On view at Wesleyan University's Davison Art Center through May 25 is a group of rarely seen calotypes by the Scottish photographers Hill and Adamson. Mamluk rugs are considered to be the finest carpets ever produced. The museum's collection, dating from the last quarter of the Fifteenth Century, is the largest and most important such assemblage in the world. Sixty-one paintings, sculptures and photographs from such Twentieth Century masters as Richmond Barthe, Romare Bearden, William H. Johnson, Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks, Roy De Carava and Renee Stout are included. "This is not a social event, but a sales event. Anyone serious within the area and many from far away do and should make it a point to get there." The one-weekend wonder of the March Triple Pier Antiques show delighted New Yorkers and others with a feast of antiques and collectibles. Pratt is "prepared to participate in an open, public civil proceeding to determine the provenance and ownership of [the document] that North Carolina claims belongs to it." The rare and early black duck was marked with an "N" and featured an undercut tail and deeply inletted head. The old in-use paint exhibited wear and cracking, but was still regarded as being in very good condition. A first edition of Arthur Bloche's "La Vente des Diamants de la Couronne," Paris, 1888, the rarest work about the sale of the French Crown Jewels following the French Revolution, soared to a record auction price. "It is extremely rare to find two large Tang horses of sancai-glazed pottery molded in this way as a complementary pair, with different colored coats, differently groomed manes and different saddle blankets." Gragg sought to create a more comfortable and durable design in a period when most people, rich and poor, ate and worked while perched on brittle, unforgiving seating. The Art Institute of Chicago celebrates the first comprehensive exhibition to include works from the entire region of the Himalaya Mountains. This spring 70 artists were selected for the exhibit, which is presented in alternate years and highlights works by both emerging and established artists associated with the state of Maine. The LACMA exhibit argues that the Mongol Confederacy's promotion of pan-Asian trade, its avid taste for luxury goods and its practice of relocating artists combined to produce an unprecedented cross-fertilization of artistic ideas throughout Eurasia. "I bought the Bill of Rights with an attorney present and paid for it with a check. At no time was there ever any mention that the document had been stolen," dealer Wayne Pratt told us. York was a specialist in American art, and dealt in a veritable who's who of artists from the mid-Seventeenth Century to the mid-Twentieth Century. The show has become the primary fundraising event for the Dorothy Whitfield Historic Society, and his year's event was again successful in its support. Year in and year out, through good times and bad, the fair delivers a quality selection of early New England furniture and choice accessories. Dedicated collectors are always there to buy. A collector outbid two phone bidders and two dealers in the room to take the pitcher for what is most likely a record, according to the gallery, and exceeding the presale estimate of $15/20,000. What Julia billed as the "finest Confederate battle flag ever offered at public auction" achieved a final price of $126,500, selling to a determined collector in attendance who beat out five phone participants. The clock was discovered in a Binghamton, N.Y., home by David Mapes. It had descended in the family of a shoe-manufacturing magnate since the early Twentieth Century. After 75 years of experience and evolution, Colonial Williamsburg is, in a word, a place where dedicated dealers and serious collectors, along with less informed and focused visitors, can pick and choose among a remarkable variety of opportunities to see and learn. Ann Lofquist, in her quiet, pastoral views of rural New England, continues the tradition of such Nineteenth Century American tonalist artists as George Inness, John Francis Murphy, Charles Warren Eaton and Henry Ward Ranger. Quidley has earned the coveted Copley Master award three times, and is praised for his control of light. Exhibited are 38 works by prominent American Modern artists thoughtfully assembled by one couple over two decades, primarily with the assistance of the gallery. This event has really not caught hold for the public, but is primarily attended by a good number of the dealers taking part in the other two shows in the city at the same time period. Probably the only setback the show experienced was one that was totally out of the control of management: This weekend happened to be the opening of the baseball season in Philadelphia and people turned out in droves to see the game. Once humble, the painted furniture and whimsical folk crafts of Pennsylvania Dutch country led sales at the show, a top venue for Americana. Now in its 42nd year, the 57-dealer fair boasted brisk attendance during its first three days. Ivey-Selkirk Auctioneers conducted its first gallery auction of the year at its Clayton location, and totals came within 10 percent of low estimates at $923,222 for 950 lots. Eighty-seven percent of the lots offered found buyers. The circa 1820 tooth that had scrimshaw decoration on both sides, weighed one pound, six ounces, and was found in a house in Connecticut. "This has to be a record price for a Pennsylvania stove plate," said manager John McClain. A particularly nice specimen, the plate had Dutchy tulips, the date 1763, and the name of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. One unscrupulous visitor was appropriating images and descriptions of American art pottery at the auctioneer's site, then putting the pieces up for bogus auctions on eBay. If this sounds familiar, it is only one of the latest examples of such fraudulent eBay auctions. At a time when French and American relations are once again making daily news, the nation will celebrate the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, an event that helped determine the future roles of both countries on the world stage. The exhibition puts the Cahoons' work in context with that of other important American primitive artists of the Twentieth Century. The Museum of the City of New York's main floor south exhibition galleries are filled with rich evocations of Harlem's past as well as documents of the area's bright future. The Hydes preferred certain artists and among their earliest purchases were works by Frank Duveneck, Childe Hassam, Willard L. Metcalf, James McNeill Whistler and Abbot Henderson Thayer. People dolls, baby dolls, animal dolls, cartoon dolls, stuffed dolls - china, porcelain and bisque dolls - you name it, it was probably at the 36th semiannual Eastern State Doll, Toy and Teddy Bear Show. With almost 1,000 dealers selling everything from monumental French bronzes to marbles, shoppers instinctively paraphrased the immortal cinematic words of Oz's Dorothy. Despite its relative informality, Arts of Pacific Asia has some things in common with the International show, namely exhibitors. Some dealers in each fair started at the other, and this year two exhibitors participated in both shows. The top lot was a Patek Philippe "World Time" watch with two crowns, complete with an extract from the archives and original certificate. Produced in 1965 and originally sold in October 1974, it achieved $952,920. The spring estates sale at Neal Auction Company attracted considerable interest from a large gallery crowd and numerous phone bidders. Highlighting the auction was the collection of James D. Parker, who began amassing antiques in the 1960's during a period that he termed "late in his life." The offerings attracted attention from collectors throughout the country. This was only the second Winterthur forum devoted entirely to furniture, but openings were aggressively sought. Three weeks after brochures were distributed, all 100 seats were filled, and there was a waiting list. Winslow Homer used his knowledge and observations in watercolors and a few paintings of angling situations that are unparalleled in our art history. It is the first show solely devoted to this major American artist's still life paintings, bringing together key works that have not been included in recent exhibitions. James Graham & Sons has opened the first retrospective of works by the American modernist Helen Torr (1886-1967), which will continue through June 8. The exhibition is organized to provide viewers with a behind-the-scenes look at the research methods used to trace the history of works of art, and is on view through August 10. The antiques business in Woodbury lost a cornerstone last Wednesday, April 23, with the passing of Leslie Claydon-White of Mill House Antiques. The Cape Cod Antiques Dealers Association sadly reports the passing of Bob Burns, vice president and manager of the organization's Summer Antiques Exposition in Orleans. Pat's natural curiosity always led her to find the unusual and often the unique. Her expertise ranged from tools of early needlework to medical curiosities, and from to fine faience to furniture of architectural significance. "As goes Wall Street, so goes Bedford," is a phrase one dealer overheard several times. The shared pulse at the nexus of this leafy Westchester County enclave and the nation's financial heartbeat is not hard to discern, because the business of "getting" is the main occupation of a lot of people in town. This was the second offering of Schaeffer's spatter ware collection at Pook's, with rock solid prices once again established across the boards. As the first painting headed for the podium, several of the runners were extremely busy - not getting the paintings ready for the block, but setting up additional seating to accommodate an enthusiastic crowd estimated to be in excess of 300. "It had a significant single-family history," stated auctioneer Kaja Veilleux prior to the sale. "It came straight out of a Brunswick home and has never previously been offered to the public." Cementing its growing national reputation as an outstanding regional museum and the leading repository of Connecticut art, the museum is exhibiting spectacular additions to its collection in recently expanded facilities. Frank Lloyd Wright's leaded glass windows, or "light screens," as he called them, are dazzling viewers in an exhibit currently on view at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. |
