A different kind of auction for convicted art dealer

MILLBROOK — When you owe your creditors $180 million, coming up with $245,000 at an auction of your personal goods might not seem like a lot. But every little bit helps.

The auction on July 24 of furnishings from the home of art dealer and Millbrook resident Lawrence Salander, 61, brought out a big crowd to the Stair Galleries in Hudson, N.Y.

Most items were sold far above their estimated price, with a few exceptions — rocking chairs, for example, which no one wanted, and a few items that were damaged.

This wasn’t a high society auction, the kind of affair that Salander might have conducted or attended during his days as one of New York City’s most famous art dealers at his Salander-O’Reilly Galleries on East 71st St.

Saturday’s auction was more like a fire sale — although Salander is not just bankrupt. Last spring, he pled guilty in New York State Supreme Court to 29 felony counts of grand larceny and to defrauding investors and artists’ estates of $120 million.

He will be sentenced soon, possibly Aug. 3. The length of his sentence (probably between six and 18 years) is expected to reflect the amount of restitution he is able to make to his clients.

And so his collections and household goods are being auctioned off. Happily for Salander (well, actually, happily for his creditors), most of the items went for more than their anticipated sale price. A Chinese glazed vase lamp, for example, had a winning bid of $2,800 — 37 times the high estimate of $75.

Experts at Stair prepared the catalog without any assistance on pricing or provenance from Salander. And the bidders, many of them collectors, experts and dealers, knew what they were buying.

Stair’s strategy appeared to be to provide very reasonable estimates in hopes of attracting a wide universe of bidders, a strategy that worked well.

Also attractive, of course, was the high quality of the goods.

“Salander had a great eye and a broad range of taste,� one bidder commented.

And he had a lot of stuff.  There were 10 pairs of candlesticks (which sold for between$200 and $1,400) and lots of comfy wing chairs. There were 21 brass pricket sticks (sculptural candleholders with a spike for holding large candles), which sold well (one pair brought in $2,800).

The highest prices bid Saturday were for a Steinway baby grand and for a Chinese vase covered with butterflies and chrysanthemums. The winning bids for each were $10,000.

Many local dealers and residents attended, including one man who bid only on tables because “that’s what sells.�

A Millbrook resident was thrilled to acquire five rush-bottomed French provincial walnut chairs for $550.

“It may not be a low price for a dealer, but for someone who wants to use them it’s great,� said the buyer. “I’m thrilled.�

But there were also some bargains, especially in elegant dressers, which sold at prices that were often lower than a dresser might cost from a Pottery Barn catalog. One example: a signed mahogany dresser for $475.

The trustee in Salander’s personal bankruptcy, Wappinger Falls attorney Thomas Genova, was present at the sale and said he was very pleased with the results. The auction followed a garage sale at Salander’s Deep Hollow estate, which brought in $80,000; a jewelry sale that brought in $655,000; and a prior Stair auction that brought in $472,000.

There are three more major sales still in the works. Salander’s house on Deep Hollow Road may be sold at auction in September; a vacant lot at a ski resort in Maine is expected to be sold or auctioned. And another auction of Salander belongings is expected to be held at Stair in the coming months.

Salander’s 66-acre estate, where he was arrested last March, is currently on the market for $4.5 million, reduced from its original listing price of $5.9 million. The property has its own indoor gym, baseball diamond and tennis court.

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