By Eric C. Rodenberg CLEVELAND, Ohio – Michael Wolf has been in the fray a long time. After his graduation from Ohio State University, his earliest ventures in the art business took him from a small antique shop in Cleveland to his first auction house in California. In 1979, he returned to Ohio and founded Wolf’s Auction House in Cleveland. With his excellent eye for quality in fine and decorative arts, Wolf’s grew into an internationally respected firm. He set numerous world record prices for art and antiques. In 1998, Wolf successfully converted Wolf’s into the first live online auction in the industry, in the form of the award-winning ewolfs.com. “We were doing $10 million in sales a year, sometimes more,” Wolf says. “We just kept getting bigger and bigger.” In 2003, Wolf left Cleveland and established a gallery in New York City. After a few years, he was lured back into the auction business in Dallas. As Senior Development Director of Fine and Decorative Art for Heritage Auction Galleries, he traveled the globe and greatly contributed to the success of one of the largest auction houses in the world. In 2009, Wolf returned to Cleveland where he, and Bridget McWilliams, agreed to manage the new gallery for the Wolf Family, LLC on Larchmere Boulevard in Cleveland’s historic art and design district. Under their direction, the business has leaned more to the “gallery” side of the business for the past 10 years, rather than conducting auctions. Now, at 71 years old, Wolf says his business has become too big. “I want to get small fast,” he says. “It’s like the tail wagging the dog. The business just not as much fun anymore. I’m all about paring down. And I’m going to make it fast ... it will like pulling off the bandages quickly.” To pare down his inventory, Wolf and a few select consignors, will be conducting an online-only auction of 600 lots – “but constantly growing,” Wolf says – of arts and antiques. The auction, occurring now, will close on Oct. 7. The auction has many highlights, including two stellar pieces from the estate of Cleveland Industrialist John Long Severance (1863-1936). In 1929, he gave the city of Cleveland $1.5 million to build a concert hall for the Cleveland Orchestra. He later raised the gift to $2.5 million in memory of his late wife. At his death, Severance left a collection of fine arts and antiques valued at more than $3 million. Some of that has descended from the family to Wolfs and will be offered in the auction. One of those highlights will be a spectacular sculpted fountain, portraying two boys fighting over a fish. The fountain, cast in lead in 1913 at a Paris foundry is thought to be a direct purchase by Severance from the artist Janet Scudder (American, 1869-1940). Scudder, an outspoken feminist and suffragette, worked in Paris until 1939, returning to New York at the outset of World War II. Upon her return, Scudder would become one of the most prolific and successful sculptors making fountains and garden sculptures - often portraying children, pixies and fairies at play. Lead sculptures were often preferred in large scale work, rather than bronze, because it was stronger and eliminated the need for structural support. This became a perfect medium for Scudder, whose playful subjects often relied on the perception of precarious balance and a feeling of lightness. Lead has been used in garden sculptures and fountains since the end of the 17th century in France. The fountain is expected to sell for $60,000-$90,000. “I want a clean slate,” Wolf says. “We’re starting these bids so low, that they’re only a fraction of the value.” Contact: (216) 721-6945 www.wolfsgallery.com |