Will Seippel, CEO of WorthPoint, enjoys watching the items sold at auctions held by our WorthPoint Industry Partners. We thought it would be a great idea for him to select some of his favorite sold items and explain why those sales stood out to him. Gaining insights from Will is an excellent way to learn about buying and selling trends in our industry. We want to empower you to buy and sell with confidence. Take a look at his thoughts on a few of our partners’ recent sales.
WorthPoint just dropped 484,939 fresh items into its Price Guide today, racking up a whopping $199,362,811.25 in total value. That averages out to $411.11 per lot.
Paintings Galore
While catching up on Harrington’s data, we archived yet another Maud Lewis painting at a Canadian auction house—this one, a charming winter village scene featuring a covered bridge, horse-drawn carts, and Maud’s signature whimsy (faintly signed, lower right, if you squint hard enough). I wrote recently about one of her black cat paintings that sold for a roaring $31,000 at Miller & Miller; this snowy scene, by contrast, brought in a more modest $4,538.44. Subject, my friends, matters. Just ask yesterday’s Henry Farny. The piece measures twelve by sixteen inches (framed at 15.5 by 19.5), and yes, there’s a bit of staining in the lower right corner—battle scars from its artistic journey, no doubt. I like Maud’s work and hope to stumble upon one someday.
Another gem unearthed during our catch-up processing is Joseph Christian Leyendecker’s Lucky Bag Girl, a 1910 oil on canvas created for the U.S. Naval Academy’s yearbook. Measuring 20.5 by 18 inches and signed lower left, this piece wasn’t just an illustration but a time capsule of American pride and style. Commissioned for Annapolis, it also graced graduation announcements, dance cards, and even the Army-Navy football game program. Leyendecker, a towering figure of early American illustration, brought his signature flair—vivid colors and brisk brushwork—to this naval muse, all with the effortless elegance that later defined the “Arrow Collar Man.”
Overshadowed for years by his protégé Norman Rockwell, Leyendecker is finally receiving his long-overdue spotlight, and pieces like this prove why. Sold at John Moran’s auction on November 24 for a relatively modest $177,419, it’s a savvy buy in a market where his works are now topping $300,000 and climbing as high as $4 million. Add in the Naval Academy connection, and you’ve got not just art, but Americana with pedigree. Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong investing in Leyendecker, Rockwell, Flagg, or Fisher—these are the visual storytellers of a golden age, and their works still resonate with collectors and historians alike.
Another piece at Moran’s that stopped me in my tracks was Eye Ceiling by Olafur Eliasson, the Danish-Icelandic artist celebrated for transforming light and space into immersive, almost otherworldly experiences. This 2005 work—constructed from color-effect filter glass and metal—casts radiant halos of shifting color across the walls and ceiling, making one feel like they’re standing beneath a personal aurora borealis. The tall, cylindrical structure glows from within, reflecting a spectrum that changes with your perspective—deep blues, warm yellows, even hints of green, all dancing across the room. It’s a masterclass in perception, a quiet spectacle that turns a corner of any space into a meditative portal. Sold for $88,900, it’s not just a light fixture—it’s a mood-altering art experience with provenance tracing back to The Jamie Residence in Pasadena. As someone who loves it when art and the environment merge, I find this piece easily one of the most captivating installations in the sale.
Quirky Collectibles
For the oddball item of the day, credit goes to AuctionGrooVe.com for serving up a nostalgia-laced lot of 28 Blatz beer can lighters from 1952, which collectively sold for $715. Made during the golden age of smoking and beer-fueled bravado, these quirky collectibles were in remarkably nice condition—and yes, over ten were tested and sparked just fine. I couldn’t help but picture myself in a hazy ‘50s bar, suavely lighting a cigarette for someone across the jukebox. Beer and lighters might be a marketing match made in mid-century heaven, but at about $25 a pop, there’s not much room left for profit if you’re thinking resale. Still, no one’s buying twenty-eight lighters for personal use—unless they’re opening a very niche museum.
Will Seippel is the founder, president, and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things antique—with an emphasis on ephemera— since 1984. He is also the creator and founder of HIP, a website devoted to recording the best of the world’s history that has been saved on film.
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