shopping with bruce
STORY BY Rachel C. Murphy
PHOTOS BY Susan McSpadden
Reproduced here with permission from
KC Home Design
The words "art auction" often conjure images of Sotheby's or Christie's, But when Bruce Hartman, director of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art on the campus of Johnson County Community College, hears the phrase he thinks of Lone Jack, Missouri. And so, off we go to the Dirk Soulis Auction House, a nondescript building filled with treasures for the art hunter.
Lone Jack may seem to be an unlikely place for an art auction to take place, but Hartman says that part of the thrill in finding fine pieces is in the pursuit. "If you're going to collect art, whether it's personal or for a public collection, you have to go where the art is," he says. "That means you have to get out there and be a little more adventuresome (at) estate sales or galleries or art auctions."
Today, Hartman is looking for a bargain. It is a well known fact that the Soulis auction attracts call-ins from around the world. This particular installment features a large selection of Native American art, ranging from weavings (C) to lithographs and paintings.
The headliner at today's auction is renowned artist Walter Bailey, a long-time Kansas City Art Institute instructor. While the Nerman Museum typically features contemporary art, the staff strives to make sure 30 percent of the collection
includes Kansas City artists, so Hartman is on a Bailey hunt. In addition, he is shopping for his personal collection and for gifts.
Walking the floor of the auction during the preview period, Hartman is joined by Ken Smith, one of the museum's coordinators. The two scour the walls for pieces that are worth much more than a second glance. Each of them lifts edges (D), examines paper and thread quality and looks for the characteristics that make a piece of art a "sleeper," a piece worth much more than it appears, Hartman's booming laugh echoes through the space as he hunts for hidden treasures.
As the auction begins, however, all frivolity is dispensed with, and the room settles down to business (A). The competition starts fiercely; the winning bid for the first painting tops $20,000. Cell phones start ringing, and fairly soon, prices are skyrocketing. Hartman bids on a few pieces only to drop out when the price hits his ceiling. "There goes another Christmas present,"And yet, throughout the afternoon, Hartman stands his ground on the three pieces most important to him (B). He found a Margret
Lewis lithograph that was produced in the 1930s or 1940s; it will make a fine gift for a friend interested in that era. For the museum, he snags a real treasure: a Walter Bailey wood block print based on the murals he painted in downtown Kansas City's Municipal Hall, "I was really excited by the Bailey," Hartman later recalled. "Not only do I want to represent Kansas City artists, I want great examples of their work, This piece is so closely tied to some of his most famous work in Kansas City; it's fantastic."
For his own collection, Hartman engages in a bidding war with an out-of-towner, a man who approached him earlier to ask about the authenticity of the piece in question: a painting by Doc Tate Nevaquaya depicting a Comanche playing the flute. Doc Tate himself was a renowned flutist who played at Carnegie Hall. The inclusion of a flute player in the piece makes it even more valuable to Hartman. "You should have bid higher!" he tells his competition—with only a touch of gloating—after he has secured the piece.
Sometimes the thrill is in the art and in the win, Congratulations, Bruce!
