Black Swan Antiques, Washington, Conn.
Review and Photos by W.A. Demers
BEDFORD, N.Y. – The spring Bedford Antiques Show at Historical Hall April 29-30 once again proved that good things can come in small packages. With just under 20 exhibitors, the show may have a small footprint, but among the nooks, crannies and a tented extension of the 1806 landmark hall, Debbie Turi’s cadre of exhibitors created toothsome displays of everything from Midcentury Modern furniture to fine art and antique garden decor.
Cottage + Camp, Egremont, Mass.
Dealers credit Turi with staging a small and personal show, and seem pleased to add the event to what may be a quiet month in their schedules.
Show manager Turi said that “for the most part, everybody was pretty happy.” Saturday got a little warm in the tent, so she had one of the sides removed to allow some air. Sunday, the weather was better and there was business being done.
Fine art specialist Donna Kmetz of Douglas, Mass., said she enjoyed the show. “I really like working in the historic building, it makes for an interesting setup. I had a good mix of sales, including a very fine Nineteenth Century landscape by Philadelphia artist Russell Smith and Impressionist beach watercolors by Andre Gisson. Best of all, I had younger buyers from the local area.”
Nearby Kmetz’s stand, Susan and Hubert “Bear” van Asch van Wyck arrayed a choice display of both antiques and their own creations – Susan’s artwork in sepia pencil and pastel on paper and Bear’s bespoke antique furniture covered in a kind of decoupage using old documents.
In a show that was mainly geared toward smalls, the couple, who do business as Black Swan Antiques, Washington, Conn., had good luck in selling garden décor, including a large armillary sphere and with strong interest in a pair of cast iron fern chairs. Other sales included a pair of sconces and two leather-covered modern tables. “For us it was a good show,” said the dealers. “We will definitely be doing it again.”
Old Village Antiques, Avon, Conn.
American folk art offerings were plentiful in a small space adjacent to the stage, where Francis Crespo Antiques & Folk Art, Lancaster, Penn., set out an American folk art carving of an early racing car, circa 1930s, with its original painted surface, a mid-Twentieth Century American folk art carving of a soldier and gun, signed “Billy” and dated 1968 on the underside, and a colorful stack of children’s building blocks. Also on offer was a Pennsylvania folk art farm scene painting by Lori and William DeHart, folk artists from Camp Hill, Penn. The oil on canvas was dated ’83.
Cottage + Camp, North Egremont, Mass., had an eclectic display with a pair of industrial stools, a “textile art” piece in the form of a wooden plant stand sheathed in colorful crocheted yarn and a wonderfully pensive ceramic frog on a lily pad. Co-owners John Krynick and Francis Nestor had some exciting news to share. They recently purchased a Carpenter Gothic church building, formerly the Egremont Baptist Church on Route 71, which they are turning into a house and shop.
Richard LaVigne of Knollwood Antiques, Village of Thorndike, Mass., said he spent five months collecting for this show, and highlights ranged from a pair of white enameled Claudio Reyes tables in the style of Giacometti with hand wrought iron, two tiers and glass shelves to a 1950s Modernist terracotta sculpture, matte glazed above a wooden cube-form plinth. Wildest by far was a 1960s Italianate iron tree sculpture of hand forged iron, perched iron birds on its multiple branches and a gable-form birdhouse with perch on its top. Maybe due to the springlike temperatures outside, the bird tree proved to be irresistible and sold.
Turi is launching a new show, the Summer Antiques Expo, at the Mennen Sports Arena, Morris Township, N.J., on Sunday July 30. For information, www.dturiantiques.com or 973-464-9793.
