| Farm artist to exhibit at tractor show
GALESBURG - A nationally known farm artist will be in Galesburg with his Norman Rockwell-inspired farm scenes this weekend. Charles Freitag will make his second appearance during the Maple City Antique Tractor Association's annual Mall Tractor Show, which is Saturday and Sunday at Sandburg Mall. An estimated 80 antique tractors of all brands will fill the wings of Sandburg Mall. The show has grown three to four times its size since its start seven years ago, said Brad Underwood, show coordinator. In Center Court of the mall, Freitag will display his work, which primarily is nostalgic tractor art that includes either John Deere or Farmall tractors from the 1930s to 1970s. He also will be painting and signing autographs. Freitag of Iowa has painted for 21 years and in the last 12 years has sold tens of thousands of prints of his nearly 50 farm paintings across the United States and around the world.
Sotheby’s and the Bubble in Art
It proved quite a week for London's wealthiest art lovers and their dealers, in fact. Last Monday, Sotheby's achieved its highest value auction ever in Europe, knocking down Impressionist & Modern Art for a total of $173 million. On Tuesday night, Christie's achieved $177 million with its own Impressionist and Modern auction. Wednesday brought Sotheby's Contemporary sale, followed by Christie's auction of Post-War and Contemporary art on Thursday. That netted $138 million, including a new Francis Bacon record, nearly double the previous high of $30 million hit in November. Four days…one city…$578 million. That's more than gross inflows for the entire UK mutual fund industry over the same period. But don't forget Sotheby's commission on top! Sotheby's and its only serious rival – the privately-owned Christie's – both bill their vendors 5% of the hammer price.
Christabel and the Jons are retro cool
Christabel and the Jons sit in the dim lights of the Bistro on Gay Street. With Christa DeCicco dressed in a vintage dress and "the Jons" (Jon Whitlock, Seth Hopper and Mischa Goldman), dressed in pin-striped suits, the four seem at home around the dark wood and antique fixtures. The band performs vintage songs and acoustic swing (which was popular in the late 1930s and 1940s) but incorporates modern originals, and it has certainly caught on. Check out the group's Web site (www.christabelmusic.com) or MySpace page (www.myspace.com/christabelmusic) and you will see Christabel and the Jons are slated for at least three shows per week in an ever-expanding radius. The group's debut album, "Love & Circumstances," sounds like a band with the enthusiasm representative of its young age, but with a connection between members that many bands take years to achieve.
Ravenna stores hit by buglaries Thieves barely smash, grab little
Two Main Street businesses in Ravenna were the victims of "smash and grab" burglary attempts late Thursday night. The thieves didnt get much beyond a few dollars and some cuts from broken glass. Thieves first attempted to smash the glass door at the Appliance Mart, 105 E. Main St., but the bowling ball-sized rocks picked out of a nearby streetside planter failed to break through the laminated glass. So, the thief or thieves picked up their two weapons of smash destruction and walked down the block to the Copper Kettle Antiques, 115 E. Main St., where they smashed the glass door. The thief or thieves crawled through the broken glass, grabbed an antique brass cash register and threw it back through the broken door. Apparently, the cash register was too heavy to carry off, so it was broken open and left in the stores entranceway.
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