Leo Lambiel may be the greatest San Juan Islands art collector of all time. After almost 50 years of collecting, the Leo Lambiel Art Sale on 25 & 26 August 2018, held at Lambiel’s waterfront home on the east shore of Eastsound, will be the first ever, one-time sale to the public of his personal, unique collection of fine and decorative, original art. Featuring over 260 artists, most of whom presently or at one point lived in the San Juan Islands over the last 100 years, the sale boasts thousands of pieces including rugs, paintings, cartoons, quilts, blown glass, etchings, sculptures, antique clocks and books, furniture and ceramics. Hours on Saturday are 10am to 5pm and Sunday are 11am to 3pm.
The personal collection of Leo Lambiel
Lambiel began his collection in the late 1960’s and has lived with some of San Juan Island artists’ greatest masterpieces, including 179 works by Helen Loggie whom the Library of Congress, National Academy of Design & Seattle MET named “San Juan’s most famous artist.” Loggie came to Orcas from Bellingham in the 1930s. She made etchings of natural surroundings, including her most famous “The King Goblin,” a drawing of an iconic juniper tree on the island which hangs in Lambiel’s bedroom.
Perhaps Lambiel also houses the largest collection of original ceramics & paintings by James Hardman, another Orcas Islander who spun his own bold, colorful aesthetic on some of the same trees and landscapes etched by Loggie in previous years.
Lambiel’s collection presents an impressive lineup of creations by artists who may have moved away, passed away, or given up their medium as the years pass, including ceramic artists Leslie Liddle and her grandmother who kept the tiles in Lambiel’s kitchen one-of-a-kind for decades. Paintings, maps, woodcarvings, blown glass, unique chess boards, books, rugs and furniture pepper Lambiel’s collection, proving his eclectic taste in art is not limited to simply, say, oil paintings, of which he has several by renowned artists Xiaogang Zhu and Alfred Currier, all for sale. The two-day sale at the Lambiel home & museum provides future collectors with the opportunity to appreciate the art as he has over the past half-century.
“This house is hard to explain. You have to experience it,” are Lambiel’s famous “last” words. Saturday, August 25 from 10am to 5pm and Sunday, August 26 from 11am to 3pm will be the final opportunity to witness his brilliant collection in its entirety, and conceivably take a piece of history home with you.
Tours of the museum, which ran for 30 years, closed indefinitely on August 5th.
With the immense support of Corinne Davis, Lambiel has hired Orcas Center to manage the sale. No parking will be available at the museum; park at Orcas Center and transportation will be provided via shuttle only. Biking also encouraged. Cash or check are preferred for art sales.
– Orcas Center
