Anamorphic Charles V Portrait Leads Standout Auction Sales at $79,700

Two unusually wide sixteenth-century paintings made a strong impression at Doyle New York, with an anamorphic portrait of Emperor Charles V bringing $79,700 on October 14, 2026. The sale also included a second painting in the same disorienting style. Elsewhere, a Toulouse-Lautrec poster reached $34,925, while a large group of jazz photography material sold for $1,625 at Ripley Auctions.

WorthPoint added 96,797 transactions to its Price Guide on October 21, 2026. Their combined value was $14,398,212.07, with an average lot value of $148.75. Among the recent results, the range ran from major fine art to postcards, ovenware and a vintage beer can.

Charles V portrait brings $79,700

The Charles V portrait is a striking example of anamorphic painting: its image is deliberately stretched and distorted, producing an unconventional view of its subject. Including its frame, it measures 14¾ inches high by 31 inches wide. Those proportions give it a landscape-like format, though the subject is a portrait of the emperor.

The painting’s unusual appearance is the point of interest here. It asks viewers to meet the image on its own terms, rather than offering the familiar presentation of a formal portrait. The work sold for $79,700 at Doyle New York on October 14, 2026. The catalog record identifies the subject as Emperor Charles V.

A second anamorphic work at the same sale extended the theme. Signed “Solazzo Fecit” and titled Mythological Scene, it measures 19 inches high by 59.8 inches wide. Its dimensions make the format even more pronounced than that of the Charles V portrait. Both works date to the sixteenth century, according to the source, and their presence together offered an uncommon opportunity to compare two examples of the style. The available result provided here does not state a sale price for this painting.

Toulouse-Lautrec poster leads John Moran sale

At John Moran Auctioneers’ fine art sale on October 13, 2026, the top-priced item was Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s (1864–1901) Moulin Rouge—La Goulue. The poster shows a French dancer performing the can-can, with a stylized male figure looking on. Its sheet measures 67 by 46 inches and was laid on linen. The source describes this scene as surviving in only a small number of known examples.

The poster sold for $34,925. Its scale, subject and association with Toulouse-Lautrec make it a notable result from the sale, which totaled $721,946. Another standout was a silver stag by Gianmaria Buccellati (1929–2015). Measuring 22 inches high, 32 inches wide and 20 inches deep, the sculpture brought $22,860. The poster’s catalog entry and the Buccellati stag listing record the items.

Jazz archive sells as a single lot

A group of more than 200 pieces from photographer Duncan Schiedt’s collection brought $1,625 at Ripley Auctions. Schiedt (1921–2014) photographed during Indiana’s golden age of jazz. The material included broadsides, advertising and autograph photographs, making the lot a varied paper archive tied to music and photography history.

The sale price works out to roughly $8 per piece if divided evenly, though a mixed collection rarely has uniform value item by item. Condition, authenticity, subject and completeness would all matter to anyone evaluating individual pieces. The source describes the material as appearing rare, while cautioning that the assumption that all of it was from the period was not confirmed. The full collection listing provides the sale reference.

Ovenware, postcards and a beer can round out the results

Three smaller results show how varied the market can be. A Pyrex “Sandalwood” ovenware set sold for $2,760 through Tom Hall Auctions on October 7, 2026. The group contained a baker, a medium dish and two small dishes; the pieces appeared to have their tops and looked unused. For collectors, a complete-looking group and its apparent condition are useful details to record, though the description does not establish that the pieces were never used.

A group of 64 pre-1920s Thanksgiving postcards brought $230 at Wisconsin Picker on October 7, 2026—about $3.59 per card by simple division. The group is listed here. A 1960s Royal Farms Supermarkets Premium flat top beer can sold for $3,248 at Morean Auctions on August 14, 2026, the highest result among these three alerts. Its listing identifies the can and the sale.

These results reward close attention to the details recorded with each lot: dimensions, signatures, completeness, apparent condition and the date and venue of sale. Comparable entries in the WorthPoint Price Guide can help collectors review past results alongside those specifics. Auction outcomes offer useful reference points, but each object’s condition and documentation shape how well a comparison applies.

Will Seippel writes The Tangible Ledger. He is WorthPoint’s founder, president and CEO, and has collected since 1974 and dealt in antiques, with an emphasis on ephemera, since 1984. He also founded HIP, a site devoted to preserving historical photography.