Clars Auctions’ Senior Vice President, Deric Torres, was honored to participate in a truly special celebration hosted by The Menlo Park Historical Association and The Museum of American Heritage — the 125th Wedding Anniversary of Helen Hopkins & Augustus Taylor on Saturday September 13th.
Held in the historic mansion where their grand 1900 society wedding originally took place. Helen Hopkins — grandniece of railroad magnate Mark Hopkins — was part of a legacy that helped shape California’s Gilded Age.
Deric providing valuation expertise to guests on their items.
Deric providing valuation expertise to guests on their items.
Deric providing valuation expertise to guests on their items.
Guests enjoyed Antiques Roadshow-style valuation sessions with Deric Torres, who brought his decades of expertise in furniture and decorative arts to this elegant and educational afternoon. History, heritage, and heirlooms — all under one roof.
Clars will offer a strong lineup of fine traditional pieces and feature esteemed makers like William Moorcroft and Augustin Heyne in our July 18th Auction.
Furniture & Decorative Arts
Highlights
Artist Spotlight: Raimonds Staprans
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary Art
This May 15th, Clars is excited to offer an outstanding oil on canvas painting by Latvian American artist Raimonds Staprans (b. 1926) in our Modern + Contemporary Fine Art Auction.
Upon moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s, Staprans was quickly adopted by the art community in his chosen home and remains one of the foremost representatives of post-war California painting nationwide. Staprans is known for his large swaths of bright color, often playing with natural light and the perception of shape and texture, and his understated treatment of subject.
Raimonds Staprans (American/Latvian, b. 1926), Blue Boats, 1990, oil on canvas, 44″ x 48″. Sold: $187,500
Current trends in the market show that the highly saturated paintings that Staprans perfected in the late 1980s and 1990s are increasingly popular with collectors. Clars has been successful with several of these pieces in the last five years, including a 1987 oil on canvas titled, Still Life with Red Piano Stool, which sold well over its estimate at $147,600 in 2020, and Blue Boats, a 1990 painting that sold for $187,500 in 2022. Still life depictions of food are among the most recognizable of Staprans’ motifs. Staprans’ highest record price was realized in 2023 for a 1995 still life depicting oranges, done in a vibrantly warm palette that is strikingly similar to the piece up for auction at Clars this May.
Raimonds Staprans (American, b. 1926), Still Life with Red Piano Stool, 1987, oil on canvas, 64″ x 42″. Sold: $147,600
The scene takes place in a space unmarked by identifying objects, furnished with a stool-like drop-leaf table. The table’s edges and sides are traced with prismatic colors in a manner that leaves the viewer questioning if the color is painted on the posts and boards, or if the unseen sun is playing tricks on our eyes. The top of the table appears to be doused with direct sunlight, bright white and glowing against the orange background. To the viewer’s right, the sides of the table’s legs are cast in a sunset glow the same tangerine shade as the background. Sitting atop the table is a peeled apple, its sides angled and smoothed with a paring knife. The fruit casts a half-moon shadow that points toward the open leaf of the table and is echoed on each stretcher below.
To be offered May 15th: Raimonds Staprans (American/Latvian, b. 1926), The Mid Summer Drop-Leaf Table, 1993, oil on canvas, 48″ x 42″. Sold: $189,000
This work, titled The Mid Summer Drop-Leaf Table (estimated at $60,000–$90,000), showcases Staprans’ skill in using color to portray light, perspective, and a specific atmosphere. The tones chosen in this composition evoke the warmth of the summer months, and the slant of the dazzling sunshine on the table and fruit leave us wondering if this is the end of a late-evening garden party, where a table full of fresh fruit has dwindled to a lone apple and the leaves are dropped one by one. This outstanding example of Staprans’ later work is a celebration of color and light, an ode to atmosphere, and will be a significant addition to any collection.
Raimonds Staprans (American/Latvian, b. 1926), The Black Boat, 1963, oil on canvas, 22″ x 25″. Sold: $18,900
This February, we are thrilled to showcase an exceptional array of artwork from masters like Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol, and much more.
Highlights
Modern + Contemporary Art
Modern + Contemporary Art Consignments Now Invited
Consignments
Modern + Contemporary Art
Consignments are now invited for our upcoming Modern + Contemporary Fine Art Auction on Thursday, May 15th.
Schedule an appointment today with one of our Fine Art Specialists. The deadline to consign is Friday, April 25th. To schedule your appointment, call (510) 428-0100 x 130 OR email [email protected].
To be offered May 15th: Raimonds Staprans (American/Latvian, b. 1926), The Mid Summer Drop-Leaf Table, 1993, oil on canvas, 48″ x 42″. Estimate: $60,000–$90,000
In our upcoming February 20th auction, an exciting work by Andy Warhol blends art with political activism.
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary Art
Pawn Stars featuring Clars’ Deric Torres
Furniture & Decorative Arts
Stories & News
Big moment on Pawn Stars! Our very own appraiser, Deric Torres from Clars Auctions, helped a customer who thought she had a rare Oscar Bach Hall telephone table worth a fortune. After closely inspecting the piece, Deric revealed it wasn’t authentic — here’s why:
…because the casting was not well done, not marked, and not executed in the same manner one would expect on a well-documented authentic example. Below is information about the history of the firm, and Bach’s bitter break up with business partner Bertram Segar — who is infamous for making poor reproductions of designs created by Bach.
Deric Torres, Clars Senior Vice President and Furniture specialist, on Pawn Stars (Airdate 4/2/25).
A reproduction of an Oscar Bach Hall telephone table which was evaluated by Deric on the show (Airdate 4/2/25).
Oscar Bach was a technically adept, stylistically diverse, and commercially successful master metalsmith. Born in Germany, he studied at both the Royal Academy and Imperial Academy of Art in Berlin before becoming the artistic director of a metallic arts firm in Hamburg. In 1911, Bach won the Grand Prix at the World’s Exposition in Turin for a bed he designed for Kaiser Wilhelm II. That same year, he moved to the United State to establish a business with his brother Max in New York City.
The brothers quickly opened a metal design studio and flourished throughout the 1920s and 30s, with Oscar creating beautiful objects for wealthy New York clientele and custom architectural elements for country estates. He designed a multitude of domestic objects and grand commissions, including the lobby panel for the Empire State Building and monumental plaques for Radio City Music Hall — created in collaboration with Hildreth Meiere. Bach was awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor in 1926 from the Architectural League of New York for a set of bronze doors he designed for their club room. Not just a talented designer, but a savvy marketer and self-promoter, Bach enjoyed a long and successful career. His work can be found in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Minneapolis Museum of Art, The Wolfsonian, and Reynolda House.
Deric explains to the customer that the casting on her piece is not crisp as it would be on an Oscar Bach piece (Airdate 4/2/25).
In April of 1923, upon an acrimonious split with a third business partner named Bertram Segar, the Bach brothers moved to a new studio at 511 West 42nd Street and renamed their firm Oscar B. Bach and Associated Craftsmen. Bertram Segar remained in the West 17th Street studio, renaming it The Segar Studios. There, Bertram Segar continued to reproduce many of Bach’s original designs and variations on Bach’s designs, either selling them in an unmarked state or stamping them with his SEGAR STUDIOS mark.
Desperate to set the record straight, Bach put full page advertisements in multiple issues of Arts & Decorations stating that, “All products designed and executed in my studios bear my facsimile signature, and no other articles are genuine.” And, “It is distressing to find other things — ugly things that I could not create, put before the public with the insinuation that they are my work. It is not only distressing but a fraud on the public.”
In Deric’s opinion, although the table is an inauthentic Bach reproduction, it is still a showcase piece that would be worth around a retail price of $2,000 (Airdate 4/2/25).
This is why the conclusion of it not being authentic was determined. Watch the full story unfold and how Deric gently let the buyer down easy (we hope). Catch the episode and let us know what you think!
Clars Auctions’ Senior Vice President, Deric Torres, was honored to participate in a celebration hosted by The Menlo Park Historical Association and The Museum of American Heritage.
Event
Furniture & Decorative Arts
Fine Art Consignments Now Invited!
Consignments
Fine Art
If you have ever thought about selling at auction, NOW is the time. Incredible prices are being achieved on fine paintings, prints and sculpture.
Clars’ Fine Art Specialists will be in the following areas to offer private and confidential in home appointments: San Francisco | Carmel | Palo Alto | San Rafael | Healdsburg
To schedule your appointment, call (510) 428-0100 x 123 OR email [email protected]
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Plat à la Tête de Faune, 1948, partially engraved white earthenware ceramic plate with colored engobe and glaze, 12.5″ x 15.5″ x 2″. Sold: $75,600
Sam Francis (American, 1923–1994), Untitled, 1963, gouache on paper, 13.75″ x 12.5″. Sold: $28,980
William Keith (American, 1838–1911), Into the Yosemite Valley, circa 1895–1906, oil on canvas, 36″ x 60″. Sold: $113,400 – 5th highest auction record for the artist
This March 21st at Clars Auctions, we will be featuring a curated assortment of artwork from a wide range of periods and locales.
Fine Art
Highlights
Important Fine Art Consignments Invited!
Consignments
Fine Art
Clars is now seeking Important Fine Art consignments for our upcoming Fall auction. Schedule your private and confidential appointment now to speak to one of our Fine Art Specialists to determine your item’s auction potential.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Visage Masque, 1947, ceramic plate, 12.5″ x 15″ (31.75 x 38.1 cm). Sold: $68,750
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Wood-Owl (Hibou des bois), 1968, partially glazed white earthenware pitcher painted in colors, 11.5″h x 8.5″w x 6″d. Sold: $27,500
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Vase deux anses hautes, 1952, white earthenware ceramic vase (partially engraved), 15″h x 9.5″w x 6.75″d. Sold: $35,215
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), Plat à la Tête de Faune, 1948, partially engraved white earthenware ceramic plate with colored engobe and glaze, 12.5″ x 15.5″ x 2″. Sold: $75,600
Clars Auctions’ Senior Vice President, Deric Torres, was honored to participate in a celebration hosted by The Menlo Park Historical Association and The Museum of American Heritage.
Our Modern Design section of the April 18th auction will feature a sculptural Alvar Aalto bentwood tea trolley.
Design
Stories & News
Valuation Day | Lamorinda Village Seniors
Event
Stories & News
Clars Auction Gallery is proud to support the Lamorinda Village | Senior Living through this Fundraiser. To learn more about this event, please email: [email protected].
Clars Auctions’ Senior Vice President, Deric Torres, was honored to participate in a celebration hosted by The Menlo Park Historical Association and The Museum of American Heritage.
Our Modern Design section of the April 18th auction will feature a sculptural Alvar Aalto bentwood tea trolley.
Design
Stories & News
Fundraiser | San Francisco Historical Society
Event
Stories & News
Clars Auction Gallery is proud to support this upcoming Fundraiser for the San Francisco Historical Society. All proceeds from this fundraiser will be directed to the preservation and upkeep of the San Francisco Historical Society. To learn more about this event, please visit: https://www.sfhistory.org/event/antique-appraisal-day-with-clars/.
Clars Auctions’ Senior Vice President, Deric Torres, was honored to participate in a celebration hosted by The Menlo Park Historical Association and The Museum of American Heritage.
