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Jean Sinenberg’s Prestige Shows filled the Bridgehampton Community House with exhibitors offering early home furnishings, antiques for the garden, jewelry and fine art at the 17th annual Hamptons Antiques Classic & Design Show & Sale July 10–13.
Hot weather greeted exhibitors and shoppers returning to the fields here for the July 8–13 edition. Much like life in the southern Mediterranean, the midsummer Brimfield show typically adopts a more languorous pace and offers more space for exhibiting dealers.
Weekly auctions at Broad Cove Auctions turn up a wide range of buying opportunities for collectors and dealers who crowd the ballroom just off Hingham Harbor. The sales draw a loyal audience from the area for whom the Monday night auction is a regular event.
As part of its ongoing transformation, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has unveiled its newly reinstalled Latin American galleries in the Art of the Americas building, featuring ancient American, Spanish colonial, modern and contemporary works.
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will present “House Proud: Nineteenth Century Watercolor Interiors from the Thaw Collection,” an exhibition that examines the evolution of the domestic interior in Nineteenth Century interior watercolors.
Antiques Week in New Hampshire got off to a scorching start on August 1, with Northeast Auction’s annual summer Americana auction, which this year grossed an impressive $9.37 million. For the first time since 1923, works from the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art’s American collection is being shown outside its walls with works from the collection of the adjoining Sackler Gallery. “Seascapes: Tryon & Sugimoto,” is on view through January 25 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
On a recent quiet morning, two persons broke into the Walpole Unitarian Church on Main Street and stole items from the sanctuary including two small wooden tables, a Tibetan singing bowl, a large painting of a biblical landscape scene and a sound system with amplifiers and microphones. A rare Wave Crest egg crate mold hinged box sold for $9,460 at the recent sale of the Brinkman collection conducted by Woody Auction of Douglass, Kan.
Longtime antiques show promoter James Robert “Jim” Burk, Sr, 78, died August 3, after a brief stay at the Essa Flory Hospice Center, Lancaster. Drivers whizzing by on the New York State Thruway in central New York are familiar with the iconic Beech-Nut sign that crowns the quiet little village of Canajoharie, N.Y. Until recently, at least, few were aware that Canajoharie boasts a remarkable collection of American art. Since 1927 it has been housed in the Canajoharie Library and Art Center, established by Bartlett Arkell, founder and first president of the Beech-Nut Packing Company and art collector extraordinaire. Working with MacBeth Gallery in New York, Arkell assembled an outstanding trove of work by Gilbert Stuart, Winslow Homer, George Inness, John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, John H. Twachtman, Maurice Prendergast, Mary Cassatt and many others. Housed for years in cramped quarters, the Beech-Nut magnate’s collection is now displayed in the splendid new Arkell Museum, which doubled the available space and provides all of the amenities of a modern art museum. The 36,000-square-foot, $10 million Arkell Museum opened late last year.
The second annual East Hampton Antiques Show, July 12–13 boasted full tents, and, according to the historical society, this was the largest number of visitors to any event at Mulford Farm.
A small and select Martin Johnson Heade painting that had first been appraised by Robert Eldred during an appraisal clinic conducted at the gallery back in February sold for more than a million dollars at Eldred’s auction August 1. Lovers of horology gathered June 18 to bid on the 401 highly collectible timepieces offered in Antiquorum’s sale of important collectors’ wristwatches, pocket watches and clocks, resulting in an auction total of $5,428,852.
A rare drop-head dragonfly Tiffany floor lamp achieved $170,500 at Blanchard’s Auction Service’s annual August in the Adirondacks on-site event August 8. Christie’s Impressionist and Modern art evening sale on June 24 realized $283,970,023 — the highest ever total for an art auction conducted in Europe. The top lot of the auction was “Le bassin aux nymphéas,” a masterpiece painting by Claude Monet, which realized $80,451,178, a world record price for the artist at auction.
Coming as a surprise to many, Linda Turner of Forbes and Turner Antiques Shows announced last week that the fall Hartford Antiques Show has been cancelled for next month. Goosefare Antiques & Promotions filled Camden Regional High School’s gymnasium and cafeteria with antiques for the Camden-Rockport Historical Society Antiques Show July 19–20.
The Hildene Antiques Show edition on July 12 offered an unhurried atmosphere as attendees strolled the rows of merchandise displayed at the meadow portion of the Hildene estate.
James Brainard Horton died on August 2, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was retired from Horton Brasses, a well-known manufacturer of authentic reproduction brass furniture hardware. “Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection” places contemporary jewelry within a larger framework of Twentieth and TwentyFirst Century art at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design August 16–January 4.
The summer doldrums were whisked aside by a lively one-day Rhinebeck Summer Magic Antiques Fair at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds on July 26.
Rose Hill’s “last but not least” major sale of the season, the mid-Twentieth Century Modern, took place June 23 to a full and enthusiastic house. A pewter creamer by William Will, Philadelphia (active 1764–98) was reported stolen from a booth at the Mid*Week in Manchester Antiques Show on August 6 here. French artist Edgar Degas’ first ballerina painting, the monumental “Portrait of Mademoiselle Eugénie Fiocre in the Ballet ‘La Source,’” is now on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
On June 29, Maitre Jean-Pierre Osenat conducted a sale of 100 lots from the collection of the Hôtel de Masseran that realized a total of $14.5 million for the Republic of the Ivory Coast, which will use the funds raised for the restoration of the Hôtel de Masseran.
Throughout the Twentieth Century, generations of Massachusetts schoolchildren were hauled regularly through a gloomy mansion on Salem Harbor. That it was old, everyone knew. That it was dark, creaky and downright spooky, they soon found out. Most interesting of all was its secret staircase that set the fecund imaginations of most fourth graders racing toward the realm of witches, ghosts and evil spirits. Such was the reputation of the House of the Seven Gables. Its importance today is as a compelling and living document of history, preservation and the social and economic history of Salem over three and a half centuries. In acknowledgment of its unique history and character, the house, and its cluster of adjacent properties, has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Its significance lies in the 1909 restoration, which made it one of the earliest houses in the United States to be restored to its Seventeenth Century state, and which also drew on details from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel of the same name.
When the winds of fortune blow, they sometimes pick up bits of old newspaper. If one is lucky enough to latch onto a few, as Eric Caren did, they might find a career in the printed page. At least that is how the noted newspaper collector remembers the day in 1971 when he explored the grounds of a derelict Brooklyn newspaper archive and discovered a field littered with yesterday’s news. Fascinated, Caren did what any 11-year-old boy might do; he snatched as many of the pages as he could carry and raced back to the safety of his bedroom to examine the booty. The black and white treasures, printed on two sides, the type interrupted by steel cut engravings, sparked his imagination and inspired a career. Caren now presides over one of the finest collections of rare newspapers in the world. He is also one of the leading contributors of historic documents to the recently opened Newseum in Washington, D.C. Caren recently invited Antiques and The Arts Weekly to view a portion of the collection stored in one of several warehouses.
Taking place annually during a week filled with regional auctions and antiques shows, the ever-popular Cape Cod Antiques Show August 1–3 expanded in size and scope in 2007 and again for this year, now hosting 50 dealers.
A sparkling little gem of a show made its 53rd appearance over the weekend of July 31–August 2, and at that age, it is one of the oldest shows in the region. The second in a weeklong series of decoy auctions, Copley Fine Arts conducted its annual sale on Wednesday and Thursday, July 23 and 24, with a fine selection of sporting materials, waterfowl decoys and related materials.
Usually conducted midway through the annual summertime waterfowl auctions conducted in New England, Ted Harmon of Decoys Unlimited jumpstarted the 2008 schedule by advancing his auction one full week and moving to the front of the lineup.
The sizzling hot midsummer Midwest weather closely mirrored the heated bidding that took place at Jackson’s International July 15 and 16 auction. The sale attracted more than 500 bidders worldwide, representing 23 countries and producing sales of $2.2 million.
Joseph Lehman, who was in the antiques business for more than 35 years, died August 7, after a 2½-year battle against cancer. Opening on October 26 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), “Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913–2008” brings together 150 of the magazine’s iconic portraits, exploring celebrity and photography from the past century.
As several fully rigged tall ships sailed into Portsmouth Harbor this past weekend, Ron Bourgeault and his crew at Northeast Auctions set sail for yet another blockbuster marine, China Trade and sporting art auction. The tally for the August 15–17 auction of 1,750-plus lots, totaled an impressive $7.9 million. William G. “Bill” Holden, 60, died unexpectedly of natural causes at his home here on April 22. He dealt in scientific and nautical antiques. Yeshiva University Museum will be the only North American venue for an unusual and significant exhibition of gold and silver jewelry, tableware and rare coins, all from the medieval period, culled from a personal Jewish treasure hoard uncovered in Erfurt, Germany. “Erfurt: Jewish Treasures from Medieval Ashkenaz” will be on view at Yeshiva University Museum September 9–January 29.
In 2006, a treasure trove of all kinds of art work — some of which has subsequently been identified as stolen — was uncovered in a New York City apartment. In an effort to track down the rightful owners, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the public administrator of New York County have posted pictures of the most important pieces on the FBI’s website.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a burglary of a residence here that occurred sometime between mid-April and mid-May of this year. Antiques show promoter Meg (Wendy) Geslin continues to reinvent the brand of her family-owned show-management business, this time by joining forces with Manhattan Media, which publishes Avenue, Manhattan’s premiere society magazine.
On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Ballets Russes and based on an original idea by Ravenscourt Galleries, Sotheby’s will stage an exhibition, “Dancing Into Glory,” at the Galerie Charpentier from September 17 to 23 of works lent mainly by French, British and Russian private collectors, museums and foundations.
The third in the series of summer waterfowl auctions in New England, certainly the northernmost and perhaps the most popular of the events, was hosted by Guyette & Schmidt over the weekend of July 26 and 27.
Art Deco dealer Muir Hewitt is in shock over the theft of some 55 pieces from his inventory — most of them rare Clarice Cliff pieces — stolen in a break-in in the early morning hours of July 26. A comprehensive selection of works from Harvard Art Museum’s three constituent museums — Fogg, Busch-Reisinger and Arthur M. Sackler — will be shown together for the first time in the exhibition “Re-View,” opening September 13, at the Sackler Museum, 485 Broadway.
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Well before 8 am on August 5, people had made their way to the Deerfield Fairgrounds and were anxiously awaiting the opening of Nan Gurley’s Americana Celebration, now the second event of Antiques Week in New Hampshire.
The consensus seemed favorable among early patrons on line at the Bedford Pickers Market over the show's move to a Monday opening. An even mix of dealers and retail buyers turned up for an opportunity to add to stock or to broaden a collection of Cape Ann art offered at the August 6 Blackwood March auction.
Topping the day at the June 22 sale at Burchard Galleries was an outstanding collection of American gold coins from an Orlando estate that soared over estimate
David Park Curry, senior curator of decorative arts, American painting and sculpture at the Baltimore Museum of Art, will present a lecture, “In Praise of Shadows,” on Sunday, September 7, at 3 pm, at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.
The Corcoran Gallery of Art will premiere a special exhibition, “Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power,” September 13–January 25, in conjunction with the presidential election season in Washington, D.C.
Back for the third year amid the historic landscape of the 36-acre Massachusetts Horticultural Society center, Marvin Getman’s show, Antiques at Elm Bank, drew a strong gate on July 26 and 27.
The August 7 edition of Flamingo Eventz's Granite State Book & Ephemera Fair offered a balanced mix of dealers showing maps and prints, post cards, posters and books.
Robert M. Mardirosian, 74, a retired lawyer charged in 2007 by federal authorities of possessing, transporting and attempting to sell paintings allegedly stolen by a former client, now deceased, was found guilty by a jury in US District Court here on August 18. If it’s raining, it has to be Mid*Week in Manchester. Such was the case again this year as people began lining up for the opening of this popular show on Tuesday morning, August 5. A major international exhibition opening September 13 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, “Art in the Age of Steam: Europe, America and the Railway, 1830–1960,” will capture the excitement and range of emotions that steam-powered trains elicited as railroads reshaped culture around the world.
A routine, though unexplainable, happening marks the opening of the New Hampshire Antiques Show where a handful of buyers will wait in line wait for hours to be, if not, first, through the gate then among the first few. Minna Rosenblatt, a leading figure among the first generation of antiques dealers responsible for the 1950s revival of Tiffany lamps and French, Austrian and American art glass from the Art Nouveau period, died August 2 at her country home. An impressive array of fine sports memorabilia and cards offered by SCP Auctions was eagerly received by hundreds of collectors who participated in its July 12 Internet auction. The 507 lots in the sale generated more than $2.3 million, exceeding the firm’s presale estimate.
The auction of the Robert Lesser robot and space toy collection went out with a bang in a phone and online sale conducted by the Smith House Toy & Auction Company. The sale broke house records for length and website hits, and attracted bidders from across the United States and overseas who would not let it end. It was standing room only at the St Charles Gallery sale July 26–27 at an auction offering many fine antiques, including property from the estates of former St Louis Cathedral organist Dr Elise M. Cambon and millionaire philanthropist John A. Marque.
Start of Manchester Antiques Show, smallest of New Hampshire’s Antique Week general line shows, had the highest attendance in its 11-year history for a full house of exhibiting dealers.
On August 17, a valuable Seward Johnson bronze sculpture titled “Time’s Up,” depicting a policeman, was stolen from the corner of Broad Street and Greyrock Place, opposite Macy’s. The theft occurred after months of Stamford showcasing a 53-sculpture exhibit of the celebrated sculptor’s lifelike bronzes throughout the downtown streets. The works of 11 contemporary Illinois artists who employ plants as subjects will be on display in “The Leaf and the Page” at the Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery, through January 16.
Unique stylistically and projecting a long-awaited visual beacon of revolution and individualism at the start of the Twentieth Century, German Expressionists broke new ground in the art world with their bold and poignant imagery. The Expressionist groups Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brucke and the postwar trend of Neue Sachlichkeit all laid the foundation for new social trends by fueling public passion. Although relatively short-lived, the Expressionist Movement is as equally respected today as it was a century ago. Celebrating the movement, the exhibition “Impassioned Images: German Expressionist Prints” is on view through October 26 at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Organized by and consisting of works from the Syracuse University art collection, “Impassioned Images” explores the visions of numerous artists who engaged their charged emotions via printmaking. The exhibition presents 50 woodcuts, lithographs and etchings by many of the seminal German artists of the early Twentieth Century. |
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