Nathan Liverant and Son Antiques, Colchester, Conn.
Review and Photos by Laura Beach
NEW YORK CITY – From its loan show honoring the 125th anniversary of the Nantucket Historical Association to its own Silver Jubilee celebrations, the 65th Winter Show was in a celebratory mood as it opened at the Park Avenue Armory on Thursday evening, January 17, for its annual ten-day run. Managed for the first time by executive director Helen Allen, with veteran associate director Michael Diaz-Griffith and co-chairs Lucinda Ballard and Michael Lynch, the ever-graceful fair walks a fine line between the elegantly traditional and adventurously new wave.
As an ensemble, the show’s 68 impeccably curated stands offer buyers a choice sampling of many top collecting genres, from American paintings, furniture and folk art to artist-made jewelry, fine art photography and vintage toys. New to the show this year, though not to collectors, are antiquities specialist Charles Ede of London, Japanese art authority Erik Thomsen of New York, fine arts dealer Lowell Libson and Jonny Yarker Ltd of London and the sporting-art expert Red Fox Fine Art of Virginia. Returning exhibitors include medievalist Les Enluminures of Chicago, New York and Paris and the European Modern design powerhouse Maison Gerard of Manhattan.
Designer Jeff Daly has crafted a handsome set for the presentation of “Nantucket, Connecting the World,” showcasing treasures from the Nantucket Historical Association, whose cosmopolitan view of the world matches that of the Winter Show. By necessity, the inhabitants of this small island off the coast of the Massachusetts mainland have long traded with the world, something the work on view – portraits of sea captains and wealthy merchants, scrimshaw and whaling journals – attests to. Nantucket’s transition from whaling capital to artists’ retreat and moneyed resort is captured by an Italian settee upholstered in canvaswork by two sisters from Philadelphia who summered in Nantucket in the 1920s and a Torah pointer made by island silversmiths Morton and Reva Schlesinger in 2001.
The coming week offers more lectures, tours and receptions. On Tuesday, January 22, the show hosts a VIP lunch and tour, plus a program on Gorham silver led by RISD curator Elizabeth A. Williams. Young Collectors Night is set for Thursday, January 24. Wendy Goodman, design editor for New York magazine, will offer the inside scoop on exceptional private interiors on Friday, January 25. The event is followed by Connoisseurs Night.
On Saturday, January 26, Raymond J. Dowd, partner at Dunnington Bartholow and Miller LLP, will talk about art law and the spoils of war. Peter McGough will lecture on art and gender politics.
The fair wraps up on Sunday, January 27, with a much anticipated lecture by acclaimed historian Nathaniel Philbrick, whose early work on Nantucket first earned him international recognition. The second of two loan-show lectures is also planned for Sunday.
Arrayed on these pages is a small sampling of works for sale at the show. We look forwarded to bringing you an expanded account after the fair’s close.
The Park Avenue Armory is at 67th Street and Park Avenue. Hours of admission are noon to 8 pm daily, except Sundays and Thursday, noon to 6 pm, and Tuesday, noon to 4:30 pm.
For additional information, www.thewintershow.org.
