GOODMAN TRUST AUCTION @ DEC 7

Hickory Cluster Architect Charles M. Goodman, FAIA passed away on October 29, 1992 at the age of 85.  His widow, Dorothy S. Goodman, followed him on February 25, 2013. 

The Dorothy S. Goodman Trust will make approximately 60 lots of furniture and artwork from the Goodmans' personal collection available at a public auction starting at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 7, 2013, at The Potomack Company, Alexandria, Virginia.  Items from other sources will also be available.  Registration is required to bid.  Each winning bid will incur a 17.5% fee in addition to 6% Virginia sales tax.

Pre-sale viewing is available on Saturday, November 23 starting at 10:00 a.m. and will continue through the morning of the auction.  At 2:00 p.m., John Burns of Hollin Hills and the U.S. National Parks Service will lead an informal presentation and discussion on Charles Goodman and his influence on local architecture.  At 3:30 p.m., Professor Oscar Fitzgerald will lead a discussion on the Goodman collection Danish Modern furniture.

This personal collection does not appear to include architectural drawings, photographs, and other material from the architect's professional practice.  Dorothy Goodman donated that collection, including more than 7,000 drawings and renderings covering more than 700 projects from the 1930s to the 1980s, to the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington, DC, as the Charles M. Goodman Archive in 2001 where it remains today.

However, it appears that some of the furniture and artwork to be auctioned did furnish The Charles M. Goodman House in Alexandria, and some are shown in 1957 Alcoa Care-Free Home promotional photos.  The Goodman-renovated farmhouse and glass pavilion addition were added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 28, 2013.  A Hollin Hills Alcoa house is located at 7801 Elba Rd.

Note of caution to prospective buyers:  The auction company indicates that for at least one if not more of the Goodman Trust lots to be auctioned, " ... attribution ... is based on family oral history and we cannot provide additional documentation."  In addition, and according to the auction company Terms and Conditions of Sale, " ... Neither the Auctioneer nor The Potomack Company nor its representatives is responsible for the accuracy of any printed or verbal communications or descriptions. ... ."  So, if you want a document that certifies your item as Goodman-designed and/or Goodman-owned with perceived added value over and above the same generic item from your neighborhood yard sale or weekend flea market, such a key document is not available from either the auction company or the Trust.  Unfortunately, that makes proving specific Goodman provenance difficult now and in the future, and may decrease the market value of these items.