Leland Little Auctions

One of Sri Lanka's Best-Known Artists for Over 60 Years

Sri Lankan artist Senaka Senanayake had 10 international solo exhibitions before he was a teenager. And yet somehow, as young man he still didn't plan to make art his life's work.

'80s Jewelry Comeback

'80s style is having a serious second moment in the sun - we love it when the kids finally realize how cool we were back in the day.

Larry Wheeler Reflects on the Life and Legacy of Joe Rowand

The creative magic of Joe Rowand was in full flower from the moment he opened his Somerhill Gallery at Straw Valley on US 15/501 on the edge of Chapel Hill in 1972.

The Anthony & Davida Artis Collection of African American Fine Art

Anthony & Davida Artis base their art collection on the three things that are most important to them: faith, family, and African American faces.

From the Personal Collection of Kroghie Andresen

Kroghie Andresen and his wife made a deal. She could renovate their kitchen if he could build a decoy room. An entire room for decoys. Just decoys.

Modern Design Then & Now

The furniture from the mid-century design boom has blended so seamlessly into interiors for decades that it's easy to forget how definitive it was of the style of its own era.

Follow the Road to Kroghie's House

LLA Decoy Director Robbie Smith describes his decoy collecting mentor Kroghie Andresen as the Wizard of Oz of decoys. So it's only fitting that when we visited Smith in his hometown, all roads led to Kroghie. And what did we find along the way? Puppies. Lots and lots of puppies.

New York's First Artists' Cooperatives

"Here's an idea that makes me super comfortable: how about instead of getting a steady job you try to scrape out a living as an artist?" said no parent in history.

From Our Mothers

From our mothers come all manner of things, from our values to our furniture. They hand down wisdom, recipes, stories, and heirlooms. Our trajectory in the world is inevitably changed by what they give us. And so, in advance of this Mother's Day, we asked our Department Directors how their mothers helped set them on their auction house paths.

Mary Todd Lincoln's Silver Service Scandal

The Gorham Coin Silver Tea Service in our upcoming Signature Summer Auction is nearly identical to the one purchased by Mary Todd Lincoln during her famously over-budget White House redecorating spending spree in the early 1860s.

Lost Wax Bronze Casting

The process of turning bars of bronze into detailed sculpture is mind-bending. How do artisans realize an artist's intricate vision in a substance that only exists as an intractable solid or a molten liquid?

Art for Earth Day

Earth Day is our annual reminder not only to care for the natural world on which we depend, but also to take the time to stop and wonder at its beauty.

The Long and Winding Journey of a Whiskey Unicorn

Odysseus, Shackleton, Sir Edmund Hilary, A.H. Hirsch Reserve Whiskey. Intrepid adventurers all. Where the first three battled monsters and mountains, A.H. Hirsch took on decades of oblivion and ownership shuffles to emerge victorious as the rarest of rare, the most covetable brown liquor of them all.

Everything You Want to Know About NFTs But Are Too Afraid to Ask

Psssst…….hey, you. You with the furrowed brow and glazed expression. Yeah I’m talking to you, the one who’s always been an art or music or sports enthusiast but suddenly finds yourself up an NFT creek without a blockchain paddle. There are more of us like you. We know a safe place. Follow us…..

Five Things: Georges Braque's Birds

Our upcoming Signature Summer Auction will feature a selection of lithographs by Georges Braque, all depicting the dominant theme of his later work: birds. In advance of the auction, we explore five facts about these avian works by one of France's most significant 20th century artists.

Queen Victoria at the Table - The Original Influencer

Tour the Caroline Faison Antiques Collection

The Great Engine Debate

Though it hasn't been made by Porsche in nearly 25 years, the air-cooled engine will forever be associated with the Porsche 911. But obsolescence has never gotten in the way of a purist, and air-cooled Porsche lovers are purists through and through.

The Caroline Faison Antiques Collection

Rocks for Rocks

These days heroes wear scrubs, face shields, masks, id badges, and, in the case of teachers soldiering on with remote school, perhaps the odd pair of pajama pants. We're not judging.

Infiltrating the Mainstream: How Two American Artists Centered the Edges

History by the Bottle

When someone says "old world wine," most of our minds turn immediately to France. But while storied French winemakers pick, ferment, and bottle in the old, time-honored ways year in and year out, history marches on.

William Ivey Long and the Tennessee Carters: A Family Furniture Legacy

By William Ivey Long’s own account, he wasn’t one for football when he was young. He preferred to stay inside with his cousin Molly, who taught him all about the furniture and houses that had been passed down through his mother’s Tennessee family for centuries.

A Model Collection

Dobie D. Hogan was a print and runway model throughout her adult life. Her substantial jewelry collection, pieces of which are being offered in our Signature Spring Auction, was a result of her long involvement with the fashion industry, combined with an inherited interest in jewels.

Teak in Danish Modern Design

Museum Services

Our engagement with the many and varied museums of the Southeast is one of the most important ways that Leland Little helps to promote the arts and culture.

Notable Collections

Leland Little has had the privilege of handling the sale of significant collections from notable people and historic properties.

How Does Money Get A Face?

Why Abraham Lincoln? Ok fine, that one seems obvious. But William McKinley, Chief Onepapa and Martha Washington? How did their famous faces end up on our currency, if only for a brief moment?

Delft: The Practical Pot

The mid-century Modernists weren't the first to come up with the idea of "industrial design." Centuries before the Eames and Bertoias of the world had deep thoughts and manufacturing dreams about making relevant design available to the masses, the Dutch were making beautiful Delftware for profoundly practical purposes.

Introducing the Leland Little Sporting Arts Department

Setting the Stage with William Ivey Long

On a little side street in Seaboard, North Carolina, sits a brick duplex house from the 1920s. "The teacherage," as the little building is known, was built to house young, unmarried teachers. These days, it is the unlikely home to the overflow collection of historical furniture and art of one of Broadway's best-known costume designers, William Ivey Long.

Why Are So Many Whiskies Old?

The Chair Files with Robbie Smith

Beryl Bainbridge: Author, Artist

British author Beryl Bainbridge was not a reserved figure. She was many things - dramatic, beautiful, brilliant, complex - but she was not reserved.

The Arts & Crafts Man - Four Things to Know About Gustav Stickley

Ceramics: Picasso's Other Art Form

Artists, as a rule, don't like to be boxed in. The desire for unfettered creative self-realization comes with the artistic territory. A long list of household-name artists have had a creative side-hustle, such as the ceramics of Pablo Picasso. In our Signature Spring Auction on Saturday, March 13th, we are offering five lots of Picasso's ceramics.

Ponies, Muscles, and Cheap Gas - The 1960's in American Cars

A Window Onto An American Dynasty

As the record-breaking viewership of the current season of Netflix’s The Crown tells us, we are endlessly fascinated by what goes on behind the closed doors of the world’s royals.

Art & Wine

The Figural Pottery of Billy Ray Hussey

The Timberlake Tour

On the Timberlake Farm

American Art From the Collection of James H. Craig and Randy S. Johnson

From the Personal Collection of Bob Timberlake

The Through Line - Following The Legacy of American Realism

Mexican Art in The Collection of Mr. Duggins and Mr. Dunn

The Collection of Mr. Dunn & Mr. Duggins

CAM Auction

The Estate of the Late Edward and Violet Kleitz, Cary, North Carolina

Whisky Investing

Three Things To Know About Tanzanite

From the Estate of the late Mr. & Mrs. Walter R. Davis, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Fall Focus on Photography

The Incomparable Luxury of Rolls Royce

Simply Gorgeous

Painting Horses

The Eames House - Timeless Design

Chair Files with Luke Newbold

Collector Cars at Auction

Curating that perfect car collection takes patience, passion, and pure determination. For those who collect, what once originated as a mode of transportation has transcended its utilitarian nature and become art. We present this vetted offering of vehicles for you.

What You Need To Know About A Morgan

Don Neiser

Baltimore Silver

Jack Daniel's: The Story of Tennessee Whiskey & Charcoal Filtration

The Anatomy of a Fine Art Print

Guitar Heroes

The Nowell Estate, Raleigh, North Carolina

How to Wear a Brooch

Decoding A Chinese Bridal Robe

5 Facts About Bourbon

March Estate Auction Auto Results

March Auction Results

The Modern Standards

Antonio Pineda - Master Mexican Silversmith

A Life In Motion

Things That Go - The March Estate Auction

Fine Selection of Rare Whisky

The Partnership of Hasui Kawase and Watanabe Shozaburo

Art Consultant Marjorie Hodges on the Contemporary Art Market

Famously Charming

Interior Designer MA Allen on Contemporary Art in Design

Women in Contemporary Art

From the Personal Collection of James H. Craig & Randy S. Johnson

When asked if there was any difference between his personal and professional acquisition decisions, longtime fine arts consultant and antique dealer Jim Craig said that his choices for his private collection could be chalked up to “personal addiction.” The comment belies the passion for the arts and Americana that drove Craig’s distinguished career for over half a century.