August 25 – 26, Lambiel Museum
–– from Laura Kussman for Orcas Center —
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Leo Lambiel may well be the greatest San Juan Islands art collector in history. After almost 50 years of collecting, the Leo Lambiel Art Sale on August 25 – 26 2018, held at Lambiel’s waterfront home on the east shore of Eastsound, will be the first ever, one-time sale to the public of his personal, unique collection of fine and decorative, original art. Featuring over 260 artists, most of whom presently or at one point lived in the San Juan Islands over the last 100 years, the sale boasts thousands of pieces including rugs, paintings, cartoons, quilts, blown glass, etchings, sculptures, antique clocks and books, furniture and ceramics. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will benefit Orcas Center, our Orcas Island community theatre, dance, and arts center.
THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF LEO LAMBIEL
Lambiel began his collection in the late 1960s and has lived with some of San Juan Island artists’ greatest masterpieces, including 179 works by a woman the Library of Congress, National Academy of Design and Seattle MET named “San Juan’s most famous artist,” Helen Loggie, who came to Orcas from Bellingham in the 1930s. She made etchings of natural surroundings, including her most famous “The King Goblin,” a drawing of an iconic juniper tree on the island which hangs in Lambiel’s bedroom. Perhaps Lambiel also houses the largest collection of original ceramics & paintings by James Hardman, another Orcas Islander who spun his own bold, colorful aesthetic on some of the same trees and landscapes etched by Loggie in previous years.
Lambiel’s collection presents an impressive lineup of creations by artists who may have moved away, passed away, or given up their medium as the years pass, including ceramic artists Leslie Liddle and her grandmother who kept the tiles in Lambiel’s kitchen one-of-a-kind for decades. Paintings, maps, woodcarvings, blown glass, unique chess boards, books, rugs, and furniture pepper Lambiel’s collection, proving his eclectic taste in art is not limited to simply, say, oil paintings, of which he has several by renowned artists Xiaogang Zhu and Alfred Currier, all for sale. The two-day sale at the Lambiel home an museum provides future collectors with the opportunity to appreciate the art as he has over the past half-century.
“This house is hard to explain. You have to experience it,” said Lambiel.
Saturday, August 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, August 26 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be the final opportunity to witness his brilliant collection in its entirety, and conceivably take a piece of history home with you. Tours of the museum closed indefinitely on August 5.
With the immense support of Corinne Davis, Lambiel has hired Orcas Center to manage the sale. NO PARKING WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE MUSEUM! Please park at Orcas Center.
Transportation via shuttle service will be provided from there as there is NO parking onsite. CASH OR CHECK FOR ALL SALES HIGHLY PREFERRED DUE TO A LACK OF SERVICE AT THE LAMBIEL ESTATE.
