Stella’s Modern Show Takes Buyers To New Heights

New York City

:Stella Show Mgmt Co set up its Modern Show on the 11th floor of 7 West 34th Street, with views of the Empire State Building as a fitting Art Deco backdrop. The show ran October 16–18 to rave reviews from dealers and shoppers alike. "Sales were remarkably good as the decorators were back," said Irene Stella, the founder of Stella Show Mgmt Co, the organizers. While trying to take a back seat in the day-to-day operations of the business, Stella still participates in the production of the shows and she was there on opening day expressing great pleasure at the site and the dealers' sales.

"Balsamo had two giant tables that we thought would not make it onto the elevators, but they did, and they sold both of them for serious prices," she said.

Other Manhattan dealers also managed to haul unwieldy objects to their booths. Mantiques Modern was selling a blackened steel 1920s dental cabinet, marked at $9,500, and Louis Vuitton 1930s steamer trunks from $4,500 to $8,500.

"Buyers with a sense of humor were surely out there," said Cory Margolis, an owner of Mantiques. "We brought our usual range," he said, "from the sublime to the ridiculous."

For many years Stella Shows has been producing the Modern Show at the armory at Lexington and 26th Street, but there was a scheduling problem due to military needs of the facility, so the show site was changed to the top floor of the building called 7 West.

On opening day visitors had no trouble finding the show with the abundant signs at street level, and much advertising. Dealers were selling to decorators who were there to fill trucks with the best designer furniture from Art Deco and Art Nouveau to Modern.

The Billets, Eleanor and David, sold well early Saturday morning with a cupboard and a set of Art Nouveau chairs made by Thonet giving them a very good start. The New Yorkers were delighted to report the trend continued throughout the day.

By mid-afternoon, Linda Elmore was so tired from organizing her inventory and selling that she felt she could not stand up any more. From Westfield, N.J., her sales included a pair of walnut one-drawer stands, a pair of Tommy Hilfiger designer lamps and a leather rug from about 1950 by Jack Leonard Larson. Elmore was also offering a triptych torn paper collage, with acrylic paint applied by an unknown Japanese artist from the 1950s, and a Dunbar dining set that included the table and six chairs.

Teddy Rosenberg's answer to the greeting, "How're you doing?" was "Incredibly well!" He was attending Jeffrey Schaper's booth, and reported that the New York City dealer had sold a lamp, an animal collection, Baccarat glass, sculptures and four Tiffany candlestands.

A similar comment was offered by Bruno Francois of Framont of Greenwich, Conn., when he said their sales were "on the right track." His collection of Modern works of art from the early Twentieth Century included a large amount of wall-hung art and some Modern furniture.

The show attracts a diverse group of exhibitors from far and near. For example, Martin Wolpert brought some of his inventory of European and American paintings and sculpture, 1890–1950, with an emphasis on the School of Paris, from his Papillon Gallery in Los Angeles. Modernist figurative works that capture the ambiance of the period are the dealer's particular focus, and Wolpert filled his booth with fine art and a collection of furniture from the early to the mid-Twentieth Century.

Linda Gumb is a Londoner who has a regular shop on Portobello Road in the Notting Hill Gate section of the city. Her collection includes a large quantity of prints and wall hangings together with Modern furniture and traditional English small accessories. Gumb was showing a Tartan ware chest of drawers and an interesting tray turned into a coffee table. She is a frequent exhibitor at many New York-area shows throughout the year.

Mainly Art, Cincinnati, Ohio, sells vintage Modern furniture and lighting, as well as art. They were featuring the designs of Charles Eames, George Nelson, Milo Baughman, McCobb and Knoll, as well as some Danish and Italian Modern. Mark Fisk and Missy McKenna Fisk, owners, were also offering a three-piece ensemble of designer chairs and an ottoman.

"Happy campers" is how Betty Koren described herself and her husband Ed, of Bridges Over Time, Newburgh, N.Y. Their sales were excellent in the early hours of the show, with sold tags scattered about the exhibit.

Offerings in their collection included a three-piece set by Jens Quistgaard, which might be described as camp furniture with its Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian design heritage (also known as the Stokke chair). With turned rosewood poles shaped and assembled as the arms, back and seat stretchers, covered in leather suede with a padded seat and more similar wooden poles for the four legs, all the connections of the wood parts were bright metal castings. Betty said the covers were all original.

From Westport, Conn., Glen Leroux was showing upholstered furniture and accessories from the 1950s and 1960s, along with some fine art. In the center of his exhibit was a pair of Thonet armless upholstered chairs, in plush fabric, which sold early in the show. They were facing a Gibbings cocktail table in walnut with marble inserts; a sofa, circa 1950, was by Paul McCobb, who also made the sideboard Leroux was showing. A miniature linen box on stand was by Karl Springer.

Franco Cosulich, Cosulich Interiors & Antiques, was showing a collection from his gallery on 67th Street in New York City. He recently moved from his native Italy and still shops extensively there for his collection of Mid-Century Modern glass lighting and décor accessories. Much of his furniture is also Italian from the same time period.

Living and shopping in both Paris and New York, most of Conjeaud & Chappey's inventory is from France. Their collection had the appearance of an abstract painting with form overshadowing the substance of the objects in their display.

The lighting included a pair of bowed metal rods about 8 feet high with shiny metal canisters encircling the lights; another piece had three narrow vertical boards holding opalescent canisters that held the lights. The furniture was as artistic as the lighting, including semicircular dressing table with matching stool from formed veneer panels with a matching mirror.

Some of the other exhibiters included Mark McDonald, Hudson, N.Y., with a collection of teak furniture, and Rue Auber Antiques, Stonington, Conn., offering a dining room suite in chrome and bright blue print fabric.

Stella Shows has more shows coming - the Pier Antiques Show November 14-15, followed by Antiques at the Armory January 22-24 and Americana at the Pier, January 23–24. For information, www.stellashows.com or 973-808-5015.