Beautiful black ebony Bosendorfer grand piano hammers for $53,125 at Ripley Auctions, January 16th

INDIANAPOLIS - Jan. 25, 2021 - PRLog -- Original oil on canvas paintings by Lois Dodd (American, b. 1927), Mercedes Carles Matter (American, 1913-2001) and Gillian Ayres (UK, 1930-2018) sold for a combined $150,000, and a beautiful black ebony Bosendorfer grand piano played a sweet tune for $53,125 in a live and online auction held Jan. 16 by Ripley Auctions, based in Indianapolis.

The auction was headlined by items from the estate of British conductor and composer Raymond Leppard (1927-2019), a Grammy-winning recording artist and scholarly revivalist of 16^th and 17^th century baroque operas. Also offered were fine items pulled from prominent estates and collections – 325 lots in all.

The large, 66 inch by 48 inch painting by Lois Dodd was untitled (Can't See the End Table for the Trees) and depicts just that: an end table amongst a group of trees. It had a Fischbach, N.Y. gallery label verso and sold for a robust $71,875. Dodd is primarily a painter of New England landscapes, never people. She's fascinated by shapes. Much of her work has geometric emphasis.

The colorful, untitled still life by Mercedes Carles Matter was painted in 1962 and acquired directly from the artist by the consignor, a private collector in Indianapolis. The 43 inch by 49 ½ inch work (image area, less frame) climbed to $65,624. Matter is best known as a painter of abstract still lifes. She lived in East Hampton, N.Y., and founded the Studio School in 1964.

The equally colorful Angel Heart, painted in 1992 and signed by Gillian Ayres, measured 48 inches by 36 inches (image area, less frame) and knocked down for $12,500. Ayres was one of the most significant abstract painters to emerge in London during the postwar period. She was a disciple and vanguard of the taschist style, a distinct, non-geometric abstract style.

The Bosendorfer grand piano (model 225, serial #37277), featured a black ebony finish and an upholstered Standard Kimball black bench. It wasn't available for gallery viewing and shipped directly from the residence of the consigner to the buyer. Bosendorfer is one of the oldest fine piano makers. It was founded in 1828 in Austria by Ignaz Bosendorfer.

Ripley Auctions has two auctions in February:  a Guinness World Records Museum auction, presented by Ripley's Remarkable Rarities, ending on Friday, February 12^th, at 5 pm Eastern; and a Vintage Jewelry auction on Friday, February 22^nd, at 3 pm Eastern. Both will be held online and in the Ripley Auctions gallery. To learn more visit www.RipleyAuctions.com.