On January 25 in New York, Sotheby's will offer Important American Folk Art from the collection of Ralph O Esmerian in a sale it has titled Visual Grace.
 Esmerian had double pledged millions of dollars of collateral to secure $210m in loans |
The auction will offer more than 200 lots that carry an overall estimate of between $6.4m and $9.5m.
Ralph Esmerian is a pioneering folk art collector who was sentenced to six years in jail in 2006 for fraud. He is chairman emeritus of the American Folk Art Museum, but was ordered to pay a $20m fine for bankruptcy.
Leading the collection is an important federal red polychrome slant front desk, attributed to Johannes Braun, which has been valued at $300,000-500,000.
Paul Fraser Collectibles is currently offering a stunning selection of fine English furniture for sale.
