April 17 marks the much-anticipated culmination of more than two decades of dreaming and planning for The William Benton Museum of Art. Early American quilts from the Smithsonian at the Portland Museum of Art include rare pieced and whole-cloth American quilts made before 1850. During the time that the miniature was popular in America, from the mid-Eighteenth to the mid-Nineteenth centuries, family relationships grew increasingly important and children were newly cherished. "We were extremely satisfied with attendance," said Irene Stella, who noted a return of decorators as well as "very strong retail buying." With exhibitors from 12 countries offering a spectrum of Asian fine and decorative items, the New York Arts of Pacific Asia Show has never been more varied or beautiful. This cornerstone of the Asia Week shows and sales is perhaps the most stimulating of all the engrossing expos that each year convene at the Seventh Regiment Armory. It is certainly the most elegant. A prime selection of Pennsylvania/German smalls of the highest quality had everyone salivating, especially those dealers looking to stock up for the rapidly approaching Philadelphia Antiques Show. The circa 1820 work had been found lying face-down in the attic of a local estate with family history dating back to the 1600s. The figure, attributed to the shop of Gustav Dentzel, had traces of the original paint showing through with the remaining areas in a wonderful old dry crackled surface. "The young can easily be persuaded that the field is full, that all the answers are in, that everything has been published. I'm concerned that they feel welcome," states Garrett, whose preoccupation with the past is a measure of his concern for the future. Sumpter Priddy III recalls the moment that he first experienced Fancy, a cultural phenomenon of such immense proportions that its dimensions have remained uncharted for more than 150 years. Anne Lyman Powers' love of sports is shown in paintings and prints of the Boston Celtics, oarsmen, canoe paddlers and whitewater rafters at Childs Gallery. The Mercer Museum explores wildfowl hunting on the lower Delaware River from the late 1800s to the mid-Twentieth Century. Examples of this unique art form that flourished in rural areas of Mexico during the Nineteenth Century will be on view in the Fred Beans Gallery. Long Island has its own sense of style and design - and this show caters to it. Eighteenth Century French pieces also added flair to this prestigous show, as did Russian icons and Orientalia. Spring Olympia guidelines range from antiquities to items made yesterday, resulting in a fresh, energetic and stylish event. Top lot of the day was a Bremond interchangeable cylinder orchestral music box with 19-inch cylinders, which sold for a record price of $82,500. The imposing, inlaid mahogany bookcase-breakfront secretaire attracted substantial interest from local and overseas buyers. At the start of the sale it was standing room only, with a bank of seven phones active immediately. This exhibition offers visitors in the United States an opportunity to see some of Europe's greatest treasures in a year when the British pound and euro make traveling abroad an expensive proposition. In this new series of work at Allan Stone Gallery, Lorraine Shemesh, a classical figurative painter, uses water to reach beyond the directly observed world and explore more abstract concerns. This compelling exhibition traces the history of MoMA's acquisitions of Latin American and Caribbean art from the late 1930s to the present. The Palazzo Barbaro, that double-wide palace near the Accademia Bridge on the Grand Canal in Venice, is the inspiration for the final exhibition of the Centennial Celebration at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Montana's C.M. Russell Museum fires its executive director....Former Nassau County, N.Y. museum employee indicted for theft and fradulent sale of Wright Brothers airplane model....Another Dale Chihuly sculpture disappears from Oregon gallery. There were beautiful things to be found at the event, including some extraordinary English case furniture, American silver, American and Continental fine art and furniture. While walking through the Trump Taj Mahal casino, thoughts of The Donald naturally came to mind at the show, a popular, successful and money-making event in the world of antiques. The firm sold a pair of Chinese Zitan cabinets for $80,500 to a mainland Chinese buyer. One with an ivory handle and a shaft of timber from Independence Hall in Philadelphia was purchased by a collector on the phone for $10,640. Collectors from across the world bid against one another on the Internet, on the telephone and within the auction room. Of four known examples, the bicycle sold is the only one in original finish. It fetched a record price. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center's exhibition comprises 32 pieces of exquisite utilitarian items dating from 1500 to the end of the century. The Long Beach Museum of Art presents its first major exploration of contemporary turned wood sculpture in more than 30 years More than 20 original drawings, watercolors and paintings will be featured as well as rarely seen paintings from private collections. A principal focus of the museum has always been the work of artists associated with Pennsylvania by birth or domicile. Doris Duke, "the richest girl in the world," became a dedicated philanthropist and a knowledgeable, aesthetically sophisticated and passionate collector of art and decorative objects. There is no official name for it. No one person or organization runs it. In fact, it just grew, and it just happens. What is it? It's Round Top. Dealers for this event pay rents higher then most other shows, and there is still an enormous waiting list for exhibit spaces. Nearly 350 people packed into the ballroom of the 33rd Street Armory to honor Wendell Garrett, this year's recipient of the ADA Award of Merit. Yet another gallery burglarized in Santa Fe....Bard awards Walter Hopps....Indian artifacts found at an Arkansas construction site....Greg Martin adds Northeast agent. Bidders from across the United States, Hong Kong, Australia and the United Kingdom brought the auction total to $678,151. Only 92 of the motor-driven Leica 250 GGs were ever built, and all of the cameras were sold in 1942 to the German air force. "The Pemigewasset Coach" attracted the attention of numerous dealers and collectors from throughout the country, with eight phones lined up to compete. Eight decoys eclipsed the $100,000 mark at the firm's annual spring sale in the Pheasant Run Resort. The work of Reverend George Geistweite, the fraktur brought $366,750, selling to Massachusetts dealer David Wheatcroft. A turquoise-glazed monochrome dish from the Xuande period of the Ming dynasty was sold to an Asian private collector for $1,587,730. |
