HARTFORD, CONN. — It’s hard to believe but Papermania at the Hartford Civic Center (which in 2007 was renamed the XL Center) is well past its 45th birthday. Arlene Shea told Antiques and The Arts Weekly that she and her husband, Paul Gipstein, started producing antique shows in 1974 and switched to paper and ephemera shows in 1977. The August 26 show was their 84th edition, and January 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Gipstein family running shows. Arlene said, “We signed a contract for our first show at the Civic Center when it was just a hole in the ground.”

HARMONY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — “It’s already been one of our best years,” said Warren County Antiques Show manager Chris Beatty, when Antiques and The Arts Weekly stopped by her booth in the early afternoon of Saturday, August 26, just half-way through the first day of the Warren County Antiques Show, which she’s been doing for 17 years. “There are a lot more cars than we’ve had in previous years and almost everyone I see leaving is carrying something, which is great.” She noted that of the more than 100 dealers in attendance at the Warren County Fairgrounds, about 10 percent were new to the show.

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Scottsdale Art Auction conducted its first annual online auction on August 26, offering 375 lots of fine and decorative art that primarily focused on every subject pertaining to the American West. Paintings of cowboys, Native Americans and landscapes were the predominant medium in the upper lots, with one exceptional bronze. “We were very pleased, and we averaged the high estimate,” said Brad Richardson, partner at Scottsdale Art Auction

WOODBURY, CONN. — On August 22, Schwenke Auctioneers offered more than 500 lots from several estates and collections from New York and Connecticut. The sale featured more than 150 lots from a New York state collection, which included a Jasper Cropsey (American, 1823-1900) watercolor on paper, Hudson River view of sailboats and dock in river, dated 1819 and signed lower left.

The summer rode out this week at auction with flair to spare. A beaded Cree saddle charged alongside a Back to the Future VHS. Other bidders cooled down with seaside-inspired jewelry and sterling-sprigged flatware designed by Georg Jensen. Read on for more hot buys.

DOVER, N.H. — Paul McInnis hosted the online auction of the Estate of Ted Valpey Jr on August 21, offering the lifetime collection of a man with “varied interests” with select additions from other consignors. Valpey was a financier and philanthropist local to Dover and Holliston, N.H., who passed away in February of this year at the age of 90. McInnis reported that it was a “very successful auction” with interest from around the country and overseas, resulting in extended bidding on many lots. Indeed, 100 percent of the 580 lots were purchased through the online-only auction.

BEVERLY, MASS. & PALM BEACH, FLA. — The two-day August Estates Auction hosted by Kaminski on August 19 and 20 featured more than 800 lots from extensive, focused private collections. The first day’s sale brought the art collection of William Frew, a US Air Force pilot and later Trans World Airways pilot with a 30-year career.

CAMDEN, S.C. — Even though Jeremy Wooten can dispatch about 90 lots an hour, it still took him several hours to gavel down the 605 lots in Wooten & Wooten’s Summer Estates & Collections of the Carolinas auction on August 26. When Antiques and The Arts Weekly caught up with him, he was busy packing up a collection ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia but was happy to take a few minutes break to talk about some of the highlights of the sale, the results of which he said he was very happy with.

BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Photography is the point where artistry intersects with the highest level of technical skill. The ability to do it well can be considered a divine gift, but on a practical level it leads to well-earned human recognition and rewards. Thus, “Annie Leibovitz at Work” is a perfect title for the new exhibition organized by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Susannah Carson is a self-taught artist with a background in classical literature as an academic, editor, and author. Her Lover’s Eyes and portraits in antique frames and on antique serving ware charm art and antiques lovers alike. Her work has been featured in publications, including Lover’s Eyes: Eye Miniatures From the Skier Collection (2021), and was recently exhibited in the flagship Bergdorf-Goodman’s Artists’ Gallery. Amid relocating and operating her art and antiques business with her husband, Carson corresponded with us via email.