Pietro Della Vecchia's "Imaginary Self-Portrait of Titian," est. $100-$150K, via Christie's

A hodgepodge of 19th century, old master paintings and sculptures that belonged to dealer Larry Salander are posted on Christie’s website. The 130 lots, estimated $2.5 million to $3.5 million, sell June 9 to benefit the bankrupt dealer’s creditors. The entire group is being sold with Aris title insurance and some of the lower value goods are going without reserve.

The online catalog can be found here.

Salander has plead guilty to fraud and grand larceny and faces up to 18 years in prison. None of this is mentioned in Christie’s catalog. (UPDATE: A reader send me a link to the catalog info from the June 7 Stair Galleries Salander sale. The catalog reads “While the circumstances of this sale are not ideal, the property is still quite amazing…” Read here.)

The artworks range from minor to so so. They reflect the mindset and inventory of a dealer aiming to make long shot discoveries and re-attributions. Mostly they didn’t seem to pan out.

A painting Salander displayed and hawked as a multimillion dollar Titian is described by Christie’s as Pietro Della Vecchia’s Imaginary Self-Portrait of Titian. Estimated to sell for $100,000-$150,000, Salander paid $192,000 for the painting at Sotheby’s in 2005. Salander wasn’t the only one to call this work a Titian: the erratic and ethically challenged early 20th century adviser Bernard Berenson had made the same dubious claim. There is another Della Veccia portrait of Titian at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

Attributed to Girolamo Mirola "Madonna and Child," est. $60-$80K, via Christie's

A 16th century oil on panel, Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and Saint Catherine, attributed to Girolamo Mirola, is estimated to sell for $60,000 to $80,000, below the $156,000 Salander paid in 2005 at Sotheby’s.

One to watch: Lot 256, attributed to El Greco’s studio, the Agony in the Garden estimated $200,000 to $300,000. Salander paid $262,400 at Christie’s in 2005.

Studio of El Greco, "Agony in the Garden," est. $200-$300K, via Christie's