Contemporary Art Collection Brings $1.37M + at Leland Little Auctions

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., Jan. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, January 16, 2025, Leland Little offered The Contemporary Art Collection of Francine and Benson Pilloff, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at public auction. With 224 lots and 100% sell through, this auction soared to achieve over $1.37M with strong bidding from an international audience.

This exceptional collection was intelligently and passionately collected over the course of a lifetime. The Pilloffs built friendships with the artists represented in their collection such as Dale Chihuly, Nick Cave, Richard Jolley, Howard Ben Tré, Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtová, Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora Mace, Joyce J. Scott, Richard Marquis, and many others. Representing a breadth of fine art and craft, this world-class collection showcased contemporary glass, fine art, photography, sculpture, and more.

"We were honored to collaborate with the Pilloffs, whose journey as stewards of their collection evolved from meaningful conversations with artists to the heartfelt sharing of their passion with new owners." – Claire Fraser, Vice President of Estates & Consignments at Leland Little

Auction day was preceded by an evening preview event, where buyers could experience the collection and mingle with Francine and Benson Pilloff, as well as Leland Little Department Directors. At 10:00am on January 16^th, the auction began, with bidding available on the Leland Little website. The top lot that sparkled, both literally and figuratively, was Lost Image No. 15, by Olga de Amaral (Colombian, b. 1932), which sold for $324,000 (all results noted reflect a 20% buyer's premium). Olga de Amaral's work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Other top lots include an installation of glass and mixed media works, titled, Pilloff Installation: Marquis Decade Archive Unit (1985-1995), by Richard Marquis (American, b. 1945), which rose to $48,000 and a cast glass with acid washed and polished sculpture, by Libensky and Brychtová, titled, Signum 1, which achieved $39,600.

Leland Little Auctions has specialized in the sale of fine high end collectible objects and collections for over 25 years. We are proud to provide trusted stewardship to both our buyers and sellers. For more information, please visit LelandLittle.com.

Leland Little
[email protected]
919-644-1243

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SOURCE Leland Little Auctions