The Chicago Art Auction

ABOUT THE CHICAGO ART AUCTION The Chicago Art Auction is the Midwest’s first auction house to specialize in only Fine Art. The Chicago Art Auction’s Winter Fine Art sale is slated for December 9th, 2007. Encompassing more than a million dollars worth of 19th and 20th Centuries vintage paintings, sculptures, prints and works on paper by listed and well-known national and international artists, the collection features a number of rare and important works of art. The Chicago Art Auction presents smaller sales; every work of art in our auction receives the special attention that will allow it to find its next owner delivering personalized service to all our clients. The Chicago Art Auction guarantees that all offered works are authentic and as listed and we are aggressively positioned to compete with other domestic auction houses in the US$5,000 to 500,000 art market. Our Chicago location is strategic in attracting an upscale clientele from our downtown and suburban communities and our Midwest location and central time zone makes participation much easier for our clients on the coasts. THE CHICAGO ART AUCTION – PRIVACY STATEMENT Catering to Art Dealers and Collectors The Chicago Art Auction believes that the price realized at auction is a private and confidential matter between us and our buyers and sellers. Although our Fine Art Auctions are open to the pubic The Chicago Art Auction does NOT report any prices realized to on-line price databases believing that the right to reproduce an image after the work of art and the price paid for it are the privilege and ownership of the buyer. The Chicago Art Auction removes our on-line catalog within 24 hours of our Fine Art Auction. The Chicago Art Auction is happy to share upon request the price realized for any work of art as long as there are no conflicts with our buyers or sellers who request anonymity in regards to the price paid for a work of art from our auction. Our official post auction prices realized list is only available to those who purchase our auction catalog and provide a mailing address. THE CHICAGO ART AUCTION – INTEGRITY STATEMENT The Chicago Art Auction believes it is important for our clients to have as much information as possible in order to make an informed Fine Art purchase. To achieve that end our on-line catalog depicts far more digital photographs than you will find anywhere else, sometimes up to 10 photographs for select works of art. Bid with confidence knowing that the work of art you desire will look the same in real life as it does on our on-line catalog. The Chicago Art Auction does not believe in hidden or extra fees to our consignors, we believe in performance. We do NOT charge any fees for photography, reserve and buy in fees or cataloging and illustration fees. Our consignor’s receive the full hammer price less the seller’s commission, that’s it. In the unlikely event a consignor’s work of art fails to sell, we will return your work of art to you at your cost. Our clients may rest assured that the exact condition for every work of art in our sale will be conveyed accurately. Every work of art is examined outside of the frame. Every work on paper is examined and photographed as a loose sheet. The Chicago Art Auction believes that a thorough description of every work of art is our obligation including accurate dimensions, provenance and exhibition histories when applicable. THE CHICAGO ART AUCTION – MARKETING & ADVERTISING The Chicago Art Auction direct mails to over 20,000 clients for each sale with full-page advertisements in “Art & Antiques” and “American Art Review”. Since The Chicago Art Auction offers around 100 works of art per sale, our dedicated staff identifies specific collectors for each work of art offered. With experienced phone bidders to accommodate our European and Asian bidders and our eBay Live Auction technology, anyone in the world with a phone or internet connection can participate in our Fine Art auctions. THE CHICAGO ART AUCTION – OWNER – THOMAS DE DONCKER Thomas De Doncker, the owner and founder of The Chicago Art Auction is a distinguished expert and trusted authority in 19th & 20th Century’s American & European Paintings. With two Master’s degrees in History of Art (University of Kansas, 1991) and Art Connoisseurship (Sotheby’s, NYC, Works of Art Program, 1992) and a 30 credit certificate from New York University in Thomas De Doncker“Personal Property Appraisal”(1992), Mr. De Doncker is eminently and uniquely qualified to bring an entirely new level of expertise and service to our consignors and buyers alike. Many will remember Mr. De Doncker from his dozens of appearances on “Home & Garden TV” series Appraise It!, The Appraisal Fair, and At the Auction where he rendered professional services as a Fine Art Appraiser. Mr. De Doncker has rendered over 60 million dollars in written appraisals with over 5 million towards charitable contributions. In good standing with the IRS, Mr. De Doncker’s charitable contribution efforts culminated in December, 2002 when a rare and extremely important early American Painting was placed into the permanent galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. A reception was held in the museum galleries to acknowledge the benefactor and Mr. De Doncker presented a gallery lecture. It is Mr. De Doncker’s belief that as an art dealer the highest and most noble transaction is when a work of art is acquired by a museum or public fine art institution. To this end Mr. De Doncker through his Chicago gallery – Thomas De Doncker Fine Arts – has placed several important works of art into American Art Museums. Thomas De DonckerMr. De Doncker lectured on request of the Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco (April 2000) during the traveling exhibition on the renowned American Modernist Georgia O’Keeffe “The Poetry of Vision”. The museum stated that it was one of their highest attended special events. Mr. De Doncker was hired by the City and County of San Francisco as an art professional to provide expert testimony on their behalf and he worked with various California police agencies and the FBI to recover looted works of art and identify modern art forgers. Under the auspices of the then third largest auction house in North America, “Butterfield & Butterfield” in San Francisco, Mr. De Doncker was promoted from a Fine Art Specialist to the Director of Fine Art for the Midwest Division where his efforts in part witnessed the largest one-day sale in the company’s history in the “California and American Paintings Department”. While under the auspices of the renowned Art Dealer, Gerald Peters, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Mr. De Doncker refined his knowledge of and admiration for the great artist’s of the American West, Taos Founders and Santa Fe Art Colony. Mr. De Doncker also operated a small gallery and art appraisal business while in Los Angeles cementing his connection to the vast array of California history, artists and art colonies. The owner of The Chicago Art Auction believes that it is not enough to simply hold a Thomas De Donckercursory knowledge about any one particular artist but rather to fully understand the artist and their creations one must seek out the places they worked and painted. To achieve this end Mr. De Doncker fulfilled a personal lifetime goal of solo hiking the John Muir Trail. During his studies and work in New York City, Mr. De Doncker enjoyed the great privilege of working under the tutelage of Thomas Yost performing a variety of Fine Art Conservation. Buyers, consignors, dealers, collectors and institutions will appreciate working with an art expert who understands through hands on experience the true nature of existing painting conditions and is able to convey that information in an accurate and timely manner. Mr. De Doncker completed 51 of 60 doctoral credits under the esteemed American Art scholar, Dr. William Gerdts, at the C.U.N.Y – Graduate Center while completing drawing and painting courses at Parsons School of Fine Arts. Mr. De Doncker received the distinguished privilege of working under the eminently qualified Dr. Charles Eldredge while at the University of Kansas. As part of his course requirements towards receiving his Maters of Arts degree, Mr. De Doncker was a selected co-author of “American Paintings in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art” collection catalog. Mr. De Doncker upon completion of his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, interned at the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s “Prints & Drawings Department”. An avid collector and admirer of works on paper, Mr. De Doncker is committed to accurately conveying the nature of all works on paper for offer in The Chicago Art Auction. The founding of The Chicago Art Auction by Mr. De Doncker represents the culmination of over 20 years of experience and training in the Fine Arts. Our inaugural sale on June 10th, 2007 is expressly created to benefit collectors interesting in selling, buying or viewing many fine and rare works of art. Please call or email Mr. De Doncker directly to discuss your Fine Art needs.