Press Release

Downtown Los Angeles, CA, USA, March 13, 2024 -- Andrew Jones Auctions’ first Design for the Home and Garden auction of the year, on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26th and 27th, will feature the outstanding collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett of San Francisco – over 550 lots of Asian works of art, fine American, English and European silver, porcelain and glass, English and Continental antiques, books, decorative and fine art, fine jewelry and luxury items.

Fritz and Lucy Jewett were married on July 11, 1953 and spent the first decade of their marriage in Idaho. They enjoyed art and travel and had a special affinity for Hawaii. Their time in Hawaii, as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles, introduced them to Asian art dealers and fostered their initial focus on collecting.

“I first visited the Jewetts in 2008 and remember being bowled over by the breadth and refinement of their collection,” said Andrew Jones, the president of Andrew Jones Auctions. “It is an honor to have been selected to present the property of this amazing couple to a new generation of connoisseurs.” The auction will be conducted online as well as in the Andrew Jones Auctions gallery located at 2221 South Main Street in downtown Los Angeles.

In 1965, the Jewetts moved to San Francisco, where their interest in Asian art continued, to include works by regional artists as well as Impressionist paintings. Lucy had a great flair for entertaining and engaging in the cultural life of San Francisco. She joined the Board of the San Francisco Ballet in 1969, a position she would hold for the rest of her life.

In 1986, the Jewetts completed their home at the end of Broadway in San Francisco's Pacific Heights. They worked with designer Mark Hampton to create a home that became a San Francisco landmark for grand parties. They found treasures to grace the home in London, Paris and the United States, and amassed an academic reference library that will also be on offer.

As partners, Lucy and Fritz had their best days with sailboats. From early summers sailing on Cape Cod, to four decades of Americas Cup leadership, they became sailing royalty. They are the only husband and wife to both be inducted into the Americas Cup Hall of Fame. In 1974, Fritz and two friends each kicked in $25,000 to buy the 12-meter Intrepid and they almost won in their first attempt. In following events they would win the Cup, lose the Cup and win it back.

The Jewett collection includes maritime works, highlighted by an America’s Cup racing scene of Puritan and the Genesta, 1886 (est. $10,000-$15,000). Also included are renderings of the Intrepid. Two works by Ralph Eugene Cahoon, Jr. – Municipal Railway (Foggy Day in Frisco) (est. $15,000-$25,000) and Bacchanalia on the Waterfront (est. $10,000-$15,000) – capture the artist’s whimsy. The Jewetts enjoyed pieces by Edward Borein, Peter Ellenshaw, Emile Norman, Charles Marion Russell, including Smoking Up, 1959 (est. $3,000-$5,000), Olaf Wieghorst, and Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1954 (est. $15,000-$25,000).

The varied offerings of Asian works of art are led by an unusual polychrome glazed naturalistic bowl (est. $3,000-$5,000). The Jewetts collected an array of blue and white porcelain, including an impressive bowl on stand (est. $1,000-$1,500) and a beautifully decorated five-toed dragon and phoenix vase (est. $500-$700), as well as a large selection of Chinese Export porcelain. Japanese works include four exquisite lacquered inro and netsuke groups (each est. $800-$1,200), as well as other lacquer wares and porcelains.

To learn more about Andrew Jones Auctions and the Design for the Home and Garden auction on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26th and 27th, visit www.AndrewJonesAuctions.com or call 213-748-8008.

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