Three large pavilions at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds are the recurring home to the Antiques at Rhinebeck show, which takes place every year, on Memorial Day weekend and Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day weekend.
Review & Onsite Photos by Madelia Hickman Ring
RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Frank Gaglio’s Barn Star Productions returned to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds October 7-8 for the annual Fall Antiques at Rhinebeck show, with about 125 dealers from the Hudson Valley, New England, the Mid-Atlantic and beyond. Rain showers provided a steady white noise on Saturday, reviving the never-ending debate about how much the weather played a part in the success of a show, and some dealers reported a somber tone on Sunday after news broke of the attacks on Israel.
“It seemed the harder it rained, the more people came, but those that did were prepared for the weather,” said show producer Frank Gaglio, who took time out of a busy post-show period to talk to Antiques and The Arts Weekly. “The gate was up from last fall and the show ran very smoothly. A lot of things were selling, including large pieces and furniture. There were a lot of younger people, including families with baby strollers or small children; it’s a market we’re trying hard to reach.”
To achieve that goal, Gaglio has enlisted his daughter, Ciara, to do all social media for the show, which he said complemented the ads he runs on local radio and NPR. He said he was very impressed with the job she did and how active and engaged people were on Instagram and Facebook.
A baker’s dozen new exhibitors were showing for the first time. Pat’s Pots & Japanese Woodblock Prints Gallery (Westport, Mass.), Bolinsky Fine Art (High Point, N.C.), Ericsson Street Antiques (Rochester, N.Y.), Calvin Grimm and Some Single Servings (Woodstock, N.Y.), Lisa Bates Design (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), Bittner & Bock (Medford, N.J.), Horsefeathers Antiques (Delhi, N.Y.), Robert Callen Antiques (Flossmoor, Ill.), Janis Nori (High Falls, N.Y.), Captain’s Quarter’s Antiques (Milford, N.H.), BDK Antiques & Design (Limington, Maine), Docengine (Holliston, Mass.) and LaGrotta Bazaar, owned by Jen RobbIns and Blake Decker (Holmes, N.Y.).
Rain showers were threatening but a small and stalwart group of diehard antiquers was lined up waiting for Frank Gaglio to open the show on Saturday morning.
LaGrotta Bazaar had arguably one of the most fun, if perhaps least antique-looking booths in the show, bringing a breath of fresh air and a youthful aesthetic. Divided into two aesthetics: Decker’s “Sirens Trove” that focused on antiques, and Robbins’ “The Babe Cave,” showing vintage clothes and collectibles.
“It was very exciting for us,” reported Jen Robbins. “At this point, this is a second chapter for both of us; I was in the fashion and photography field, Blake was at Revlon. We’re trying to be an experience connected with memory. People really responded to things that were unique and interesting, things they’d never seen before.” She noted that sales of vintage clothes were good, with antique and vintage lighting attracting a lot of interest.
Don Gill and Patti Bourgeois of Pats Pots brought a large selection of nice things for their Rhinebeck debut. In addition to a striking group of Nineteenth Century English carved oak figures of four saints from an Anglican rectory, was a large selection of Roseville pottery in the Fuchsia pattern, all marked separately, and a set of Mettlach steins.
Pats Pots and Japanese Woodblock Prints was participating at Rhinebeck for the first time. Among the many standout pieces in her booth was this set of four Nineteenth Century English oak staircase finials from an Anglican rectory that were carved in the form of Saints Andrew, Brendan, John and Patrick; the group was still unsold at press time. Westport, Mass.
“It was a beautiful show and I’ll definitely be back for Memorial Day weekend,” said Bourgeois. “I felt very pleased and honored to be included. I think the weather impacted the attendance a little bit. All of my sales were to people I had never done business with before.” She noted that people responded very well to her Japanese prints; she said she was the only dealer at the show who brought a sizeable quantity of them to the show. Among the sales, she reported selling a print to a 14-year-old young man who was at the show with his mother; it was his first print purchase.
Noticeably absent from the show was longtime exhibitor Stephen Score, who passed away in early September; the folk art dealer was memorialized in the show’s program. Visitors who came to the show looking for Score would have found in his regular end booth Don Heller, who said he brought “a pretty eclectic mix and sold a cross section,” largely to clients he hadn’t sold to previously. Some of the sales he specified included a mother-of-pearl papier mache table and a “good” Windsor sackback armchair.
Sold tags and gaps on the wall were evident throughout the show, beginning right away. Scott Filar at American Huckleberry negotiated a deal on a large blue painted bird cage and new dealer BDK Antiques found a new home for a large blue-gray painted blanket chest. Jeff Pudlinski tagged a horn wreath and a carved head, while Jim Grievo wrote up tags for a pair of owl andirons and a two-drawer painted table. A sold tag decorated a Christmas feather tree with the Longacres. Judy and James Milne transacted on a tavern table and a carved Black Forest-style hall tree with a bear base. Ellsworth, Maine, dealer Pioneer Folk Antiques found a new home for a long blue-painted window shutter with a delightful cutout bird decoration; Mario Pollo similarly found a buyer for a painted table-top cabinet. Woodstock, Vt., dealer Steven Thomas sold a map of New England, while a red-painted hutch table was among sales at Witt’s End Antiques.
This blue-painted blanket chest in the booth of BDK Antiques and Design was being marked sold. Limington, Maine.
Painted signs are perennial favorites among collectors and several dealers wrote slips for them: a Spooky Forest sign for Jewett-Berdan Antiques, a chicken sign advertising “Fresh Eggs” for Dennis Raleigh and Phyllis Summer, and one for cabins by Susan Wechsler. Victor Weinblatt specialized in signs and gave us a tutorial on them, acknowledging that signs for food continue to be among the most popular, mostly because it’s universal. He reported several sales to both old and new clients, as well as to clients who saw their signs on social media, from as far away as California.
“In my booth, I had a wonderful sign that I’d once purchased from Bob Ketelhut, who passed away recently. Bob’s son, Brad, was showing at Rhinebeck and recognized it and said he wanted to buy it. To be able to sell it back to the Ketelhuts, it was like life coming full circle and we could celebrate Bob that way.”
At the front of the show, Bruce Emond, Village Braider, brought his usual eclectic mix. Early sales included a campaign folding desk and sideboard and a large garden urn.
“The show had a lot of really nice things, but I thought the crowds and energy were a bit down, and I didn’t sense a real sense of urgency, which I think has been a bit of a trend. I had a great time and was happy to have participated.” Kevin Rita brought a decidedly modern selection to his small booth, focusing on post-war works of American Abstraction by artists influenced by Hans Hoffman. Among the artists represented were Frederick McDuff, Michael Loew, Frances Kornbush, Melville Price, Robert Ray, Albert Kotin, Myrna Harrison, Karl Knaths, Willy Heeks, Fred Mitchell, James Bohary, Haynes Ownby and Art Brenner.
The moon-face weathervane and “Spooky Forest” owl sign were among two of Tom Jewett and Butch Berdan’s early sales. The cast iron owls are architectural roof top ornaments. New Castle, Maine.
“The show was great — we love Rhinebeck! It has a much younger crowd feel to the show which is refreshing, and we sold well,” noted Tom Jewett who, with Butch Berdan, has a prominent booth smack dab in the center of the first pavilion. The two were busy the moment the show opened and Jewett was enthusiastic when we touched base after the show. The New Castle, Maine, dealers reported selling four weathervanes, four good signs, a painted bench, lots of holiday and smalls. After the show, the two closed deals on a Nineteenth Century blue-painted basket and some additional holiday items.
“Rhinebeck was its lively self, always a great time. I had some nice sales, most notably a vibrant blue hills Woodstock painting by Allen Cochran. This was its first time out, and I was very pleased that it found its home in the region whence it came.” Donna Kmetz brought works by her usual New England impressionists, as well as a smattering of French impressionist works, both of which she loves.
Karen Wheaton of Maria’s Pond Antiques had marked several thing sold by late morning on the first day, including a blue blanket chest, a painted wall shelf, a carved fan architectural element and a quilt. One of the most spectacular things in her booth was a quilted and appliqued green, red and yellow quilt in a pattern that she said she got “right before the show” that had connections to Rochester, N.Y. She said she’d never seen the exact pattern before but was dating it to circa 1870 because of the fabrics. One of her regular quilt customers purchased it after the sale.
Karen Wheaton had acquired this cotton pieced and appliqued quilt right before the show and dated it to the 1870s. It had history in Rochester, N.Y. Maria’s Pond Antiques, Pattersonville, N.Y.
“It was probably one of our best Rhinebeck shows ever,” Wheaton enthused after the show. “The last hour of the day on Sunday, I sold a Shaker counter to a lovely young couple from Connecticut I’d never worked with before.”
Tim Brennan and Dave Mouilleseaux of Period to Mod/Brennan & Mouilleseaux Antiques & Design, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., have been doing Rhinebeck since the early 1980s but haven’t done the fall show in about 10 years so they were glad to be back. Brennan said buying before the show was great and the two acquired things they’ll take to shows they are doing in January and August.
“We sold a set of eight 1930s chairs to a young couple in their 20s who we didn’t know,” Brennan said. “We had a lot of interest in the cast stone dog we had, including from a major retired dealer who loved it and a horse weathervane, which she loved because of its as-found surface. Another significant sale was of a verdigris copper building ornament to a guy on Saturday afternoon.”
Derik Pulito said he enjoyed the show, the set up and the people. He thought it was nice to have a varied — i.e., not all Americana — show, saying he thought the gate would be stronger with more diverse exhibitors. He sold a Massachusetts Hepplewhite stand with a foldout top in original red paint that he said was “a lot of money” to a new, younger customer.
Derik Pulito, seen to the right in the blue plaid shirt and baseball cap, centered his booth with an impressive tole eagle flag holder with provenance to Port Atkinson, Iowa. Kensington, Conn.
Carol Weiss, Rue du Trésor, had one of the most amazing Centennial appliqued quilts that featured images of baseball, tennis and the Brooklyn Bridge. Weiss said she was selling French things because she had less competition for it from other dealers; sales included both jasper pottery and copper kitchen articles.
“I’ve sold a lot of oddball stuff,” said Pike, N.H., dealer and auctioneer, Josh Steenburgh. When we pressed him to be a bit more specific, he said he’d sold a standing mirror, pair of ornamental garden seats, lots of small paintings, some jewelry, a quill weathervane and some folk art.
Barn Star’s Spring Antiques at Rhinebeck show will take place Saturday and Sunday, May 25-26. For information, www.barnstar.com.
