunny's concern for the widower soon blossomed into a life together.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
What Night Does the Easter Bunny Come
Source: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/news/a2526/5-things-bunny-mellon-got-right-last-night/