Orcas Auction: 130 Years of Stories and History

— by Margie Doyle —

It’s August and an historic auction of island and international artifacts, called “An Orcas Family — 130 Years and Counting” will wow event guests at Youngren’s Barn at the end of the month.

Auction assistant Millie Vetterlein writes, “Art objects from around the globe, furniture made on the Moran estate, paintings and valuable prints of local interest are among the items to be auctioned on August 30^th at the Youngren Barn.

“Each item comes from a collection assembled over 130 years that celebrates the rich history of four island families, the Ferrises, Donohues, Gibsons and Koltuns. Among them were sea captains, explorers, artists, furniture makers, and homesteaders. Their lives and their memorabilia are a reminder of Orcas’ magnetic pull.”

More than 100 items for the silent and live auctions will be offered by local auctioneers, Lance Evans, Kathy Youngren and Abby Rueb. A team headed by Keith Whitaker and Marian O’Brien are reaching out to antiques, art, and furniture appraisers to determine the value for the items.

The August 30 auction will take place in at the Youngren’s Barn from 5 to 10 p.m. Tickets, at $50 each, may be purchased by check made payable to Jan Koltun, Box 77, Eastsound 98245.

There will be a wine and a buffet supper for up to 200 guests, prepared by Christina Orchid from 5 to 7 p.m. and a silent auction from 5 to 9:30 p.m. The live bidding auction runs from 7 to 9 p.m.

All proceeds will be placed with the Orcas Island Community Foundation to seed a Donor Advised Fund for eventual senior housing, when there is consensus on what form that should take. Tax deductions may be taken for purchased items if they are donated to a nonprofit such as the Orcas Island Historical Museum.

Along with ship compasses, island-made furniture, ceramic and other dishware, Birds of Washington and other antiquarian books, some of the highly-valued items are paintings by George Thomson of Ontario, Canada, gold watches inscribed by Robert Moran and the Moran Brothers, given to Jan Koltun’s grandfather, a Japanese cloisonne vase, and the Inuit bear sculpture, from the Canadian Arctic.

Cloisonne brass vase

The high-quality gold watches were gifts to Jan’s grandfather James Gibson. One was made by the famous Patek Phillippe watch company and bears an inscribed message from Robert Moran, Seattle Mayor and founder of the Moran Mansion and donor of the Moran State Park on Orcas Island.

The other gold watch is from the American Waltham Watch Company and is inscribed by the Moran Company. It has a porcelain face with green jewels and rose pattern decoration.

As well as artwork from island artists Jean Benson, Fred Darville, Joe Floren, Andrea Hendrick, Mary Hatten, Jan Wells and Michelle deLong, and other work by Ruth Slavet, Lew Crutcher and Japanese woodblock artists, the paintings of George Thomson, relative of the Gibson family, will be on the auction block.

George Thomson painting

After successful careers as a business college instructor and an attorney, George Thomson became inspired to paint at the age of 38. He moved to New York to study at the Art Students League, supporting himself with part time jobs as a book keeper and cashier. He then moved to New Haven to study under the artists of the Lyme Colony. The New Haven Union newspaper of July, 1908 states, “Mr. Thomson’s work is characterized by a fidelity to truth as revealed in nature and shows at first glance strength and simplicity of design and refinement of color.”

George Thomson painting from collection

George Thomson sketched out of doors and completed works in the dining room which had the best north window. He placed works in the attic to dry. At the end of each morning’s painting session, the very orderly George cleaned his palette and moved all his supplies into a small room behind the dining room.

His annual works were shown in Toronto and Owen Sound and came to hang not only in great galleries but in a multitude of homes and public buildings. Two of his paintings sold recently for several thousand dollars each. (from AngieLittlefield.com:

Thomson’s wife, Jean Telford, was the younger sister of Mary Telford Gibson, who moved from Ontario to Seattle and then Orcas Island.

“Bear,” is a massive stone bear that Jan’s father rescued from a yacht up in Princess Louisa about 55 years ago. Jan says, “The folks were rafted in 2,000-foot deep water on a Fourth of July weekend. Bear’s previous owners were drunk and squabbling and the husband was about to throw him into the water, so Dad bought it from him for $100. I call him Charlston.”

Inuit Bear

Charlston the Bear is being appraised by the Houston North Gallery, of Nova Scotia, devoted to showing, selling and educating the public on Inuit art and culture. The gallery was originally owned and operated by John and Alma Houston, a son and mother team who spent much of their lives in the Arctic. In 1948 John’s father, James Houston, traveled to the Arctic on a drawing adventure to capture the lives and culture of the people there. Upon realizing their talent for carving, he chose to stay and help them bring world recognition to what would become internationally known as Inuit art. What started as an experiment soon turned into the main form of economic support for the Inuit, as their nomadic lives came to an end in the 1950s. (from www.houston-north-gallery.ns.ca

Koltun and her team have also been in contact with various organizations in Indonesia and the South Pacific that have expressed an interest in “repatriating” artifacts from their areas. Jan is hopeful that purchasers will then donate the items to these organizations, and likewise, that generous Orcas Islanders will donate historic island items to the Orcas Island Historical Museum.

Millie Vetterlein says, “Jan Koltun has generously offered the community this wonderful opportunity to own a piece of the island’s past and to be a part of a groundbreaking new venture that allows the pull of Orcas to be life-long.”

The auction event on August 30 will be historic in itself, to rank among events such as the acquisition and transfer of Madrona Point in 1990 and the turnover of Turtleback Mountain in 2006.

The catalog will be available for mailing by August 15.

To purchase your tickets, sent a check for $50 per person by Aug. 15 made payable to
Jan Koltun, PO Box 77, Eastsound 98245 and put “Historic Auction” in the memo line.