NEW YORK (AP) - Oprah Winfrey is on board to host the annual gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute next spring, supporting an exhibit that focuses on the style of American women.

"American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity" will trace the archetypes of dress and femininity from 1890 to 1940, and then examine how they affect how women are perceived today.

"The ideal of the American woman evolved from a dependence on European, Old World ideas of elegance into an independent New World sensibility that reflected freedoms still associated with American women today," said curator Andrew Bolton in a statement.

"The show will look at fashion's role in defining how American women have been represented historically, and how fashion costumes women into archetypes that still persist in varying degrees of relevance."

Display items will come from the new Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Met, and there will be several multimedia elements in the exhibit. Featured designers include Charles Frederick Worth, Charles James, and Valentina and Madeleine Vionnet.

The May 3 gala is the Costume Institute's main fundraising event, and it will be co-chaired by Patrick Robinson, creative director at Gap, and, as has become tradition,

Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour. Kate Moss and Justin Timberlake hosted the event last year when the exhibit was about supermodels.

The exhibit is slated to run May 5-Aug. 15.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-ES-09-08-09 1357EDT

Romero was the author of the respected reference book Warman's Jewelry, which identifies and values 18th- through 20th-century jewelry. Her profound knowledge of the subject, combined with her personal passion for antique and collectible costume jewelry, made her a popular addition to the antiques lecture circuit. Romero traveled throughout the United States addressing students, collectors and fellow appraisers at institutions including Hofstra University, the Jewelry Design Department at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, and the Northwest Gemological Institute in Bellevue, Washington. She also taught the Antique and Period Jewelry for the Gemology department at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, Calif.

She attained a national profile as an appraiser for WGBH/PBS Television's Antiques Roadshow. In her on-camera appearances, Christie never failed to wear favorite pieces from her own jewelry collection - always with her own unique flair.

Romero was also an instructor of jewelry history for the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers (NAJA) and Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. She held memberships in the professional organizations the American Society of Jewelry Historians, the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts (ASJRA), the Society of Jewellery Historians (U.K.), the NAJA, and the Costume Society of America.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

ROANOKE, Va. - Following a national search, the Taubman Museum of Art has appointed David Mickenberg to the post of executive director. Mickenberg succeeds Georganne C. Bingham, who retired from the museum in May.

Mickenberg comes to the museum from the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College, where he served as the Ruth Gordon Shapiro '37 Director from 2001-2008 and as a senior lecturer in Wellesley College's Department of Art.

"David Mickenberg has the background, experience and vision needed to lead the museum," said Paul Frantz, M.D., president of the Taubman Museum of Art's Board of Trustees. "We are certain that he will successfully build upon the foundation created in this first year of the museum's operation and move the museum forward as we work toward our goal of establishing the Taubman as a leading art museum on a national level."

The search committee was impressed by Mickenberg's record of accomplishments at other institutions. "David brings a caliber of curatorial experience and knowledge, fundraising prowess, management capabilities, and relationships within the museum and art communities that will be instrumental in shaping the direction and future of the museum," said John B. Williamson, III, co-chair of the search committee. "He is skilled at running complex institutions, and he knows what it will take to operate and manage all of the varied components that comprise the Taubman."

At the Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Mickenberg successfully completed a $10.5 million endowment campaign for programming and acquisitions, oversaw the thematic reinstallation of the collections, and significantly increased the attendance at the museum by faculty, staff, students, and the public. Under his leadership, the museum created a curatorial exchange program with the Louvre, began an international fellowship and internship program in the arts for Wellesley students, organized exhibitions that circulated nationally, and significantly enhanced and expanded the museum's collections.

"I am extremely honored to accept the position of executive director and join the Taubman at such an exciting time," said Mickenberg. "I believe that the potential for tremendous success exists, and I look forward to leading the institution as it continues to grow and develop into a premier museum and center for the arts."

Prior to his tenure at the Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Mickenberg served as the director of the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University and was a lecturer in the university's Department of Art History from 1986-2001. While there he successfully led the capital and endowment campaign, built an award winning new museum that opened in 2000, curated numerous exhibitions that circulated to museums throughout the country, and created several on-line projects that explored how new media could be used to extend and compliment the museum experience. From 1981-1986, he served as the executive director of the Oklahoma Museum of Art.

Mickenberg's teaching experience, in addition to the above, includes serving as an adjunct professor at the École du Louvre, as faculty for several programs at the Getty Leadership Institute, and as adjunct faculty for the School of Art Institute of Chicago.

Mickenberg is an active scholar with expertise in the areas of modern painting and printmaking and 12th-century French architecture. He has authored and/or edited numerous articles, books, essays, and exhibition catalogues, and he has curated exhibitions that have been exhibited throughout this country and abroad, the last of which, The Last Expression: Art and Auschwitz, ended its tour at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 2002.

He has lectured extensively on subjects including international exhibitions, architecture, prints and drawings, public art, and art and academia.

Mickenberg received his B.A. in art history with honors from Colgate University and his M.A. in art history from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. He also has completed coursework toward his Ph.D. at Indiana University.

Mickenberg will be responsible for an annual operating budget of $4 million and a full-time staff of 26, and he will have overall responsibility for the museum's collections and exhibitions, education and public programs, advancement, and operations.

About the Taubman Museum of Art

The Taubman Museum of Art showcases American art, modern and contemporary art, design and decorative arts, folk and visionary art, and works on paper, and features a changing array of both national and international exhibitions. Tours, gallery talks, musical performances, films, family days, classes, camps, and special events are part of the museum's diverse offerings.

Designed by architect Randall Stout, the Taubman Museum of Art is a dramatic composition of flowing, layered forms in steel, patinated zinc and high-performance glass paying sculptural tribute to the famous Blue Ridge Mountains that provide Roanoke's backdrop and shape the region's spirit.

The 81,000 square foot structure houses four special exhibitions and five permanent collection galleries, a dramatic atrium, education spaces including a studio classroom and a library, a flexible theatre/programming space, a multi-purpose auditorium, an interactive gallery and art center for children, and a works on paper study room.

Norah's offers simple yet upscale dining in a sleekly contemporary café setting. The Museum Store showcases an exciting assortment of museum and exhibition-related merchandise, regional fine crafts, and unique and imaginative gifts from around the world.

The Taubman Museum of Art is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $10.50 for adults, $9 for seniors, $8.50 for students, $4.50 for children ages 4-12, and free for children 3 and under.

For more information, visit www.taubmanmuseum.org or call 540-342-5760.

Appraiser and auctioneer Martin Willis has created a podcast exploring the world of antiques, collecting, and auctions. The podcast is available to listen to free of charge online at antiqueauctionpodcast.com. Willis is joined by his colleague, Phyllis Kao, a silver specialist who is also involved in the auction business.

In each episode Willis and Kao discuss a different topic related to the antique and auction world, and often interview key players in the business. In previous episodes, guests have included auctioneer/appraiser John McInnis and LiveAuctioneers' Senior VP of Sales, Scott Miles.

During his guest appearance, Miles related the history of LiveAuctioneers.com and how it grew to become the Internet-live-bidding company of choice to more than 800 auction houses worldwide. Miles also discussed the industry-leading technological advancements that have come about at LiveAuctioneers in the past few years.

Willis and Kao welcome inquiries and suggestions sent via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .



SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum announced Tuesday it has hired Robert A. Kret as its new director.

Kret, currently the director of the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tenn., will begin the job Oct. 26. He succeeds George King, who left last month after 11 years to head the New York-based American Federation of Arts.

The Santa Fe museum, a top tourist attraction, has the largest collection of O'Keeffe's paintings, drawings and sculptures in the world, nearly 1,200 pieces.

It also has a research center for the study of American modernism and owns O'Keeffe's former homes and studios in the northern New Mexico village of Abiquiu and in a rural area nearby.

"From my perspective, it seemed like a nice combination of the visual arts as well as ... historic preservation" Kret said in an interview.

Kret, 48, has been director since 2000 at the Hunter Museum, where he oversaw an expansion and renovation project that was part of a broader, public-private waterfront redevelopment effort.

Kret said the museum on a riverside bluff had been "disconnected, physically and sort of intellectually" from the community.

The expansion roughly doubled the number of visitors, the size of the staff and the museum's operating budget, and the museum's education programs have made it a more integral part of the community, he said.

Before the Hunter Museum, Kret was director at the Miami University Art Museum in Oxford, Ohio, and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wis.

He also was executive director of the Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson, Mich., and director of museums for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities in Boston.

O'Keeffe, one of the foremost American painters, lived for almost 40 years in northern New Mexico. She died in Santa Fe in 1986 at the age of 98.

The museum is dedicated to perpetuating her legacy, and museum officials recently got into a flap with Georgia O'Keeffe Elementary School in Albuquerque over what the museum viewed as possible trademark infringement because of the use of the artist's name on school-related items.

The differences were resolved and the museum plans to work with the school on art projects for students.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-08-26-09 0400EDT

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A cardboard lid is lifted and four archivists peer inside. A postal box from Paris. Who sent it? A piece of crusty wedding cake. Whose? Another box: $17,000 in cash. Yet another: An autographed picture of a naked Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

These are some of the many items workers have uncovered as they sift through 610 cardboard boxes, filing cabinets and even a shipping container filled with what would be considered junk by most people but has a whole different meaning since it was collected by pop artist Andy Warhol.

The archivists, hired with $600,000 from the Andy Warhol Foundation and several other smaller grants, have six years to comb through everything from taxi cab receipts to fan mail, meticulously cataloguing, photographing and, when possible, researching the often bizarre items before entering them into a database.

"He really didn't like organization and there would be several boxes going at a time," says Matt Wrbican, who is overseeing the cumbersome project.

Now the spouses of the 19 heads of states and representatives of the European Union coming to Pittsburgh in September for the Group of 20 global economic summit may also get a peek at the papers, stamps, photos, gifts and nicknacks that made up Warhol's life.

"I would like to give them a Warhol experience," says Thomas Sokolowski, director of The Andy Warhol Museum, who will host the spouses for lunch during the Sept. 24-25 summit.

The idea, he says, is to give them white smocks and gloves, just as the archivists wear, and a box to sift through.

The White House hasn't decided whether to go for it, he says, and if it does, any boxes would be vetted in advance to ensure nothing crops up that is offensive - such as porn - or truly disgusting - like the oozing, decades-old soup cans Warhol often dumped inside.

Warhol was never one to throw things away, Wrbican says. In fact, when he died in 1987 at 58, his four-story Manhattan townhouse was packed with stuff: shopping bags filled with antiques, clothes, books and other artifacts from his daily expeditions, boxes, piles of furniture and even a drawer of gems worth $1 million.

"The only rooms that looked like a normal house were the bathroom and the kitchen," says Wrbican, who has been going through the artist's things since 1991.

However, there was no rhyme or reason to the collecting until about 1973. That's when a Warhol associate suggested the artist carry a box around to dump things inside. Each "time capsule" was filled, taped shut, dated and sent to a New Jersey storage facility.

In the 18 months since the project began, the archivists have opened 177 boxes - each with an average of 400 items, some with as many as 1,200. Today, Wrbican said, just one of the boxes is insured for the amount of money the time capsule collection was appraised at a few years after Warhol's death.

In September, the archivists will begin blogging about the "Object of the Week." What could appear: Wrbican's favorite, a mummified human foot belonging to an ancient Egyptian; a Ramones' 45 record signed by the punk rock band's lead singer Joey Ramone, found by cataloger Marie Elia; or the orange nutbread cataloger Liz Scott discovered - sent to Warhol by one of his Pittsburgh-area cousins with a note telling him to enjoy it with a cup of coffee.

"So he just threw it in a box," Scott laughs, twisting her face to describe the tangy smell that wafted out of the box.

So, you're wondering, whose wedding cake was it? Caroline Kennedy's - married in 1986 to Edwin Schlossberg. And where is it? The trash.

And how did Warhol come to possess a naked poster of Jackie O signed, "For Andy, with enduring affection, Jackie Montauk"?

As it happens, says Wrbican - who along with other researchers authenticated the signature through handwriting comparisons - Onassis was a frequent visitor to Warhol's Montauk, New York, beachfront estate.

So, after her second husband, Aristotle Socrates Onassis, got a paparazzi to take pictures of her skinny-dipping and it landed in the hands of Larry Flynt, who turned it into a poster for his porn magazine, Hustler, Jackie O sent a copy - likely as a joke - to Warhol, Wrbican said.

"I really doubted it was her signature at first," he says. "But it really matches her writing."

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-CS-08-19-09 1045EDT

NEW YORK - American antiques and art expert Leigh Keno has established a full-service auction business at his gallery at 127 E. 69th St. in New York City. Known as Keno Auctions, the company will conduct its inaugural sale featuring furniture, folk art, paintings and decorative arts (including ceramics, silver and jewelry) sometime in May of 2010.

Leigh Keno's lifelong immersion in the world of Americana has made him one of the foremost experts on antiques. He holds a B.A. in the History of Art from Hamilton College, was a graduate fellow at Historic Deerfield, and a visiting scholar at Winterthur Museum in Delaware. Leigh worked as the Director of the American Furniture Department at Doyle Galleries in New York City, as well as Vice President of Appraisals and specialist in the American Furniture Department at Christie's in New York.

In 1986, Leigh left Christie's and opened his Manhattan gallery, specializing in 18th- to 20th-century American furniture and decorative arts. During the past 25 plus years, he has helped build some of the top institutional and private collections of American furniture and decorative arts in the world.

Together with his twin brother Leslie, Leigh Keno lectures extensively throughout the country and appears regularly on the popular PBS television show Antiques Roadshow. In 2000, the Keno brothers co-authored Hidden Treasures: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture, which recounts some of their most memorable furniture discoveries. Beginning in 2001, they wrote monthly furniture and design columns for House Beautiful and This Old House magazines, and are currently editors-at-large for Traditional Home magazine, for which they write a monthly column.

In 2005, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush at The White House.

Leigh enjoys spending time with his family, fly-fishing and racing vintage racecars. He serves as a judge for the preservation class each year at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, an annual automotive charitable event in Pebble Beach, California. He also participates in the Monterey Historic Automobile Races conducted at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the week-long events at Pebble Beach.

Leigh exhibits at two antique shows annually: The Winter Antiques Show in New York City which occurs in January and the Philadelphia Antiques Show in April.

Consignments are now being accepted for the May 2010 auction. Contact Leigh or staff members Jack O'Brien or Sarah Sperling at 212-734-2381. Visit the new company's Web site at www.kenoauctions.com.

A specialist in post-World War II American art and popular culture, Bacigalupi previously served as executive director of the San Diego Museum of Art (1999 to 2003); director and chief curator of the Blaffer Gallery, the art museum of the University of Houston (1995 to 1999); and the Brown Curator of Contemporary Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art (1993 to 1995).

"After a comprehensive national search, we have found the ideal person for the job in Don," said Walton. "The depth of his experience in managing a museum, his scholarship in American art, and his commitment to arts education are a perfect fit with our mission and will ensure the success of Crystal Bridges."

"The opportunity to lead and help launch a major new art museum is thrilling," said Bacigalupi. "Crystal Bridges is distinguished among museums worldwide in offering an outstanding collection of American art in a beautiful natural setting. For me, the museum's vision for offering meaningful learning experiences and a dynamic mix of programming serving local, regional and national audiences is especially important."

While in Toledo, Dr. Bacigalupi oversaw the development and opening in 2006 of the critically acclaimed Glass Pavilion designed by the Japanese firm Sanaa, This elegant building, an expansion to the historic museum facility, was named "Best Museum" design in the world by Travel and Leisure magazine in 2007.

John Wilmerding, art historian and board member of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, said, "Don is one of finest leaders in the museum field today. With his strong background in arts education and his deep management experience he is uniquely suited to lead Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art."

Bacigalupi received his master's and doctorate degrees in art history from the University of Texas at Austin, and his bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Houston, where he was honored as valedictorian. He was a 1996 fellow at the Museum Management Institute of the J. Paul Getty Trust and the American Federation of Arts at the University of California, Berkeley.

Before moving into museum management Bacigalupi began his career teaching art history at the University of Texas at Austin. He has served on the boards of organizations such as the Association of Art Museum Directors and currently serves on the board of the national committee of the International Council of Museums. He has also been active in the American Association of Museums.

Bacigalupi has contributed to publications and exhibition catalogs addressing a wide range of topics, including contemporary art, and he has lectured throughout the United States. He has won numerous honors, including most recently 2007 and 2008 Institutional Excellence Awards from the Ohio Museums Association, a 2007 Newsmakers Award from the Northwest Ohio Black Media Association and a 2007 "Design 100" designation from Time magazine.

Former director Bob Workman announced in January he'd resign from the post because he did not want to stay on after the museum opened.

The museum is to open in 2011.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - Les Paul, who invented the solid-body electric guitar later played by a legion of rock 'n' roll greats and collected by enthusiasts worldwide, died Thursday of complications from pneumonia. He was 94.

According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side.

As an inventor, Paul also helped bring about the rise of rock 'n' roll with multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the tracks in the finished recording.

The use of electric guitar gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1940s, and then exploded with the advent of rock in the mid-'50s.

"Suddenly, it was recognized that power was a very important part of music," Paul once said. "To have the dynamics, to have the way of expressing yourself beyond the normal limits of an unamplified instrument, was incredible. Today a guy wouldn't think of singing a song on a stage without a microphone and a sound system."

"Without Les Paul, we would not have rock and roll as we know it," said Terry Stewart, president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

"His inventions created the infrastructure for the music and his playing style will ripple through generations. He was truly an architect of rock and roll."

A tinkerer and musician since childhood, he experimented with guitar amplification for years before coming up in 1941 with what he called "The Log," a four-by-four piece of wood strung with steel strings.

"I went into a nightclub and played it. Of course, everybody had me labeled as a nut." He later put the wooden wings onto the body to give it a tradition guitar shape.

In 1952, Gibson Guitars began production on the Les Paul guitar.

Pete Townshend of the Who, Steve Howe of Yes, jazz great Al DiMeola and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page all made the Gibson Les Paul their trademark six-string. Over the years, the Les Paul series has become one of the most widely used guitars in the music industry.

Guitarist Joe Satriani called Paul "the original guitar hero," saying: "Les Paul set a standard for musicianship and innovation that remains unsurpassed."

In the late 1960s, Paul retired from music to concentrate on his inventions. His interest in country music was rekindled in the mid-'70s and he teamed up with Chet Atkins for two albums. The duo were awarded a Grammy for best country instrumental performance of 1976 for their Chester and Lester album.

With Mary Ford, his wife from 1949 to 1962, he earned 36 gold records for hits including Vaya Con Dios and How High the Moon, which both hit No. 1. Many of their songs used overdubbing techniques that Paul had helped develop.

"I could take my Mary and make her three, six, nine, 12, as many voices as I wished," he recalled. "This is quite an asset."

The overdubbing technique was highly influential on later recording artists such as the Carpenters.
Released in 2005, Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played was his first album of new material since those 1970s recordings. Among those playing with him: Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Richie Sambora.

"They're not only my friends, but they're great players," Paul told The Associated Press. "I never stop being amazed by all the different ways of playing the guitar and making it deliver a message."

Two cuts from the album won Grammys, Caravan for best pop instrumental performance and 69 Freedom Special for best rock instrumental performance. (He had also been awarded a technical Grammy in 2001.)

Paul was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.

Paul was born Lester William Polfuss, in Waukesha, Wis., on June 9, 1915. He began his career as a musician, billing himself as Red Hot Red or Rhubarb Red, a reference to his ginger-colored hair. He toured with the popular Chicago band Rube Tronson and His Texas Cowboys and led the house band on WJJD radio in Chicago.

In the mid-1930s he joined Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians and soon moved to New York to form the Les Paul Trio, with Jim Atkins and bassist Ernie Newton.

Meanwhile, he had made his first attempt at audio amplification at age 13. Unhappy with the amount of volume produced by his acoustic guitar, Paul tried placing a telephone receiver under the strings. Although this worked to some extent, only two strings were amplified and the volume level was still too low.

By placing a phonograph needle in the guitar, all six strings were amplified, which proved to be much louder. Paul was playing a working prototype of the electric guitar in 1929.

His work on taping techniques began in the years after World War II, when Bing Crosby gave him a tape recorder. Drawing on his earlier experimentation with his homemade record-cutting machines, Paul added an additional playback head to the recorder. The result was a delayed effect that became known as tape echo.

Tape echo gave the recording a more "live" feel and enabled the user to simulate different playing environments.

Paul's next "crazy idea" was to stack together eight mono tape machines and send their outputs to one piece of tape, stacking the recording heads on top of each other. The resulting machine served as the forerunner to today's multitrack recorders.

In 1954, Paul commissioned Ampex to build the first eight-track tape recorder, later known as "Sel-Sync," in which a recording head could simultaneously record a new track and play back previous ones.

Paul met Mary Ford, then known as Colleen Summers, in the 1940s while working as a studio musician in Los Angeles. For seven years in the 1950s, Paul and Ford broadcast a TV show from their home in Mahwah, N.J. Ford died in 1977, 15 years after they divorced.

"Les Paul was a wizard, a true genius," said Auction Central News' Editor-in-Chief Catherine Saunders-Watson, a former music journalist who produced and presented a syndicated radio show. "Nothing excited him more than technological discovery. When I interviewed him in the 1980s, he was in his early seventies and as sharp as a tack - as creative as ever. He had an invention attached to his guitar that he called his ‘little black box.' It was connected by remote control to a recorded-music player called the ‘Les Paulverizer, which he had invented it in the 1950s for the purpose of adding layers or tracks of music to his basic track or songline.'

"Les would demonstrate how it worked to his live audiences, and it was like watching Alexander Graham Bell speaking to Watson for the first time. He wanted his audience to share in his excitement and would cup his hand behind his ear with an amazed expression on his face. The inner workings of the Les Paulverizer and black box remain a secret to this day, and Les Paul's guitar designs, in particular those of the 1950s, remain the most coveted of all modern musical instruments. They're classics that cannot be topped, except when it comes to auction prices. They just keep going up."

In recent years, Paul played Monday nights at New York nightspots. Such stars as Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Van Halen came to pay tribute and sit in with him.

"It's where we were the happiest, in a ‘joint,'" he said in a 2000 interview with the AP. "It was not being on top. The fun was getting there, not staying there - that's hard work."

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Auction Central News International contributed to this report.

AP-ES-08-13-09 1546EDT

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Harold James "Jim" Jackson, the 78-year-old founder of Jackson's International Auctioneers & Appraisers, died Sunday, August 9, 2009, at home with his family at his side. Beloved by his family and many friends, Jackson spent his adult life as a teacher, auctioneer and civic leader.

Jim Jackson was born at the home of his parents Ralph and Aryls (Simmer) Jackson in rural Bagley, Iowa, on Dec. 17, 1930. He married Joan Phyllis Lansing at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Mason City, Iowa on June 21, 1952. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, his daughter Ann and son-in-law Ray Stoner of Mt. Vernon, Iowa; his son Thomas and daughter-in-law Debress of Ft. Myers, Fla.; his daughter Mary of Houston, Texas; his son James and daughter-in-law Tatiana of Cedar Falls, Iowa; 13 grandchildren - Caitlin, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Alice, Thomas Jr. (Brooke), Jessica, William, Daniel, Anna, Sophia, Alexandra, Dominic and Frances - three brothers, Joe Jackson and sister-in-law Karen of Ft. Dodge Iowa; Andrew Jackson and sister-in-law Aura of Omaha, Neb.; Steve Jackson and sister-in-law Dianne of Jefferson, Iowa; brothers-in-law Delmar Hobart, Des Moines, Iowa and Mark Lansing, Dubuque, Iowa; and sister-in-law Kay Lansing, Louisville, Ky.; as well as many beloved nieces and nephews.

Jim received his BA and MA from Iowa State Teachers College (1952 and 1967). His first teaching assignments took him to Edison Jr. High School, Rock Island, Ill., and later to McKinley Elementary, Mason City, Iowa. In 1957 Jim and Joan moved to Augsburg, Germany, where Jim taught at the Department of the Army Schools and was the recipient of the U.S. Army's Sustained Superior Performance Award for excellence in education.

In 1962, after five years overseas, Jim and Joan returned to Cedar Falls, where Jim taught at Kittrell Elementary in Waterloo and Southdale Elementary in Cedar Falls while at the same time studying for his MA. In 1965 Jim became principal of North Cedar Elementary School in Cedar Falls, leaving there in 1969 to become the first principal of Hansen Elementary School in Cedar Falls, where he would stay until his retirement in 1994. At various times Jim also served as principal of Humbert Elementary School and Valley Park Elementary School, both in Cedar Falls.

In addition to education, Jim's love of history and antiques led to his founding Jackson's International Auctioneers and Appraisers of Fine Art and Antiques, a world-renowned company celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. For decades Jim's voice was heard at a vast multitude of benefit auctions helping to raise thousands of dollars for various Cedar Valley organizations. Additionally, for several years Jim served as announcer at the 11th and Clay Street reviewing stand during the annual Sturgis Falls Celebration Parade, of which he was also past grand marshal.

Jim was a passionate advocate for the poor, marginalized, underprivileged and the handicapped. He was particularly interested in the rights and full participation of all children and adults with social, economic, intellectual and physical disabilities. In the mid 1960s, Jim served as chairman of the Black Hawk County Community Action Council, an anti-poverty organization. He was also a member of ARC - Association for Retarded Citizens, and in 1990 received the "Friend Of" award from the Iowa TASH - The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps. Jim also served as a member of the Iowa Department of Educational Assistance Team for Integration and over the years presented numerous workshops on the subject of integration throughout the world.

Jim was past chairman of the Iowa Association of Elementary School Principals, and past member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Head Start, Junior League Advisory Board and the Western Home. In 1965 Jim received the Outstanding Citizen Award from the Civitan Club and in 1990 was named Iowa Reading Association Administrator of the Year by the Iowa Association of Elementary Educators.

Jim was a longtime and active member of Saint Patrick's Parish, Cedar Falls, where he served in many capacities over the years including the Parish Council, Board of Education, lector and usher. For the last four years Jim was a member of Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Mt. Vernon. In retirement, Jim and his wife Joan enjoyed spending time with their 13 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, infant twins James Mark and Joan Mary, and infant daughter Margaret Mary, a granddaughter Rachel Ann Stoner, a brother Ralph Jr., and sisters Jeanne and Joan.

Visitation will take place Sunday, Aug. 16, at St. Patrick Church, Cedar Falls, from 2 to 6 p.m., with a rosary and vigil service beginning at 5 p.m. and sharing of memories by those in attendance beginning at 6 p.m.

Funeral mass will be held at St. Patrick Church on Monday, Aug. 17, at 10:30 a.m., with visitation one hour prior to service time. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Cedar Falls Schools Foundation, Hansen and North Cedar Library, Birthright, or the Rachel Ann Stoner Scholarship Mount Mercy College. Dahl-Van Hove-Schoof Funeral Home, Cedar Falls, is in care of arrangements.

NEW YORK (AP) - Theodore D. Nierenberg, who started Dansk International Designs in his suburban New York garage and helped popularize Scandanavian-themed tableware and cookware in American kitchens and dining rooms, has died. He was 86.

The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, his daughter Karin Weisburgh said Tuesday. Nierenberg died Friday at his home in Armonk, New York.

The company's motto was "from the kitchen to the dining room table" because its pieces' sleek, clean lines were both functional and beautiful, said Weisburgh.

The Dansk line included wooded salad bowls and trays, stainless steel flatware embellished with exotic woods such as teak, glassware and porcelain-coated steel casserole dishes with lids - known as Kobenstyle - in an array of colors. For a time, the company also produced textiles that included placemats and tablecloths.

Nierenberg and his wife, Martha, started the company in their garage in Great Neck, Long Island, in 1954, after a trip to Europe in which they were taken with the work of industrial designers. They later moved their company to Mount Kisco, N.Y.

While in Copenhagen, the Nierenbergs met the Danish designer Jens Quistgaard after seeing a set of his teak-and-steel flatware at a museum there. Quistgaard became Dansk's founding designer and, working from Europe, he stayed with the company until the 1980s.

Nierenberg commissioned Wusthof, the German company, to produce his flatware and dinnerware for about 20 years. But he also used plants in Poland, Japan, France and Denmark to produce the company's other product lines.

The company was sold in the 1980s, and is now owned by the Lenox tableware and giftware company.

Weisburgh said the family only feasted on Dansk at home.

"It's all I ever knew about," she said.

Nierenberg retired in 1985 so he could concentrate on his many hobbies, which included gardening, cooking, traveling and photography, she said.

In 1993, he had a book published, The Beckoning Path: Lessons of a Lifelong Garden, with photographs he took of his renowned Hudson Valley woodland garden featuring Japanese maples. The garden opens for tours twice a year.

Weisburgh said her father did not want a funeral and his body has been donated to science.

Besides his daughter, Nierenberg is survived by his wife, two sons and another daughter.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-CS-08-04-09 1158EDT

The two-time Oscar-winning actress was honored Saturday at the George Eastman House, a Rochester photography and film museum now exhibiting 50 of her pictures. They depict her native Minnesota and chronicle her travels in Russia, Mexico and Africa.

Lange studied photography in college but then focused on acting until she started taking portraits of her children in the 1990s.

She told reporters at the museum Friday that acting has shaped her photographic interest in gestures. And she said she's "drawn to drama in lighting and composition."

The 60-year-old Lange was nominated last week for an Emmy Award for her role in HBO's Grey Gardens. Lange won Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Tootsie (1982) and won her second Ocsar for Actress in a Leading Role for Blue Sky (1994).
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Information from: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, http://www.democratandchronicle.com

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-ES-07-25-09 2217EDT

Prendergast has been named Heritage's Director of Trusts & Estates, and will be based at the new Houston office located at 5850 San Felipe Road, Suite 500. He will focus on providing assistance to fiduciary professionals in every aspect of appraising and liquidating their clients' tangible assets. He also heads the Houston office in a general business development role as Heritage's representative in Houston and South Texas.

"I am excited to join Heritage and bring my abilities to such a progressive and growing company," Prendergast said. "With the opportunity to increase Heritage's presence in the Houston market and beyond, I look forward to helping individuals, estate executors, advisors and art professionals with all their art/collectibles needs and to ultimately achieve mutually beneficial solid sale results."

Prendergast brings with him more than a decade of experience in the high-end auction business. As a vice president with Christie's, he was involved with business development and building relationships with private collectors, museums, corporations and financial advisors. Covering a five-state region for the company, he was responsible for bringing to sale the first million-dollar lot in a Photographs auction - a complete set of portfolios/books by Edward Curtis, The North American Indian, 1907-1926 - selling for $1.4 million in October of 2005. That same year, he also won the consignment of a prominent Texas estate that included George de Forest Brush's exquisite painting, Council of the War Party (1886), which sold for $2.59 million against a high presale estimate of $500,000.

More recently Prendergast secured for sale a second century Roman marble of Emperor Hadrian, which sold in December of 2008 for more than $900,000, as well as a previously unknown portrait by 18th-century master Jean-Etienne Liotard that sold for $638,000 in January of 2009. These treasures came to the auction market from a Louisiana corporate collection and Houston private collector, respectively.

"He has a proven track record of finding rare and valuable items and realizing great prices for the consignors," said Ed Beardsley, managing director, Fine & Decorative Arts at Heritage, "no matter what the broader market conditions are."

Having lived the itinerant life of many oil business children, Prendergast gained an appreciation of, and deep affinity for, art and history at an early age. Moving from New York when he was 10 years old to live for a number of years in Saudi Arabia and then Trinidad, he was exposed to the world's wonders and masterpieces through his extensive travels. He earned his degree in Art History from Vanderbilt University.

"I was blessed to have had the experiences I did as a child," he said. "My fascination with travel, world cultures and art continues today and is born from the opportunities of my youth. My junior high class trip was to Nepal, and Boy Scout camp was in Germany."

Trejo, 72, died Sunday from myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood disorder.

Trejo's work was in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, N.M., and the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. He worked in a number of mediums, including sculpture, mixed media, painting and drawing.

Trejo was born in St. Paul, Minn., in a railroad car. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and joined Eastern Washington University in 1973. He co-founded the university's Chicano Education Program and retired in 2003.

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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-07-22-09 1114EDT

His friend, George Gemmingen, says Heino died of acute renal failure on Thursday at a Ventura hospital.

Heino and his wife, Vivika, were internationally known for their brightly glazed stoneware, influenced by Japanese pottery and the Arts and Crafts movement. She died in 1995.

Heino and his wife, who lived in the Central California town of Ojai, produced thousands of pieces. Their work made them multimillionaires. Pieces with the yellow glaze sold for as much as $25,000.

It took a decade to perfect the glaze formula. Heino claimed he was offered a fortune for it but never sold it.

Copyright 2009 Assoicated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-07-21-09 1434EDT