Roland Auctions to hold special New Year’s Day event

For almost four years, Roland Auctions has called Glen Cove home, and while many have seen the signs posted in the windows of 150 School St. – in the same building as the Piano Exchange – the community at large has not experienced a live auction. Co-owner Billy Roland would like that to change, starting with the auction planned for New Year’s Day.

“I want people to come,” Roland said. “I wish I could open a school, or teach a class during exhibition. I think people are intimidated by auctions, because they just don’t understand them.”

Roland, 64, of Locust Valley, has been in the business since 1973. He and his brother, Robert Roland, previously worked out of the historic St. Denis building in New York City, until the building was sold four years ago. Rick Smith, owner of the Piano Exchange and a longtime acquaintance, offered his space, Roland said, and he accepted.

Since then, Roland Auctions has been hosting auctions featuring high-end art, antiques, silver, bronze, decorative items jewelry, continuing online and telephone bidding through the pandemic. In recent months, it has brought back in-person auctions as well.

“The auctions are a lot of fun,” Smith said. “People have a chance to buy, or at least see, what I call ‘the treasures of the universe.’ It’s really wonderful and it changes every day.”

To kick off the New Year, Roland will hold an auction on Jan.1, 2022, presenting the impressive collection of a socialite from European nobility with properties at The Pierre Hotel in Manhattan and in Lloyd Harbor. The collection features everything from Louis XIV to mid-century modern, along with art, silver and jewelry.

“So many of our longtime clients have told us how much they miss going to auctions in person to find treasures and peruse various art objects,” Roland said, “while many new auction lovers are also finding very affordable household furnishings they might not see any place else.”

Recent auctions at Roland included a special two-day auction event featuring the collection of Southampton antiques dealer Jay Waldmann, and the auction of the personal collection of Southampton-based American sculptor Tony Rosenthal. Roland also presented the Asian Art Collection of Long Island Congressman Lester L. Wolff, with unique Asian art and outdoor bronze pieces leading the auction.

Roland Auctions NY most recent auction on Dec. 4 featured a selection of art, contemporary bronze, silver and furniture from the estate of Manhattan gallerist Eleanor Ettinger.

Roland admitted that an in-house auction experience can be a “long arduous day,” particularly for him. But for customers knowing what they want to bid on, it doesn’t have to be. “What I encourage people to do is, come in and see what lot number they are,” Roland said. “If it’s lot 60, you’ll be there for an hour. If it’s lot 210, you can go around Locust Valley or Glen Cove for three hours, go shopping, have lunch, then come back. It’s kind of like an event.”

An event, he said, that is worth it “if you want to buy something under the money.”

Recently, he said, a couple attended an auction for the full day, and it was not until the lot came up that he knew what they were interested in.

“That’s the beauty of an auction,” Roland said. “It’s very mysterious. Nobody knows what anybody’s there for.” 

The internet carries 70 percent of the sale, Roland said, and a lot of times the internet beats out the people in the room.

“But the people in the room to me….there’s nothing faster than a hand, or a wink or gesture,” Roland said. “Coming to the sale has its advantages. If you’re there to buy, coming to the sale definitely has an edge.”

The auction will be on Jan. 1, 2022, at 10 a.m., following Covid-19 safety protocols. Previews will be held Thursday, Dec. 30, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For further information call 212-260-2000 or go to www.rolandantiques.com.