The final gavel struck the podium at the Thos. Cornell Galleries in Bellport as the famed auctioneer conducted his last sale on August 10.
Presiding over more than 3,000 auctions over a storied 45-year career, Cornell drew bidders from all over the world for furniture, furnishings, antiques, art, and other valuables. A former sales manager, auctioneer, and vice president of Lubin Galleries in Manhattan, he won top dollar for his clients.
Bidding was frenetic at his last sale, with buyers snatching up items including a vintage hand-painted eight-drawer chest that sold for $175, an 18th-century Spanish two-door low cabinet that fetched $100, and an oil-on-board painting of a boy with dog signed by Franz Nitscher, 1846, that sold for $175. A Tiffany and Co. bronze skeleton case clock netted $275, while an 18th-century Dutch Marquetry table went out the door for $650.
His last item sold was a G. D’Andrea signed oil on canvas landscape with castle and bridge for $270. Now it’s off to retirement with his family in Kansas.