FAIRMONT, W.Va., Aug. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — It's a collection you'd expect to see in a major auction house in New York or London, but the estate collection of renowned opera singer Frances Yeend and her husband – pianist and vocal coach James F. Benner – is going to be auctioned in Fairmont, West Virginia on August 29 and 30. Joe R. Pyle Auctions will produce the event, with all forms of bidding available, live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.
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Frances Yeend, who was a featured soprano at The Metropolitan Opera and many other prestigious opera houses worldwide, had a passion for art and antiques. While on tour, she and Benner spent every free minute combing through antique shops, always returning home to Manhattan with a bounty of magnificent finds.
Following their 1966 retirement from the stage, the couple relocated to West Virginia, where both Yeend and Benner joined the West Virginia University music department faculty. They also continued to collect exquisite furniture, fine and decorative art; porcelain, early American glass, jewelry, silver, and the type of Asian art so highly desired by today's collectors. Also, a beautiful collection of stained and leaded-glass doors and windows adorned the couple's residence.
Nothing in the collection has ever been offered for sale before. It is a lifetime assemblage that was still being expanded upon at the time of Yeend's death in 2008, at age 95.
Early on, Yeend and Benner focused on 17th- and 18th-century European art. Among their holdings is an oil portrait attributed to Jan Anthoniz van Ravenstein (Dutch, circa 1570-1657). The couple later shifted their focus to contemporary art. As a result, the art collection is an eclectic one, spanning several centuries of artists and styles.
Fifty select pieces of Asian art are entered in the auction, including an inlaid mahogany cabinet, Korean scroll, rare ivory artworks and a Chinese 9-panel painted soapstone screen.
The vast furniture selection features 16th/17th-century desks and chests, grand seating, tables and cabinets; and much more.
Other categories include antique clocks, Persian rugs, African tribal pieces, cast-iron doorstops, and opera-related ephemera collected by Yeend during her distinguished career. The grouping includes opera scores and posters from her performances.
"The term 'once in a lifetime' can be overused, but when it comes to art and antiques, the Yeend/Benner collection is in a class of its own, with pieces dating as far back as the 16th century," said auctioneer and company owner Joe R. Pyle. "This is a landmark collection, the likes of which we may never see again in this part of the United States, or anywhere, for that matter. There are things in this auction that are going to surprise even the most jaded collectors."
The auction will be held on Friday, Aug. 29, and Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014, at the West Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame in Fairmont, West Virginia. View the catalog online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com. For additional information, call toll-free 888-875-1599 or 304-592-6000. Web: www.joerpyleauctions.com