A one-of-a-kind estate sale is underway on the East Side this weekend.
The sale is being held through Sunday at 2844 N. Hackett Ave. at the house of the late artist Noel Spangler, whose work I am sure you’d recognize.
Spangler designed the iconic smiley face Summerfest logo in 1970.
Who was Noel Spangler?
But had Spangler pursued his first passion – magic – we might never have had this unique and ubiquitous Milwaukee symbol.
Born in Centralia, Illinois in 1923, Spangler had a side hustle as Spang-La The Great, performing magic while serving in the Army in World War II.
While studying at the University of Illinois after the war, Spangler got into illustration and design and moved to Milwaukee in 1957, where he led the commercial art department at the Layton School of Art.
Later, Spangler taught at UW-Madison and in 1969 co-founded the Center for the Development of Visual Communications.
An iconic logo
Then, in 1970, inspired by his wife Jan, a teacher who often drew smiley faces on student homework during grading, Spangler created the red Summerfest logo, which he donated to the festival for free.
Spangler continued to pursue art for the rest of his life, surely seeing his iconic logo all around town for decades to come.
Spangler died in 2020 from complications from COVID in 2020. He was 97.
Now, this sale is taking place and it is absolutely unique among estate sales.
What's for sale?
There are many art pieces for sale, including:
- A signed artist's proof of the print "Zebra" by Alexander Calder 1976 (BID ITEM WITH OWNER APPROVAL)
- A signed print (37/150) of Sandia #2 (Watermelon) by Rufino Tamayo
- An original painting on board by Folk Artist Mose Tolliver
- A fun carved Willow Bird mirror by folk artists Craig & Madi Carey
- Art pottery and ceramics
- Antique Islamic architectural tiles
- Antique rare tribal carvings from Africa
- Antique art tiles from Amsterdam, France & America
- Metal wall sculptures by Alice McLean
Plus other interesting things like:
- Rare and collectible books, featuring vintage comics, art, theatre and magic books.
- Vintage children's toys and books
- Collectible kitchen ware from Villeroy & Boch, Wedgewood, Le Creuset & Port Merion
- Vintage and antique Quimper serving ware from France
- Vintage Persian rugs from Iran
- Vintage hand-made dollhouses and doll furniture
- A rare Bauhaus architectural book
- Vintage Christmas decor
... among other things.
Hundreds of Spangler's works
But most exciting is that you’ll also have a chance to purchase more than 400 works by Spangler himself, including paintings, illustrations, prints and sculptures.
The EstateSales.net website, from which much of this information comes, notes, “This sale features hundreds of pieces of Spangler's art, representing a lifetime of work. There is a price point for everyone, from original works to prints, including rare 1970s Milwaukee Performing Arts Center and Symphony posters by Spangler.
“You will also find a house full of items collected by the artist and his family. We have featured a selection of artwork in our photos, but there are many more to be discovered. Spangler also collected a myriad of wonderful items, including art by other well-known artists, pottery, decor, vintage kitchen ware and books.
For more information, including hours, etc. visit this link.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press. A fifth collects Urban Spelunking articles about breweries and maltsters.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has been heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
