Darin Lawson Inducted to IAA Hall of Fame

INDIANAPOLIS, IN- Second generation auctioneer Darin Lawson, of Carmel, IN, became one of the youngest members to be inducted into the Indiana Auctioneers Association’s (IAA) Hall of Fame at the group’s convention held November 4-6 at the Holiday Inn conference center in Columbus, IN. Only 60 auctioneers have been inducted into the IAA Hall of Fame since 1971.

Lawson, 46, was encouraged by his father, Tom Lawson, 2001 IAA Hall of Fame recipient, to attend auction school in 1989, attending Missouri Auction School in Kansas City, and joining the family business in 1990. He won the Indiana Bid-Calling Championship in 1994, earned the CAI (Certified, Auctioneers Institute) designation in 1996, and served 8 years on the IAA board of directors, including as President in 2003. Prior to attending auction school, Lawson received his B.S. in Journalism from Ball State University in 1987.

He has recently completed a purchase of Wickliff & Associates Auctioneers, Inc., in Carmel, a regional auction company specializing in fine art, decorative arts, fine jewelry and antiques. Lawson is also a licensed real estate broker and sells select real property via the auction method of marketing.

Lawson and his wife, Angela, reside in Carmel, and she is Auction Administrator at Wickliff. Darin was instrumental in organizing fundraisers for Riley Hospital Foundation during his tenure on the IAA board, helping raise tens of thousands of dollars for the cause. He now consults with philanthropic organizations and conducts several black-tie auction events each year.

The Indiana Auctioneers Association is one of the country’s largest professional organizations of auctioneers, providing education, promoting ethical behavior among auctioneers, seeking favorable change within the profession and advancing the auction marketing concept as a dynamic and effective means of marketing assets. More information about the IAA can be found at www.indianaauctioneers.org, or by calling 317-859-8990.

Ownership Change at Wickliff

CARMEL, IN- An ownership buy-out which began four years ago has culminated in a seamless transfer of all shares of stock in Wickliff & Associates Auctioneers, Inc., to Darin Lawson, now President and Owner of the company.

Sue Wickliff, who started the company in 1989, remains on the board as Chair Emeritus, and beginning in 2011, will be a full-time employee, continuing in the daily operations of the enterprise. Darin’s wife Angie, is Auction Administrator- managing inventory, consulting with clients and supporting seller settlement.

“Angie and I are pleased to continue the tradition of service for which Wickliff Auctioneers has become known,” said Lawson. “The words in our company logo, ‘expertise, quality and integrity’, aren’t just a slogan for us, and we’re mindful of the foundation that was laid for this company based on that mantra. We are charged to continue to operate with the same attention to detail and quality upon which the company’s reputation has been created.”

Sue Wickliff has continued in certain roles with the company during the transition, including client consultations and working at the auctions. So, for many of Wickliff Auctioneers’ customers and clients, it’s been business as usual. “I am enthusiastic to return to the auction business in a full-time position,” said Sue Wickliff, “and continue to utilize the expertise I have gained in a vocation that has been my passion for many years.”

Lawson acknowledges that the current economic situation, combined with changing buyer tastes and demographics, has created some challenges along the way, but says that the company is meeting those challenges head-on. “This company has always been a leader in the auction community, and we’re always thinking of effective, new ideas and changes that will meet the needs of both buyers and sellers.” Lawson points to Wickliff’s recent first-ever, Friday evening auction of fine art, stating that the response was very positive, resulting in a large crowd at the gallery, including many new faces, and a record number of bidders-per-lot online registrations. “We’ll still have auctions on Saturdays, of course, but for certain specialty auctions, attracting as many buyers as possible and reducing their options for alternate activities are motivation for changing the Saturday model on occasion.”
The company’s international reputation is now more established, based on their increasing sales of items to bidders worldwide over the last two years. Lawson states that antiques and art have been sold to buyers in such places as Russia, England, Spain, Taiwan, China, Canada, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

“We’re seeing more aggressive international bidding on certain items, particularly if the item is indigenous to that area,” stating that a recent painting by an Italian artist had bidding from two, competing Italian bidders, one of whom eventually won the bid.

Previously of Columbus, IN, Lawson has been working with Wickliff since 1996, and relocated to Carmel in 2004 to assume the position of Vice President and Senior Auctioneer. Lawson has a B.S. in Journalism from Ball State University, and is a second-generation auctioneer who has been licensed since 1989. Prior to his full-time position at Wickliff, he conducted auctions for individuals, small businesses and Fortune 500 companies across the United States and in Europe. In addition to operations at Wickliff, Lawson consults with charitable organizations, and conducts live auctions for high-profile fundraising events, primarily in Central Indiana.

Wickliff Auctioneers specializes in the sale of fine art and fine jewelry at auction, conducting catalogued sessions which include decorative arts, period and period-style antiques, fine contemporary furnishings and more at their Carmel, IN, gallery, located 12232 Hancock Street. Auction items can be previewed online well in advance of the auction events, and the entire catalogue is broadcast live via www.liveauctioneers.com for remote, online bidding. More information about upcoming auctions and information on buying or selling at auction, is available by calling 317-844-7253 or by visiting www.wickliffauctioneers.com

NO SIGN OF RECESSION AT WICKLIFF’S JANUARY AUCTION

A new Indiana art auction record was set January 19, 2010, at Wickliff Auctioneers’ Fine Art and Estates auction when a Claude Curry Bohm painting entitled “Sunday in Vermont”, a featured painting in an estate collection of Bohm’s work, realized $29,000. (prices listed do not include Buyer’s Premium)

The auction featured the estate property of Elenita Bauer, who, along with her husband, Dr. Tom Bauer, was personal friends of Curry Bohm and Bohm’s wife, Lillian, sometimes accompanying the artist on painting trips to New England. In addition, the Bauers were patrons of the arts in Indiana, active in the Indianapolis Ballet Society and the Hoosier Salon, and as charter members of the Brown County (IN) historical society.

Darin Lawson, CAI, Auctioneer, stated “This group is, without question, the finest, and most complete, single owner collection of Curry Bohm’s work ever offered.” The collection included a variety of Bohm subject matter and styles, ranging from a Bohm oil painting shown in the first exhibition of the Brown County Art Gallery in 1926, to a rare bromide photograph from 1922 with multiple exhibition tags from the 1920’s, to an emotive pastel from 1935 entitled “Man’s Inhumanity to Man”, depicting a depression era homeless shelter.

The Bohm collection also featured a New England scene entitled “Off for the Mackeral Run”, which set a new record for a Bohm harbor depiction, doubling high estimate at a sale price of $12,000.

The auction also included decorative arts, Americana and antique furnishings, and the quality of the items available drew considerable interest from across the globe. The Wickliff site, including the online, photo catalogue received over 50,000 hits in just the week preceding the auction, with over 500 live and online bidders including registrants from China, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Lebanon, several countries in Europe, and all of North America.

“This auction solidified our opinion over the last few years that, even in times of a struggling economy, quality items, offered in a pure setting and properly exposed, will continue to find a strong market,” said Lawson. The auction also featured the estate collection of William Shirley, an Indianapolis resident with ties to the Shirley Brothers central Indiana mortuaries. “The Shirley estate and the Bauer estate blended so well together, as the primary items collected in both estates were 19th century American, so the focus of the auction, combined with quality items in all categories of the merchandise, received lots of attention and pre-auction ‘chatter’.”

Other highlights of the sale included a turn-of-the-last-century Regina Corona Model 35 disc changer music box. The disc-changing mechanism was inoperable, but the Regina exceeded high estimate by $500, selling for a hammer price of $8,500. A unique and early 19th century sugar chest, with a later, painted red finish, drew considerable pre-auction speculation regarding the origins, had phone, live and online bidders and sold for $4,000.

The Bauer collection also included Native American decorative arts, acquired during a time of residence in the American southwest. Featured was an 11”, paint-decorated Zuni bowl, which sold at $1,300.

The first category in the Saturday auction included over 100 lots of fine and antique jewelry, including the Bauer collection of Victorian carved stone cameos. The top-selling lot was an oval stone cameo brooch selling with a coordinating, cupid-motif stone bracelet, at $800.

There were still bargains to be had, however, in early American pattern glass, Victorian furnishings and oriental rugs. A large collection of Seneca Loop pattern glass sold at low-estimate values, which were, according to Lawson, admittedly conservative. A late 19th century, nice quality Chippendale style dining room group including table, eight chairs, buffet and two linen chests with a pre-sale estimate of $2,500-$4000, sold to a happy buyer for $1,750. A 12' x 22' 1920's/1930's Persian Sarouk oriental rug was indicative of the current market for traditional-style rugs, selling just above low estimate at $3,500.

“Mid-level, ‘brown’ antique furniture is still struggling to find buyers,” Lawson said. “I don’t believe we’ll see a change in demand for mid-level Victorian and American antique furniture for several years, and the only factor that may spur an increase in demand will be a change in decorating styles for the next generation of buyers, which, I believe, is a low-percentage possibility.”

Wickliff Auctioneers began in 1991, and their auction showroom is located in Carmel, IN. The company conducts catalogued auctions from its location approximately 10 times per year. More information is available by calling 317-844-7253, or by visiting www.wickliffauctioneers.com.