Stories for August '19

(Issue Story)

A Collector’s Prime Directive: Be Prepared
by Baron Perlman

A seemingly unremarkable event got me thinking about a broader antiques-collecting issue. Recently I received an e-mail from well-known dealers who were having a sale. The correspondence was nicely done—good photos, tempting prices. An Indian basket in two or three colors was listed. My wife and I had a place ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

New Dealers for Original Midweek One Day Antiques Fair
by

Barn Star Productions’ Original Midweek One Day Antiques Fair on August 7 in Manchester, New Hampshire, will include several new exhibitors.The Midweek roster will now include Bill Powell, Blue Dog Antiques, Thurston Nichols, Mark and Lynda Suozzi Antiques, Steve Smoot Antiques & Navajo Textiles, Randi Ona Early American Antiques, Tom ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Rago and Wright Merge
by Lita Solis-Cohen

David Rago and Richard Wright have been collecting and selling 20th-century design for decades. David Rago’s first love, as a young dealer, was art pottery, Arts and Crafts furniture, and decorations. Richard Wright is known for his refined taste for 20th-century design, and modern, manufactured furniture and furnishings from the ... (Read More)

(Book Review)

My People: The Works of Ammi Phillips
by Lita Solis-Cohen

A Book Review My People: The Works of Ammi Phillips, Volume 1, and My People: The Works of Ammi Phillips, Volume 2, by David R. Allaway are available online to read for free at (https://issuu.com/n2xb). Ammi Phillips (1788-1865), the most prolific American country portrait painter of the 19th century, worked during a ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Lawsuit Filed Asking for Return of Two Louis Comfort Tiffany Paintings
by Clayton Pennington

Timo and Gordon Platt, co-trustees of the Platt Family Artwork Trust that was formed in 2018 to hold family paintings that had been held by Louise Platt (1902-1992) during her lifetime, filed suit in federal court in May against Allen Michaan and Michaan’s company, Auctions by the Bay, Inc., in ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Olde Hope to Open New York City Gallery
by Lita Solis-Cohen

“It was too good an opportunity not to act,” said Patrick Bell the day after he signed a five-year lease for a 700-square-foot gallery space at 115 East 72nd Street in New York City for a new Olde Hope gallery, the business he and his business partner, Edwin Hild, operate.“I have had an apartment ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

A Man of Sorrow: A New Bronze Face of Lincoln
by Pete Prunkl

Few members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences ever win an Oscar. The success rate for sculptors is even slimmer. Robert Merrell Gage (1892-1981) did not win an Oscar himself, but his stunning display of narrated sculpture-making in the 1956 film The Face of Lincoln was responsible for ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Letter from London
by by Ian McKay,

Substantial sections of this “Letter” are devoted to matters Russian, among them pictures, revolutionary ceramics, and a Fabergé menagerie, and to a spectacular Tompion clock with royal connections that made close on $2 million. Chairs, ceramics, and other Chinese treasures are also represented, along with a fine Modigliani portrait and a ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Sheldon Peck: Footsteps of His Life
by Kay Manning

Lombard Historical Society, Lombard, Illinois Sheldon Peck would head out from his Babcock’s Grove, Illinois, homestead clean-shaven and with little in his pockets but would return with a full beard and a full wallet from painting portraits, mostly of contemporaries in the antislavery and social justice movements. The itinerant painter earned $50 ... (Read More)

(Book Review)

Long Island’s Leading Silversmith
by Lita Solis-Cohen

A Book Review This book about the life and work of Southampton, New York, silversmith and entrepreneur Elias Pelletreau (1726-1810) makes the past come alive. It will give those who read it something to think about when stuck in traffic on Long Island’s Route 27 on the way to the Hamptons. ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

“Can You Do Better?”
by Clayton Pennington

Haggling. Dickering. Lowballing. Sally Schwartz, founder of Randolph Street Market in Chicago, recently forwarded us an Internet thread that discussed dealer responses to customers asking for discounts. The answers ranged from hilarious to frustrating and came from both from buyers and sellers. Now that summer is here—the time of big shows packed ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Exhibitions, August 2019
by M.A.D. staff

Claude Monet (1840-1926), Weeping Willow and Water Lily Pond, 1916-19, oil on canvas, 78¾" x 70¾". On loan from private collection. —Through September 15 —Fort Worth, Texas The Kimbell Art Museum is hosting Monet: The Late Years, a selection of 50 paintings on loan from major public and private collections in Europe, ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Hurry to See WALL POWER!
by M.A.D. staff

The exhibition WALL POWER! Quilts from the Werner and Karen Gundersheimer Gift will open on August 6 at the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) in New York City. It will be on display for only four weeks—through September 1. Included in the exhibition will be quilts recently gifted to the ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

New Curator of American Art at the Michener
by M.A.D. staff

Dr. Laura Turner Igoe is the new curator of American art at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Igoe has broad curatorial experience including the Harvard Art Museums, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum, and the Barnes Foundation. Exhibition projects she has contributed to include Nature’s Nation: ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Two Gems Surface at Evans Sale
by Walter C. Newman

Photos courtesy Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates held fine arts auctions in two marathon sessions, June 21 and 22. Among the nearly 1500 lots of fine Americana, folk art, pottery, and silver that crossed the block, two lots deserve close attention. First is a late 18th-/early 19th-century ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Poe’s Pocket Watch Sells for $250,000
by Bob Frishman

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was dirt poor for most of his short, tragic life. Perhaps he could have penned another fine ironic story had he foreseen that a gold pocket watch he briefly owned would sell for $250,000 (including buyer’s premium); the estimate was $80,000/120,000. At Christie’s New York City sale ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Civil War Black Regimental Flag Rises to $196,800
by M.A.D. staff

An 1864 Civil War flag that was carried into battle by Pennsylvania’s 127th Regiment of “Colored Troops” led the charge at Morphy’s June 12 and 13 auction in Denver, Pennsylvania, selling for $196,800 (includes buyer’s premium). The buyer was the Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Georgia. The 72" x 55¼" hand-painted silk ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Auction Highlights and News at Rago
by Mary Ann Brown

Antique Jewelry & Gemology Photos courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center Rago Arts & Auction Center’s June 9 fine jewelry auction was held on the heels of its unreserved jewelry auction on June 7. I chatted with Katherine Van Dell, director of the jewelry department, who filled me in on the sale ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Cropsey Hudson River View Tops Sale
by Jackie Sideli

William A. Smith, Inc., Plainfield, New HampshirePhotos courtesy William A. Smith, Inc. William A. Smith, Inc. held its 52nd annual Memorial Day auction at the company headquarters in Plainfield, New Hampshire, on May 27. The top lot of the sale was View of the Hudson by Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900), signed ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Prendergast’s Fantasy Tops Auction
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Bonhams, New York City Photos courtesy Bonham Bonhams offered 55 lots in its American art sale on May 22, the last entry on the calendar in a week filled with sales, open houses at the “Just Off Madison” event, and the 24th annual American Art Conference “Initiatives in Art and Culture,” held ... (Read More)

(Show)

Worth the Hunt
by Walter C. Newman

Virginia Pickers Festival, Glen Allen, Virginia About six months ago we visited a start-up antiques show in Glen Allen, Virginia. At that time it was dubbed the Virginia Pickers Antique & Collectors Show. The second edition of the show was held the weekend of May 17 and 18. The show has ... (Read More)

(Show)

Changes Are Coming at Fishersville
by Walter C. Newman

Shenandoah Antiques Expo, Fishersville, Virginia The semiannual Shenandoah Antiques Expo was held May 10 and 11 at the Augusta Expo complex in Fishersville, Virginia. This was the 64th edition of the show, which is produced, promoted, and managed by Heritage Promotions, Lynchburg, Virginia. Over the years, regular visitors to the Fishersville ... (Read More)

(Show)

Old West Show Is Better Than Ever
by Alice Kaufman

Grass Valley Old West Show, Grass Valley, California In its 20-year history—although the show started in 1984, there were several gaps between shows—the Grass Valley Old West Show in Grass Valley, California, has been bought and sold and has been near death if not dead. And yet, the show was back ... (Read More)

(Auction)

13th Annual Ohio Valley Auction & Americana
by Don Johnson

Garth’s Auctions, Columbus, Ohio Photos courtesy Garth’s Auctions Creep. That might have been considered the word of the day following the 13th annual Ohio Valley and Americana sale held by Garth’s Auctions on May 10 and 11 at its interim gallery in Columbus, Ohio. That’s “creep” as a verb rather than a ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Skinner Paintings
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Skinner, Boston, Massachusetts Two watercolors by John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) attracted much presale attention and were the headliners of Skinner’s American and European works of art sale held May 10 in the Boston gallery. The pictures came from a Boston estate. Bologna Fountain, a 1909 watercolor, gouache, and pencil brought $183,000 (including ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Oddities at Auction
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Doyle, New York City Photos courtesy Doyle Doyle, in business for 57 years, tried something new with an “Oddities” auction held on May 7. Culling examples of Outsider and folk art, 19th-century anatomical models, sideshow banners, vintage penny arcade machines, mourning jewelry, and other curiosities, the 343-lot sale offered something for everyone. Well, ... (Read More)

(Show)

Fine Art and Flowers at the Armory
by Julie Schlenger Adell

TEFAF New York Spring, New York City April showers brought May flowers to New York City along with TEFAF New York Spring. The third edition of the fair was held at the Park Avenue Armory May 2-7. It has become a required event on the calendars of collectors, curators, gallerists, and ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Sapphires and Diamonds Dazzle at Spring Auction
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Grogan & Company, Boston, Massachusetts Photos courtesy Grogan & Company Blue was the color of the day at Grogan & Company’s May 5 spring auction in its Boston gallery, where four sapphire and diamond rings brought a total of $286,700 (including buyers’ premiums). The sale was chock full of objects from across ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Zachary Taylor Flag Leads Auction Past $1.9 Million
by Susan Emerson Nutter

Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions When one of the leading companies in the auction industry, specifically historical and political Americana, states that an item it is offering for sale is truly unique, rest assured, the collecting community will tune in. Such was the case during the Americana and political ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Inaugural Auction at Bourgeault-Horan Antiquarians
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Bourgeault-Horan Antiquarians & Associates, Portsmouth, New HampshirePhotos courtesy Bourgeault-Horan Antiquarians & Associates The name may have changed, but the faces and places remain the same. The inaugural auction on May 5 of the official partnership of Bourgeault-Horan Antiquarians & Associates in the gallery at the Treadwell Mansion in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, demonstrated that ... (Read More)

(Show)

Antiques at The Tavern a Success
by Walter C. Newman

Hanover, Virginia The first annual Antiques at The Tavern antiques show and sale was held May 3-5 at the historic Hanover Tavern located at Hanover Courthouse, Virginia. Less than a year ago, David L. Deal, executive director of the Hanover Tavern Foundation, envisioned adding a “traditional antiques show” to the broad ... (Read More)

(Auction)

The Somerson Collection of 20th- and 21st-Century Metalwork and Jewelry
by Danielle Arnet

Toomey & Co., Oak Park, Illinois In what is believed to be the first-ever sale of its kind, Toomey & Co., Oak Park, Illinois, held a landmark single-owner sale on May 5 devoted solely to 20th- and 21st-century metalwork, including silver and jewelry. The auction offered curated items from the personal ... (Read More)

(Show)

Boone County Treasure Hunt
by Don Johnson

Lebanon, Indiana Change has been good for the Indy Antique Advertising Show. After being purchased in January 2017 by Nona and Mark Wilson of Northstar Collective, Park Falls, Wisconsin, it was moved out of Indianapolis and reinvented as part of the Boone County Treasure Hunt in Lebanon, Indiana. With the Indy ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Lalique Perfume Bottle Leads IPBA Auction
by Kay Manning

International Perfume Bottle Association, Itasca, Illinois Photos courtesy International Perfume Bottle Association Wine glasses in hand, members of the International Perfume Bottle Association (IPBA) settled into their chairs on May 3 in Itasca, Illinois, for the auction that is the exclamation point to the IPBA annual convention. With 180 lots to sell, ... (Read More)

(Show)

New Owners, New Era for Bowmanville
by Larry Thompson

Bowmanville Antiques and Folk Art Sale, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada An interesting trend showed itself in high contrast in this year’s Bowmanville Antiques and Folk Art Sale, held in Bowmanville, Ontario, at the G.B. Rickard Recreation Centre on Easter weekend, April 19 and 20. Let’s call it “Third Age” Canadiana. The “First Age” would ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Tiffany Name Is Golden at Art + Design Auction
by Don Johnson

Treadway Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio Photos courtesy Treadway Gallery A Tiffany Studios Daffodil table lamp sold for $46,875 (including buyer’s premium) to lead the Art + Design auction held by Treadway Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 7. Throughout the sale, Tiffany lamps once again proved to be in demand. Buyers were also ... (Read More)

(Young Collectors)

Those Weren’t the Days
by Hollie Davis and Andrew Richmond

The Young Collector As the last boy in his generation in our family, Nat has inherited all the LEGOs. And we do mean all. We have cardboard boxes filled with more than 50 pounds of LEGOs, but for someone who is an engineer in the making, one who enjoys the process ... (Read More)
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