MEET THE SELLERS
We are honored to bring this estate to auction.
Our clients, Gary & Leigh Giovane, have a lovely home in La Conner, Washington, furnished with fine Arts & Crafts Furniture and Decor, Mission Oak Furniture, Art, and lots of nice Housewares and Home Decor.
Giovane Bio
Gary Giovane was originally from Pittsburgh, PA, and Leigh Smith Giovane was originally from Memphis, TN. They met in Washington in the mid-1970s while both were here working at the Ozette Archaeological Project on the Olympic Peninsula. The time spent at Ozette and in Neah Bay was a life-changer. They subsequently taught on the Makah Reservation for 23 years, moving to La Conner in 2003.
Gary then taught at La Conner High School until 2010, and Leigh taught at the Anacortes Home Education Partnership until 2011. After retiring, Gary pursued a career in art, painting in acrylics on cedar. Leigh sang with the Skagit Valley Chorale and took care of their aging horses.
They are in the process of moving to Ireland to be nearer to their daughter Jessie, granddaughter Esme, and son-in-law Adam who live in Carnoustie, Scotland. They are sad to leave their home and friends but excited by the prospect of a new life in Galway.
(The quotes you see in the catalog are from Gary.)
La Conner Community News Interviewed Gary & Leigh - Read That Article Below, Or Go To Their Website
https://laconnercommunitynews.org/2025/03/12/from-fishtown-to-galway-la-conner-artist-gary-giovanes-next-chapter/
From Fishtown to Galway: La Conner artist Gary Giovane’s next chapter
After decades in La Conner, artist and retired teacher Gary Giovane and his wife, Leigh, embark on a new journey.
La Conner artist and retired teacher Gary Giovane calls his life with wife Leigh an “extremely interesting journey.” Their move here in 2003 brought him full circle — back to the place where, three decades earlier, he participated in the famed Fishtown archaeological dig just outside of town.
The Giovanes, who met while doing archaeology on the Olympic Peninsula, resided for a time in blues and rock-n-roll mecca Memphis and taught school for 23 years in Neah Bay, aren’t done moving yet.
The couple, in fact, is about to embark on their next journey. An international one.
They move next month to Galway on the west coast of Ireland to be nearer to their daughter, Jessie, son-in-law Adam, and granddaughter Esme, who live across the North Channel in Scotland.
“We’re excited, but sad, too,” said Gary, who taught science and math for seven years at La Conner High School and more recently served on the Town’s Arts Commission.
Before moving, Gary’s remaining 51 pieces of art — distinguished by a unique blend of Native American, Celtic, and Japanese influences — are being auctioned online until March 16 by Pacific Auctions & Appraisals.
His initial artistic influence came from the Fishtown artists he met when, as a Penn State student, Giovane participated in Washington State University’s archaeological dig near the mouth of the north fork of the Skagit River. He admired their austere lifestyle, but was more impressed with the quality of art they produced.
It was, as events unfolded, the prospect of their own spartan existence that led Gary and Leigh to abandon careers in archaeology and turn to teaching.
“We decided that being archaeologists wouldn’t be a good way to raise a family,” Gary said, “if it meant always living in a tent in all sorts of remote places.”
Gary began painting during his and Leigh’s summer vacations from the classroom. It was a way for him to ease into a new calling once the Giovanes retired from teaching. While at Neah Bay, he met tribal artists who shared their insights and helped get his creative juices flowing.
“I wanted to learn more about Native American art,” he reflected. “I wanted to incorporate it into my art.”
As a result of his interaction with Makah artists, Giovane was drawn to red cedar as a primary medium.
“It’s the grain of the wood that makes painting on cedar so awesome,” he said. “I’ve always loved painting on cedar.”
That is evident in his work, a prolific collection of richly diverse images and forms steeped in social relevance, spirituality, and symbolism.
Celtic art, given the family’s Scottish heritage and Jessie’s decision to study at the esteemed Glasgow School of Art, increasingly helped shape Giovane’s style as well. Ultimately, with Jessie’s family living in Scotland, Gary and Leigh explored the possibilities of relocating there.
But they learned Scotland didn’t have a visa program to fit their situation as retirees.
“Going back to work after we’d been retired this long wasn’t appealing,” Gary said.
The Republic of Ireland, however, loomed as a more plausible option.
“We had an Irish accountant look at our finances to see if we could get a retirement visa,” Gary said. As it turned out, they could.
The Giovanes thus made plans for their next major move and settled upon Galway, a coastal tourist city and Gaelic cultural hub of 85,000, as their chosen destination. They found it to have the vibe of a much larger La Conner.
“It’s very walkable and it has a purple flag designation, meaning it’s even a safe place to walk at night,” Leigh said. “Even though more than 80,000 people live there, it has a small-town atmosphere.”
Leigh, a graduate of Memphis State University — now known as the University of Memphis — has enjoyed singing in local church choirs and choral groups and is hopeful she can continue doing so in Galway.
On a trip to Ireland that she and Gary took earlier this year, Leigh was singularly impressed with Galway’s medieval Saint Nicholas Collegiate Church.
“It was built in the 1320s,” she said. “That must be something to sing in that church’s choir.”
The Giovanes said they have been blessed to live in a wonderful neighborhood in La Conner, making their home on Third Street on the hill.
“We’ve loved it here,” Gary said. “We’ve made so many great friends in La Conner. We’re excited to move closer to our family, but it’s sad to leave here, too.”
APRIL ONSITE ESTATE AUTION LACONNER WA -
FURNITURE, PNW ART, HOME DECOR & MORE
ANTIQUE FURNITURE, ORIGINAL ART BY GARY GIOVANE, PNW ART,
JAPANESE POTTERY, HOUSEWARES, HOME DECOR, OUTDOOR DECOR, TOOLS,
LINENS, CLOTHES & ACCESSORIES, BOOKS, CDs & DVDs, & MORE.
OVER 700 LOTS!
We are honored to bring this estate to auction.
Our clients, Gary & Leigh Giovane, have a lovely home in La Conner, Washington, furnished with fine Arts & Crafts Furniture and Decor, Mission Oak Furniture, Art, and lots of nice Housewares and Home Decor.
Giovane Bio
Gary Giovane was originally from Pittsburgh, PA, and Leigh Smith Giovane was originally from Memphis, TN. They met in Washington in the mid-1970s while both were here working at the Ozette Archaeological Project on the Olympic Peninsula. The time spent at Ozette and in Neah Bay was a life-changer. They subsequently taught on the Makah Reservation for 23 years, moving to La Conner in 2003.
Gary then taught at La Conner High School until 2010, and Leigh taught at the Anacortes Home Education Partnership until 2011. After retiring, Gary pursued a career in art, painting in acrylics on cedar. Leigh sang with the Skagit Valley Chorale and took care of their aging horses.
They are in the process of moving to Ireland to be nearer to their daughter Jessie, granddaughter Esme, and son-in-law Adam who live in Carnoustie, Scotland. They are sad to leave their home and friends but excited by the prospect of a new life in Galway.
The quotes you see in the catalog are from Gary.
Auction Dates
Bidding Opens Date: April 3, 2025 @ 7PM (pacific)
Bidding Begins Closing Date: April 19, 2025 @ 10AM (pacific)
Auction Closing Run-Time: 9 hours +/-
Pick Up Dates
Location: La Conner, WA
April 20th and 21st
12:00PM - 7:00PM (pacific)
No In-House Shipping Available
Onsite Pick Up Only - No Exceptions
Third-Party Shipping Allowed
Firearm Shipping Available From FFL to FFL
PRINTABLE CATALOG AVAILABLE ONCE CATALOG IS COMPLETE. FIND IT UNDER THE DOCUMENTS TAB.
From the Gallery/Landing page, it is located above the auction description.
From the Auction Catalog page, it is located under the dropdown button on the green bar at the top of the page.
PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS
AUCTION TERMS
AUCTION DATES:
Bidding Opens: 4/3/2025 @ 7:00PM (pacific)
Bidding Begins Closing 4/19/2025 @ 10:00AM (pacific)
Auction Closing Run-Time 9 hours +/-
Pick Up Dates:
April 20th and 21st, 12:00pm - 7:00pm
No other dates will be available, NO EXCEPTIONS
NO In-House Shipping Available For This Auction
Third-Party Shipping Allowed
This is a Timed Online Auction with a Soft Close.
45 Second Stagger, 60 Second Soft Close, 3 Minute Extension.
ONLY available on www.pacificauctions.net.
BIDDING:
Lots Have Their Own Countdown Timer And They’re Staggered To Close 45 Seconds Apart. If A Bid Is Placed Within The Last 60 Seconds Of Any Particular Lot’s Closing; That Lot Will Be Extended By 3 Minutes, (Called A Soft Close).
This Auction Will Take Approximately 9 Hours To Close on the closing day. Bids are accepted any time after the auction opens until the time each lot closes. Bids can be placed in real time on closing day, or ahead of time. Bids can be placed one at a time; incrementally, or a Max Bid can be placed. To Place a Max Bid enter the Max Bid in the field where the system asks for the next bid amount; the system will then bid on your behalf up to your max bid.
LOCATION:
All items will be located at Pacific Auctions and Appraisals' warehouse located at 1309 Bouslog Rd, Burlington, WA.
Buyer's Premium of 20% will be added to final winning bid amount on all non-titled items, plus applicable sales tax.
Buyer's Premium of 10% will be added to final winning bid amount on all titled vehicles, plus applicable sales tax.
All Items are sold AS-IS, WHERE-IS.
PAYMENT:
All buyers MUST pay for their purchases in full by the end of auction pick up date(s).
If payment is not submitted by bidder, the credit card on file will be automatically charged. Bidders will be given the option to elect to pay a different way when creating a pick up appointment.
For this auction PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS accepts the following forms of payment:
• All Major Credit Cards and Debit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover (3.5% Surcharge Fee)
• Wire Transfer ($15 Transfer Fee)
• Cash **Save 3.5% by paying cash**
Due to rising costs; our credit/debit card merchant processor charges us 4.2% to process card payments. We are a small company and must pass some of this expense on to our bidders.
AT AUCTIONEER'S DISCRETION; ANY INVOICES IN EXCESS OF $1000.00 MAY REQUIRE PAYMENT BY WIRE TRANSFER; A $500.00 DEPOSIT WILL BE APPLIED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD UNTIL PAYMENT IS RECEIVED.
We DO NOT accept PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Personal Checks.
ALL TITLED VEHICLES WILL BE ACCESSED A $15.00 PAPERWORK FEE.
ALL TITLED VEHICLES MUST BE PAID FOR BY CASH OR WIRE TRANSFER. NO EXCEPTIONS. VEHICLES WILL NOT BE RELEASED UNTIL WIRE PAYMENT HAS BEEN POSTED AND CLEARS. TRANSFER INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO WINNING BIDDERS.
ADDITION TO OR WITHDRAWAL FROM SALE:
PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS reserves the right to withdraw from Auction any of the items listed or to sell at this Auction items not listed, and also reserves the right to group one or more lots into one or more selling lots or to subdivide into two or more selling lots. Whenever the best interest of the seller is served, the auctioneer reserves the right to sell all of the items listed, in bulk.
SHIPPING:
-ALL SHIPPING CORRESPONDENCE IS DONE BY EMAIL to auctionmanager@pacificauctions.net
SHIPPING IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THIS AUCTION.Winning bidders will receive an email following the auction with instructions for payment, pick up, and requesting shipping. It is the bidders responsibility to notify us that they need shipping by email. Shipments will be prepared within 7 to 14 days following the shipping request. Please remember that we have local pick ups scheduled for the days following the close of auction.
Bidder is responsible for all Shipping Costs, including:
+ COST OF SHIPPING (including additional fees such as insurance, delivery confirmation, etc.)+ COST OF MATERIALS+ HANDLING FEE of $7 (Additional handling charges may apply when shipping packages larger than 16x12x12)+ SIGNATURE or DELIVERY CONFIRMATION+ APPLICABLE SALES TAX
APPLICABLE SHIPPING AND HANDLING CHARGES WILL BE APPLIED AND CHARGED TO THE CARD ON FILE ONCE BIDDER HAS REQUESTED SHIPPING.
IN THE EVENT OF A SHIPPING/DAMAGE CLAIM, bidder will be required to submit all the necessary information needed to file an insurance claim, including; photos of all sides of the shipping box, photos of all contents within the box, photos of the shipping label, photos of the box specifications stamp, and photos of the damaged item. The bidder must notify the Auctioneer of damaged item(s) AND supply all required information within 48 hours of receipt of delivery. All packaging material and damaged items must be retained.
The damaged item(s) must be returned to Auctioneer, unless approved otherwise, to be eligible for a return/refund.
If an item is extremely fragile, delicate in nature, or otherwise vulnerable to damage in transit; it may be ineligible for shipping insurance.
Shipping invoices must be paid within 72 hours of notification of shipping charges. If the shipping charges remain unpaid; the auction items will be considered abandoned property after 14 days and will become the property of the Auctioneer.We provide palletized freight shipping for oversized or heavy items. Insurance is not provided for freight shipments; freight insurance is the sole responsibility of the bidder.
IN THE EVENT OF A THIRD-PARTY SHIPPING ARRANGEMENT; PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS DOES NOT PACKAGE, WRAP, OR TRANSPORT ITEMS TO THIRD PARTY SHIPPERS. All packaging, transportation, and shipping is the responsibility of the third party shipper.
BIDDER MUST NOTIFY PACIFIC AUCTIONS IF A THIRD-PARTY SHIPPER WILL BE USED. SHIPPER MUST COORDINATE PICK UP DURING SCHEDULED PICK UP HOURS. NO EXCEPTIONS.
PREVIEW:
Preview - For Registered Bidders Only
April 19th, 2025 - TIMES TBA
Everything is available for preview, for registered bidders ONLY. All persons joining a registered bidder for preview must also be registered.
CONDITION OF ITEMS SOLD:
PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS shall not be responsible for the correct description, authenticity, genuineness of, or defect in any lot, and makes no warranty in connection therewith. Any notable condition issues discovered during auction preparation will be represented in the lot photos. No allowance will be made or sale set aside on account of any incorrectness, error in cataloging, or any imperfection not noted or imaged. No deduction will be allowed on damaged articles as all goods being exposed for public exhibition are sold "AS-IS" "WHERE IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY, expressed or implied, and without recourse, including shipped merchandise. By placing a bid, bidder signifies that they have examined the items to their satisfaction, or that they have chosen not to personally examine them.
Bidders may direct all inquiries regarding item details, descriptions, conditions to auctionmanager@pacificauctions.net.
Additional images or high resolution photos available upon request.
ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
We do not allow abusive/insulting behavior or language to our staff, doing so may result in being banned from future auctions.
Any photographs, videos, or other content created by PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS is the property of PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS and may not be used by any other party without approval and consent by PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS. It is a violation of this agreement to list for sale any items, won or not won, on any other selling platform prior to taking possession of said item.
Any additional terms or conditions of sale, added by PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS, shall be announced prior to the Auction.
BUYER'S PREMIUM:
The winning bidder is responsible for paying the Buyer's Premium, which is a separate administrative service fee and is due and payable to the Auctioneer at the close of the lot.
REMOVAL:
Removal shall be at the expense, liability, and risk of the purchaser. Purchases can be removed only upon presentation of a paid bill. PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS shall not be responsible for goods not removed within the time specified, and shall have the option of removing and storing at the expense and risk of the purchaser any article purchased. Items not removed by the end of the specified pick up dates/hours will be considered abandoned property, will be become the property of the Auctioneer, and may be sold at a future auction. Except under certain circumstances; we are not able to store items for a future pick up date. You must have prior approval by PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS for alternate pick up dates.
NON-DELIVERY RESPONSIBILITY:
PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS shall not, in any event, be liable for non removal or for any other matter or thing, to any purchaser of any lot, other than for the return to the purchaser of the deposit or sum paid on said lot, should the purchaser be entitled to it.
CLAIMS:
No claims will be allowed after goods are removed from premises.
PERSONAL AND PROPERTY RISK:
Persons attending during exhibition, sale or removal of goods assume all risks of damage of or loss to person and property and specifically release the AUCTIONEER, PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS, AND PRINCIPAL from liability therefore. Attendees are prohibited from the operation, testing of power equipment. Neither PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS nor principal shall be liable by the event of any dispute. PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS may tape record and/or video tape any auction and buyer agrees to allow such tape recording and/or video tape to be submitted as evidence in a court of law. Buyer agrees to pay all reasonable fees incurred in enforcing these terms.
SALE OF FIREARMS:
PACIFIC AUCTIONS AND APPRAISALS DOES NOT WARRANT OR GUARANTEE THE SAFETY OR FUNCTIONALITY OF ANY FIREARMS OFFERED AT PUBLIC AUCTION. ALL LIABILITY IS ASSUMED BY THE BUYER.
Sale of firearms will be conducted through a legal transfer performed by a licensed FFL dealer. Buyer will be required to submit the required data to perform any necessary background checks to transfer the firearm. Buyer is responsible for all transfer fees. If Buyer fails to pass the necessary background check or other requirements for transfer; no refunds will be issued for the firearm.
If Buyer is unable to appear at the designated FFL dealer, chosen by the Auctioneer, the firearm can be shipped to a different FFL dealer; at Buyer's expense.
VEHICLES, TRAILERS, ATVs, MOTORCYCLES, SNOWMOBILES, VESSELS:
NO WARRANTIES are offered, expressed or implied on Vehicles, Trailers, RVs, ATVs, Motorcycles, Snowmobiles or Vessels. All are sold AS-IS WHERE-IS, buyer accepts the item AS-IS and buyer assumes ALL risks and/or liabilities. Buyer agrees to pay all associated expenses for acquiring, moving/removing, licensing, transfer of title, etc.
TITLE/OWNERSHIP OF GOODS:
Title and/or Ownership does not transfer to the winning bidder until complete and full payment has been submitted and clears.
AGENCY:
The Auctioneer is acting as agent only and is not responsible for acts of its principals.
United States
PICK UP BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
La Conner, WA
Address Will Be Provided To Winning Bidders
Pick Up Dates:
April 20th and 21st, 12:00pm - 7:00pm (pacific)
NO Other Dates Available, No Exceptions
No In-House Shipping Available For This Auction
Third-Party Shipping Allowed
See complete shipping details in auction terms.
Firearm Shipping Available From FFL to FFL
Questions: Email auctionmanager@pacificauctions.net