Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Riviere Necklace from the Estate of Helene Rabb Cahners-Kaplan. Estimate: $75,000-100,000 (Grogan & Company)

BOSTON, MA: Grogan & Company is poised to present a diverse and exciting selection of Jewelry, Fine Art, Decorative Arts, and Oriental Carpets in their March 20th auction. Highlighted by fine jewelry from the estate of Stop and Shop supermarket heiress Helene Rabb Cahners-Kaplan, the auction will feature over 300 lots from various private collections and estates. 

Jewelry kicks off the sale at noon on Sunday, featuring approximately 180 lots of jewels and time pieces by Tiffany and Company, Van Cleef and Arpels, Cartier, Rolex, Patek Phillipe, and others. Over 30 of the lots offered come from the estate of Helene Rabb Cahners-Kaplan, daughter of Sidney Rabb, founder of the Massachusetts-based Stop and Shop Companies. Mrs. Cahners-Kaplan served as a Director of the Boston Edison Company, Overseer of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Vice-Chairman of the WGBH Educational Foundation, as well as Trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Beth Israel Hospital, the Boston Museum of Science, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, Northeastern University, and McLean Hospital. Mrs. Cahners-Kaplan was a dedicated patron of the arts and together with her first husband, industrial publisher Norman Cahners, amassed an impressive collection of Modern sculpture, prints, and American works of art.

The highlight of Mrs. Cahners-Kaplan’s jewelry offerings is a Van Cleef and Arpels Diamond Rivière Necklace. Set in platinum and totaling 63 carats, the impressive necklace features 40 diamonds, the largest weighing approx. 4.25 cts. The necklace bears a $75,000-100,000 estimate.

Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Riviere Necklace from the Estate of Helene Rabb Cahners-Kaplan. Estimate: $75,000-100,000 (Grogan & Company)

The March Auction also includes a remarkable Gold and Enamel Cigarette Case by Alfred Langlois depicting an ornate peacock design. Langlois was among Van Cleef & Arpels most talented boîtiers, or box makers in the 1930s. An almost identical cigarette case by Van Cleef & Arpels was exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in 2011 in conjunction with the publication of the book Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels. The cigarette case is being offered with an estimate of $6,000-9,000.

18 K Gold and Enamel Cigarette Case, Alfred Langlois, ca. 1930. Estimate: $6,000-8,000 (Grogan & Company).

Fine Art follows jewelry, highlighted by a Marsden Hartley (American, 1877-1943) landscape. The 36 x 30 in. oil on canvas was purchased at New York’s Downtown Gallery in the 1950s by Lee Ault, publisher of “Art in America” magazine. It is imaged in the records of the Downtown Gallery, recorded in the Archives of American Art, and bears a $100,000-200,000 estimate. 

Marsden Hartley (American, 1877-1943), Landscape, oil on canvas, 30 1/2 x 34 1/4 in. Estimate: $100,000-200,000 (Grogan & Company).

Additional American painting highlights include an Emile Albert Gruppe (America, 1896-1978) oil on canvas titled Rockport Float. The 25 x 30 in. painting is estimated to bring between $8,000-12,000. Three John Whorf (America, 1903-1959) watercolors round out the American art portion of the sale. The first, titled Fishing Swift Waters, depicts a fly fisherman casting in a rocky, rushing stream. It bears a $4,000-6,000 estimate. The second, titled Old Barges, Bridgetown, Barbados, depicts a colorful boating scene. And finally the third, titled The Vine, depicts a beautifully-rendered nude within a lush green veranda. Both bear a $3,000-5,000 estimate. The Gruppe and three Whorfs come from a private Boston collector. 

he auction offers a nice selection of Modern art including two Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) ceramics. The Edition Picasso Madoura ceramics come from a Massachusetts family and include Personnage avec mains sur les hanches, estimated at $15,000-25,000 and Woman Lamp, estimated at $10,000-15,000. Other Modern art offerings include a Fernand Leger watercolor, Marc Chagall color lithograph, and a Pablo Picasso aquatint. 

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), Woman Lamp, Estimate: $10,000-15,000 and Personnage avec les mains sur les hanches, Estimate: $15,000-25,000 (Grogan & Company)