At a furniture workshop for the 2003 class of the Historic Deerfield Summer Fellows at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life, Phil Zea and two fellows examine a dovetailed drawer.
:The view from Philip Zea's office tucked in back of the sprawling Historic Deerfield campus offers a glimpse into early American life.
One can barely hear the passing cars as they traverse the road behind the building, past a thicket of trees. Out front, the pedestrian-friendly street and the antique homes that dot either side serve as testament to a passion for preserving New England history and the culture of the Connecticut River Valley.
"We view this street and the surrounding land as the museum's largest artifact," says Zea, president of Historic Deerfield since 2003.
Zea has found his niche spanning the twinned yet independent worlds of the antiques trade and museums throughout his far-reaching career.
"I've tried to build my career as a bridge between both worlds," he said. "It's all one business and the passion is based on an appreciation and love of design and technique and the stories behind the objects, as well as the friends and acquaintances you make along the way."
A common refrain among Zea's peers is their admiration for his approachability and willingness to share his considerable knowledge.
This photograph of Phil Zea and author Beth Gilgun of Warwick, Mass., was taken at the bar in the Hall Tavern at Historic Deerfield to publicize one of Deerfield's many colonial programs.
That, combined with his infectious enthusiasm for antiques and cultural history, is what led the Antiques Dealers Association of America (ADA) to name Zea its 2009 Award of Merit winner. The award will officially be presented at a dinner in Zea's honor on April 18, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Antiques Show at the Navy Yard. Past winners include Joe Kindig III, Wendell Garrett, Elinor Gordon, Albert Sack, Betty Ring, Dean Failey and Scudder Smith.
"Phil is one of the most approachable people I've met. He is always interested, he is always looking and thinking and always engaged," said ADA President John Keith Russell. "He's the first to jump in the back of a van and look at something and talk about it and share his thoughts."
Zea has spent his career devoted to the study and preservation of artifacts and colonial culture. He is well steeped in the world of academia, but he is far from the quintessential image of a staid museum director.
