Doyle is honored to present the landmark auctions of The Joan Stacke Graham Majolica Collection. This important and extensive collection will be offered in two sessions with Part I taking place on Tuesday, December 14 at 2pm. The public is invited to the exhibition on view Saturday, December 11 through Monday, December 13 at Doyle, located at 175 East 87th Street in New York. View the catalogue and place bids at DOYLE.com

Melissa Bennie, ceramics expert and guest specialist for this collection, will conduct informal gallery talks profiling highlights from the Collection on Saturday and Sunday at 1pm. The talks are free and open to the public.

The auction of The Joan Stacke Graham Majolica Collection: Part II will take place in Fall 2022.

Joan Stacke Graham (1934-2020) was a preeminent expert in the field of majolica – the brilliantly hued ceramics that filled the hearts and homes of Victorian collectors. Joan began collecting majolica in the 1980s with her friend Marilyn Karmason. Together, they amassed over 2,000 pieces and authored the first major book on the field, Majolica: A Complete History and Illustrated Survey (Abrams: 1989). Joan was a generous collector and scholar, serving as past President of the Majolica International Society.

In 2020 and 2021, Joan and her family loaned significant parts of her collection to the long-anticipated Majolica Mania exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center and The Walters Art Gallery. The monumental three-volume exhibition catalogue is dedicated to Joan Stacke Graham.

The Joan Stacke Graham Majolica Collection Parts I & II will feature over 300 lots, comprising garden seats and garden pots, life-sized animals, soup tureens, game pie dishes, sardine boxes, oyster and strawberry plates, humidors and myriad other forms that originally filled the conservatories, dining rooms and parlors of Victorian collectors.

This encyclopedic collection includes many works by Mintons, the firm that introduced majolica to great acclaim at London’s 1851 Great Exhibition, and by George Jones, whose majolica works are known for their great wit and whimsy. The Continental pieces in the collection include extraordinary and large-scale works by French ceramicist Delphin Massier. The collection also includes American majolica by Griffen, Smith and Hill, Eureka and Morley Pottery.