Stella’s Pier Antiques Show Adds An Artful Dimension

New York City

:Reprising its popular and comprehensive antiques event — and augmenting it with a new art show called "Others" — Stella Show Mgmt Co. whipped up a pre-Thanksgiving feast at Piers 94 and 92 on November 17 and 18.

Recently beset by scheduling and logistics arabesques that seemingly only the Big Apple can provide, for this event show manager Irene Stella was blessed with great weather, a shuttered Broadway (thanks to the stagehands' strike) and a lively urban shopping crowd not yet immobilized by Turkey Day gluttony.

"We were pleased, almost pleasantly surprised, at how well the dealers did on the first day," said Stella. "It was more difficult than we thought it would be to get people to finish up on Pier 94 and move over to Pier 92, however, and we are reassessing whether we should combine the two shows in March. Overall, though, we were pleased that we can still get the people out."

"There was a great crowd on Saturday, who were very enthusiastic, energized and eager to acquire great pieces. No signs of an economy slowdown in New York City!" agreed one of the Modern dealers.

Lance Hoyt Antiques, Brewerton, N.Y., was set up in the Americana section, displaying with ironic delight a collection of doll head molds that had been sold to a Chinese company when the original Upstate New York company had gone out of business. "As works of art, they are an American icon, and as eerie as they seem, they kind of grow on you," said the dealer who added that he has been "buying things that sell" since the late 1980s.

Also among Americana dealers, Carole Ann Hart Antiques of Redding, Conn., left her signature British campaign furniture at home, choosing to feature instead a mix of traditional Nineteenth Century furniture and Twentieth Century industrial pieces, including a metal cart from a turn-of-the-century knife factory. An early sale was a round English mahogany tilt-top table, circa 1870, and Hart also wrote a sales slip for a Nineteenth Century mahogany bookcase.

"Both were satisfying sales, as usually mahogany is slow to sell in the city," said Hart "I have several new pieces coming in from England soon, so I hope the trend continues. The Pier show is wonderfully diverse and it's been fun to have been part of it for over 15 years. New Yorkers are so full of energy. It was fun to see Kevin Bacon there, who stopped in my booth to look at two industrial carts that I had."

Fine art was the draw at Joseph Dasta Art & Antiques, Rochester, N.Y., who specializes in American and European Nineteenth and Twentieth Century paintings, sculpture and photography. Works on display ranged from an earth-toned farmhouse scene by G.J. Taylor to a more vibrantly hued still life with bottle by Henri Gaudriot, a Twentieth Century Finger Lakes regional artist.

The show went well for Willmert/Newel Antiques, Gray, Maine. A pair of white 1940s upholstered chairs sported red sold stickers early in the show. Lawrence Newell and Gerald Willmert said their sales included a large, two-piece French painted cabinet and a three-piece cedar patio set, along with mirrors and a great old metal locker. "We look forward to the Pier shows, doing business in New York City and working with the Stellas," said the dealers.

A museum-like presentation of several metal bowling balls from the French game of petanque (derived from "ped tanco," feet together on the ground) acted as a booth magnet for Bonkey's Treasures And Wonderful Finds. The Hellertown, Penn., dealers Jerry and Janice Bonk make frequent shopping trips to Europe, and these were a result of a recent foray. "The show was fabulous," said Janice Bonk. "It is a show Jerry and I enjoy as both spectators and as exhibitors. Everyone is showing off their most wonderful pieces. We work for months getting pieces ready for 'prime time' and our efforts were rewarded. Appreciative customers came both Saturday and Sunday. "

The couple sold a couple of pieces to a big department store, "which was a thrill for us. Maybe we will see them in their shop windows, or maybe they will be used as display pieces in the store."

Janice Bonk added that while they are disappointed there will be no January show, they look forward to seeing everyone again in March. "We promise more great pieces!"

Antique and illustrative prints were on parade at Through The Years, Riverdale, N.Y. Nancy and Harry Allen have been dealing in vintage American print and advertising materials at the Pier show for about 12 years. The show was good for them, said Nancy Allen. "The people who came were as delightful as ever — enthusiastic, educated in the world of antiques and collectibles and a pleasure to chat with." Allen said she also noticed a large influx of European shoppers. "I had people from England, Germany and Italy who said that their trip here was as a result of the weak dollar."

Allen said there was a huge interest by many customers in the Harlem Renaissance artists, such as E.M. Washington and Paul Colin. "I sold works by both," she said.

Back in Fashion Alley, Andrea Hall Levy of Riverdale, N.Y., was not only displaying a playful palette of vintage dresses, hats and accessories, but also sharing her exciting news about Anjanou, her vintage store in Riverdale that had opened the previous week.

"I am happy to say that this was my most successful Pier show to date," said Levy. "The Pier show always attracts the biggest and best crowds. My customers cover a broad spectrum from young urban professionals to seasoned collectors to designers. Furs and hand knits seemed to be hotter this year than ever. Some of the special pieces I sold were a brown broadtail with fox trim Schiaparelli coat; a monkey cape and muff; a 1960s Lanvin knit dress and a 1960s Geoffrey Beene knit dress."

Levy also sold many hand knit sweaters dating as early as the 1930s and, of course, lots of accessories, including handbags, boots, gloves (mostly 1940s) and hats. "If I had a dozen more berets and Rosenfeld fur handbags, I could have sold them all," she exclaimed.

Classical and formal antiques were represented within a large section of the show located to the left of the entrance to Pier 94. Acanthus Antiques, Kensington, Md., was one such dealer, focusing on Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Century period antiques, including American, English and Continental furniture, along with a selection of fine art from the Seventeenth through the Twentieth Centuries. Showing an English faux painted "bamboo" chest, a French neoclassical gilt bronze clock and a Nineteenth Century French Louis XV-style candelabra, dealers Karen and Lawrence Perlmutter also featured a colorful painting by Jose Pinelo (1861–1922), titled "The Parrot," priced at $26,000, and Antoine Blanchard's "Paris Opera" for $16,500.

"The attendance of the show was very good," said the Perlmutters. "We did notice that there was greater hesitancy to make larger purchases. We did have a good show, but it was off from the spring. We attribute it to uncertainty in the economy."

Exhibitor Paul Haig from Rochester, Mich., has specialized in fine jewelry since he opened his shop on Main Street in Rochester in 1973. Another focus is Asian antiques and Haig noted sales of some fine ancient gold coins, a screen made from Nineteenth Century Japanese woodblock prints of textile designs, a pair of Eighteenth Century Japanese ningyo empress and emperor dolls and many other pieces. Among the rarities he displayed was a pair of old wine jars that had been de-accessioned from the Nelson Museum of Natural History in Battle Creek, Mich. The vases were said to have been made and used around the time of Christ.

"The crowd was great, and we were busy with customers during the entire show," said Haig. "We saw a number of first-time buyers to our business, along with our regulars who shop us every time we come into town."

Charles Washburne, the Solebury, Penn., dealer whose name is synonymous with high-end majolica, did not disappoint, bringing to the show a vividly detailed and colorful George Jones turquoise majolica "Full Nest" game pie dish, circa 1875, featuring rabbits and ducks, and a rare cobalt royal blue Wedgwood pitcher in helmet form with an unusual overglaze decoration. By 10 am on Saturday, he was already reporting two nice sales, a Minton nesting bird piece and a Wedgwood Punch & Judy teapot.

A series of "physiological profile" game cards that had been assembled and mounted in frames garnered double takes among visitors at Double Vision, Venice, Calif. The game involved creating personality "archetypes" by mixing and matching a variety of facial features, such as a "narrow minded" man with stubborn eyes (close together), a long, narrow nose and thin lips with a long space between the nose and mouth. "The show was a big success for almost everyone I talked to," said John Scott. "We had the best show ever at the Pier." Scott and Elayne Glotzer, deal in eclectic Modern merchandise, and they enjoyed multiple sales. "Some people bought five pieces," said Scott.

"Our selection was unusual for the Pier," he continued. "We had framed our pieces in a very decorative manner and it made a difference. The shoppers have to learn that you cannot think about something and hope it's still there hours later. Some people never learn. I don't like disappointed customers. We had so much, but we went home with maybe a third of it left. We were amazed by the amount of sales."

Similarly, Stan and Nikki Chaman of Pre-View, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., noted that this Pier show was their second best in nine years. "We thought the attendance was way above normal and the spending that many dealers experienced was, too," said Nikki Chaman.

One of the couple's more notable sales was a sofa in the style of Vladimir Kagan, which the customer persuaded them to deliver to Long Island on Saturday evening. "After a 45-minute drive out on the Long Island Expressway, which we had never before traveled on, being from Florida, we arrived at a fabulous midcentury house nestled in a densely wooded neighborhood," recalled Chaman. "Greeted by the owners, who helped us lug this rather large three-seat sofa off the back of a rental truck, we all placed their new acquisition center stage in an all-glass living room. Wow! It looked stunning and they couldn't have been more thrilled, appreciative and grateful. We spent an hour chatting, laughing and came away knowing we had all forged a new friendship."

As with any new effort, there were the usual minor miscues that made it difficult for dealers and customers to connect with one another. One dealer who was among the 65 additional antiques exhibitors set up on Pier 92 complained of poor attendance on Saturday, believing that many people were not aware of their presence. "On Sunday, Irene Stella, who is really caring of her dealers and listens to dealers' comments, made announcements about the existence of Pier 92 over the loudspeaker on Pier 94 throughout the day," the dealer added. "The attendance on Pier 92 significantly improved. Unfortunately, Sunday shoppers are more lookers than buyers, so overall, we did not do well."

Pier 92's "Others" Art Show, new this year, presented artwork that was "outside the box" — whether visionary, compulsive or self-taught. Media ran the gamut of paintings on found objects to photography, sculpture, ceramics and folk art. Visitors to the more traditional antiques show could, for the same $15 admission, view a panoply of styles — everything from Bearsville, N.Y., artist/dealer Lenny Kislin's ironic constructions — a heart-shaped piece of polished driftwood impaled by a knife and fork was titled "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart" — to a collection of "Naughty Nellie" bootjacks at A Bird in Hand, Florham Park, N.J., and the urban art of Miamian Purvis Young at Rising Fawn Gallery of Lookout Mountain, Tenn.

For Eighteenth Century "gossip girls," Steve Erenberg of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., had just the remedy — a collection of "branks" or scold's bridles. They looked like torture devices and were not far from it in application. The metal cages were made to fit over the head and featured a built-in gag. "They were used to humiliate the 'scold', who would be forced to wear it while being paraded through the streets," explained Erenberg. The dealer, who specializes in what he calls "oddball and scary scientific stuff," ended up selling one of the branks — an example that resembled a pig's head, complete with snout, devilish ears and protruding tongue — to a collector, who also purchased a collection of turn-of-the-century smoke rescue masks.

Erenberg also wrote up sales slips for a horse's gas mask and three or four pieces of antique lighting. "The show went well for me," said Erenberg, adding that Saturday seemed the busier of the two days.

"i'm sorry i'm late," Scott Ackerman's pictorial account of a girlfriend's casually delivered, heart-crushing remark was among the paintings sold by the young Brooklyn artist who goes by the name lovescott. "I sold two paintings during the show. Both paintings were sold to couples and a lot of my paintings have to do with relationships, good or bad, and they picked up on a message I painted, so it felt so good to see that I can paint something and someone can relate to almost exactly how I feel or felt while painting it. I sold 'i'm sorry I'm late' to a man I met at the show on Saturday," said Ackerman. "I think that doing a show like this is difficult with such a wide variety of art, but as it was the first year Stella Shows did this kind of event, I think it went fine for a lot of the artists."

Ackerman would prefer that the art show be decoupled from the antiques show, but added, "Who knows? Maybe the people who bought my paintings were there for the Pier Antiques Show and just strolled by."

"The 'Others' art show was a very well run event. It ran quite smoothly for a first time show, with many booths also exhibiting for the first time," said Gail Casale of Street to Studio Fine Art, New York City. "The traffic was a bit slow and we all expected to have a brisk flow of people spilling over from the antiques show at Per 94, which didn't really happen. I was extremely impressed with the quality of work that was exhibited and the graciousness of the exhibitors. Our sales were not as brisk as we would have liked, but taking all things into account, it was a positive experience. Irene Stella runs a very professional show.

"My most memorable sale happened at 6 pm on Sunday, just as we were breaking down the booth. A woman who had stopped by earlier and loved Tony Lordi's domino tie came back with her husband. They decided to buy the piece and much to their delight, the artist, Tony Lordi, was in the booth and signed the piece for them. We packed it up and they walked out carrying a 4-foot black and white tie called 'Formal Attire.' It was ironic that for two days we were hoping for activity and at the 11th hour the most expensive sale was made."

As previously reported, Americana at the Piers will not be presented in January due to construction schedule conflicts at the Piers. The regular Pier Antiques Show is set for March 15 and 16 at Pier 94. For information, 212-255-0020 or www.stellashows.com .