Spring Fine Art & Furnishings Auction

Smith & Benjamin Conditions of Sale

The following Conditions of Sale and Terms of Guarantee are Smith & Benjamin’s and the Consignor’s entire agreement with the purchaser relative to the property listed in this catalogue. The Conditions of Sale, Terms of Guarantee, the glossary, if any, and all other contents of this catalogue are subject to amendment by us by the posting of notices or by oral announcements made during the sale. The property will be offered by us as agent for the Consignor, unless the catalogue indicates otherwise. By participating in any sale, you acknowledge that you are bound by these terms and conditions.

1 Goods auctioned are often of some age. The authenticity of Authorship of property listed in the catalogue is guaranteed as stated in the Terms of Guarantee and except for the Limited Warranty contained herein, all property is sold “AS IS” without any representation or warranties by us or the Consignor as to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, the correctness of the catalogue or other descriptions of the physical condition, size, quality, rarity, importance, medium, provenance, exhibitions, literature or historical relevance of any property and no statement anywhere, whether oral or written, whether made in the catalogue, an advertisement, a bill of sale, a salesroom posting or announcement, or elsewhere, shall be deemed such a warranty, representation or assumption of liability. We and the Consignor make no representations and warranties, express or implied, as to whether the purchaser acquires any copyrights, including but not limited to, any reproduction rights in any property. We and the Consignor are not responsible for errors and omissions in the catalogue, glossary, or any supplemental material.
2 Prospective bidders should inspect the property before bidding to determine its condition, size, and whether or nor it has been repaired or restored. Condition reports are available upon request for all lots.
3 A buyers premium will be added to the successful bid price and is payable by the purchaser as part of the total purchase price. The buyer’s premium is 17.5% of the successful bid price up to and including $85,000, and 12% of the successful high bid above $85,000 will be added to the amount of the successful bid price for all lots purchased at auction.
4 Upon the announcement by the auctioneer of the successful bidder, the purchaser will be responsible to pay the amount of the successful bid price, the buyer’s premium, applicable taxes and other charges provided for in the Conditions of Sale. Applicable taxes shall include sales, use, excise, and other taxes or levies. Only valid resale certificates are accepted as proof of exemption from certain taxes for U.S. dealers. Foreign dealers should contact the accounting office concerning all tax matters. Smith & Benjamin will not release purchased lots until all tax requirements are satisfied.
5 We reserve the right to withdraw any property before the sale and shall have no liability whatsoever for such withdrawal.
6 We reserve the right to reject any bid. The highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer will be the purchaser. In the event of any dispute between bidders, or in the event of doubt on our part as to the validity of any bid, the auctioneer will have the final discretion to determine the successful bidder, cancel the sale, or to re-offer and re-sell the article in dispute. If any dispute arises after the sale, our sale record is conclusive. Although in our discretion we will execute order or absentee bids or accept telephone bids as a convenience to clients who are not present at auctions, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions in connection therewith.
7 If the auctioneer decides that any opening bid is below the reserve of the article offered, he may reject the same and withdraw the article from sale, and if, having acknowledged an opening bid, he decides that nay advance thereafter is insufficient, he may reject the advance.
8 On the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer, title to the offered lot will pass to the highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer, and such bidder thereupon (a) assumes full risk and responsibility therefore (including, without limitation, liability for or damage to frames or glass covering prints, paintings or other works, and (b) will immediately pay the full purchase price, plus the buyer’s premium, applicable taxes and other expenses.
9 All property must be removed from our premises by the purchaser at his expense not later than 10 business days following its sale and, if it is not so removed, (i) a handling charge of a minimum of $25 per lot per month from the tenth day after the sale until its removal will be payable to us by the purchaser, property not so removed within 30 days after the sale, (ii) we may send the purchased property to a public warehouse for the account, at the risk and expense of the purchaser.
10 If any applicable conditions herein are not complied with by the purchaser, the purchaser will be in default and in addition to any and all other remedies available to us and the Consignor by law, including, without limitation, the right to hold the purchaser liable for the total purchase price, including all fees, charges and expenses more fully set forth herein, we, at our option, may (A) cancel the sale of that, or any other lot or lots sold to the defaulting purchaser at the same or any other auction, retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by the purchaser, or (B) resell the purchased property, whether at public auction or by private sale, or (C) effect any combination thereof. The purchaser will be liable for any deficiency, any and all costs, handling charges, late charges, expenses of both sales, our commission on both sales at our regular rates, legal fees and expenses, collection fees and incidental damages. We may, in our sole discretion, apply any proceeds of sale then due or thereafter becoming due to the purchaser from, or any payment made by the purchaser to us, whether or not indented to reduce the purchaser’s obligations with respect to the unpaid lot or lots, to the deficiency and any other amounts due to us. In addition, a defaulting purchaser will deemed to have granted and assigned to us, a continuing security interest of first priority in any property or money of our owing to such purchaser in our possession, and we may retain and apply such property or money as collateral security for the obligations due to us. Payment will not be deemed to have been made in full until we have collected good funds. In the event the purchaser fails to pay any or all of the total purchase price for any lot and Smith & Benjamin nonetheless elects to pay the Consignor any portion of the sale proceeds, the purchaser acknowledges that Smith & Benjamin shall have all of the rights of the Consignor to pursue the purchaser for any amounts paid to the Consignor, whether at law, in equity, or under these Conditions of Sale.
11 All lots in this catalogue are offered subject to a reserve, which is the confidential minimum price acceptable to the Consignor. Lots that have a reserve placed on it will be denoted with a “•” next to the lot number. No reserve will exceed the low presale estimate stated in the catalogue, or as amended by oral or posted notices. We may implement such reserve by opening the bidding on behalf of the Consignor and may bid up to the amount of the reserve, by placing successive or consecutive bids for a lot, or bids in response to other bidders. In instances where we have an interest in the lot other than our commission, we may bid up to the reserve to protect such interest. In certain instances, the Consignor may pay us less the standard commission rate where a lot is “bought-in” to protect its reserve.
12 The law of the state (excluding its conflicts of law rules) in which the Property is auctioned or sold shall govern. If there is a lawsuit, each bidder and purchaser hereby consents to the jurisdiction of the federal court located in, and the state courts of, the State whose law has been chosen to govern as provided in the preceding.
13 Smith & Benjamin will not provide packing or shipping services. We will provide a purchaser with the names of packing and shipping companies, who are independent contractors. A purchaser should make arrangements directly with the contractor. Smith & Benjamin accepts no liability, risk or expense connection with (i) its provision of names or recommendation of independent contractors, (ii) the packing or shipping of purchased Property, or (iii) the services or acts or omissions of third parties with respect to the handling, packing or shipping of Property. Purchaser must arrange for, and pay the cost of insurance.
14 A purchaser may use one or more of the following methods of payment: cash, valid and approved VISA or MasterCard (credit or debit charge cards), wire transfers and personal checks. Smith & Benjamin reserves the right to hold property purchased by check until the check has cleared. To insure that delivery is not delayed, new bidders should supply us with band or suitable credit references before the sale. Smith & Benjamin will charge a fee of $25 for any dishonored check. Purchaser will pay Smith & Benjamin a 1.5% service charge, which will be added to purchaser’s bill, for all amounts paid by credit card.

Terms of Guarantee

Smith & Benjamin warrants the authenticity of Authorship of each lot contained in this catalogue on the terms and conditions set forth below:

1 Definition of Authorship. “Authorship” is defined as the creator, period, culture, source of origin, as the case may be, as set forth in the BOLD TYPE HEADING of a lot in this catalogue, as amended by any oral or written salesroom notices or announcements. If there is a “Glossary” of terms in this catalogue, please note that any such heading represents a qualified statement or opinion and is not subject to these Terms of Guarantee. Smith & Benjamin makes no warranties whatsoever, whether express or implied, with respect to any material in the catalogue, other than that appearing in the BOLD TYPE HEADING and subject to the exclusions in 5 and 6 below.
2 Guarantee Coverage. Subject to the exclusions in 5 and 6 below, Smith & Benjamin warrants the Authorship (as defined above) of a lot for a period of five years from the date of sale of such lot and only to the original purchaser of record at the auction. If it is determined to Smith & Benjamin satisfaction that the BOLD TYPE HEADING is incorrect, the sale will be rescinded as set forth in 3 and 4 below, provided the lot is returned to Smith & Benjamin at the original selling location in the same condition in which it was at the time of sale. It is Smith & Benjamin’s general policy, and Smith & Benjamin shall have the right to have the purchaser obtain, at the purchaser’s expense, the opinion of two recognized experts in the field, mutually acceptable to Smith & Benjamin and the purchaser, before Smith & Benjamin determines whether to rescind a sale under the above warranty. If the purchaser requests, Smith & Benjamin will provide the purchaser with the names of experts acceptable to it.
3 Non-Assignability. The benefits of this warranty are not assignable and shall be applicable only to the original purchaser of record and not to any subsequent owners (including, without limitation, heirs, successors, beneficiaries or assigns) who have, or may acquire, an interest in any purchased property.
4 Sole Remedy. It is specifically understood and agreed that the rescission of a sale and the refund of the original purchase price paid (the successful bid price, plus the buyer’s premium) is exclusive and in lieu of any other remedy which might otherwise be available as a matter of law, or in equity. Smith & Benjamin and the Consignor shall not be liable for any incidental or consequential damages incurred or claimed.
5 Exclusions. This warranty does not apply to: (i) Authorship or any paintings, drawings or sculpture created prior to 1870, unless the lot is determined to be a counterfeit (a modern forgery intended to deceive) which has a value at the date of the claim for recession which is materially less than the purchase price paid for the lot; or (ii) any catalogue description where it was specifically mentioned that there is a conflict of specialist opinion on the Authorship of a lot; or (iii) Authorship which on the date of sale was in accordance with the then generally accepted opinion of scholars and specialists; or (iv) the identification of periods or dates of execution which may be proven inaccurate by means of scientific process not generally accepted for use until after publication of the catalogue, or which were unreasonably expensive or impractical to use.
6 Limited Warranty. As stated in paragraph 1 of the Conditions of Sale, neither Smith & Benjamin nor the Consignor makes any express or implied representations or warranties whatsoever concerning any property in the catalogue, including without limitation, any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, except as specifically proven herein.