Seller Story: Melissa Galt, Atlanta, GA
“My great grandfather was Frank Lloyd Wright. I never met him, but from him I got the expression for how I live my life, which is ‘Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.’ I’ve been a designer for 23 years.
My mother knew him quite well. She was an actress, Anne Baxter; she’s probably best known for being Eve in All About Eve with Bette Davis, and then she was in Ten Commandments. Mother would send Frank unedited versions of her films, and he would make his own versions. That’s how he rolled.
Mother was real big on museums and travel. She would take off 30 days every summer and take us on a trip. The house we grew up in was very international. Mother traveled widely, and she collected on her travels. She picked things up and just found places for them. She also collected when she was on the sets of films, so, for example, there’s a little Spanish hand organ that came from one of mother’s film sets. Quite possibly it came from when she did a murder mystery filmed in Spain.
She gave me the travel bug and she gave me the collecting bug. A lot of the pieces in that sale are from travels I’ve taken, and I just decided that I’m at a point where less is more. I’m still keeping some treasures that I have, but I have a lot more of the memories now, and I need fewer treasures. I’d rather share them with people.”


EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Oil Painting of Pastoral Lake Landscape With Cows, Early 20th Century

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Marc A. Graison Landscape Oil Painting "New Mexico Sunset," 2023

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Landscape Oil Painting of Figures in Exterior Scene

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Maria Pfropper Folk Art "The Cat" Print with Other Decor

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Sarah Brown Giclée of Skyscape, 21st Century

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Joan Miró Abstract Lithograph, 1975

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Japanese Porcelain Imari Rectangular Dishes

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Denix 18th Century Louis XIV Model Cannon, Mid-20th Century


EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Jim Shore Heartwood Creek Angels, Holy Family and Christmas Story Figurines

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Three Modernist Style Acrylic and Metal Bar Stools

EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Ameriwood Industries Ebonized Wood Three-Door Console Cabinet

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Jean Dubuffet Color Lithograph Poster for Festival d'Automne à Paris, 1973

EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Oak Storage Cupboard, Late 19th to Early 20th Century

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
14K Poodle Pendant

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Jerry Kellems Acrylic Painting of Abstract Figures

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Death NYC Pop Art Offset Lithograph of Snoopy With Surfboard, 2023

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
David Andrews Oil Painting "Dog Portrait," 2019

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Lenci Italian Felted Wool Dolls, Mid-20th Century

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Peter Keil Abstract Portrait Ink Drawings

EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Famso Mexican Sterling Silver Modernist Ashtray

What were some of the first things you started collecting?
In my twenties, it was powerful female imagery, and Pegge Hopper has a lot of that. I have about 5 Pegge Hopper lithographs in the sale, all signed. My father owned originals, but when he became born again — before I started collecting mine— he gave them away! You have no idea how painful it is for me to say that.
There’s a wonderful John Lennon piece. It’s a John, Julian and Yoko, done by John, published post-mortem and signed by Yoko with a stamp signature. I bought two of his pieces at a gallery in Chicago many years ago because I was so captivated by his style.
Any other treasure from your mother’s collection?
There are several of mother’s movie posters. The reason I let those go is because I’ve got the ones that are near and dear to me. And because, as a designer, there’s only certain colors I live with, and those colors aren’t in the ones I’m letting go.
I also included a Carrera marble polar bear. He was a gift to my mother from her late and last husband, a treasured piece.
What’s one of your favorite pieces from your design career?
There is a very large collection of black amethyst glass in the sale from a 20-year collection that started with my first show home. I scoured obscure antique places, backyard sales, everywhere. A lot of people overlook black amethyst because it looks black, but when you hold it up to the light, it turns purple.