Hannah Liverant Close, fourth from left, surprised her parents, center, with her presentation of the “Top 10 Merits of Being Arthur.” Liverant grandchildren Theo and Emme Close are left and right.
By Laura Beach
WILMINGTON, DEL. — An exuberant crowd of 160 well-wishers joined the Antiques Dealers Association of America (ADA) in honoring 2024 Award of Merit winner Arthur Liverant at a dinner at the Delaware Antiques Show on Friday night, November 15.
The evening began with a greeting from association president Zac Ziebarth, read from the podium by ADA treasurer Karen DiSaia. Ziebarth wrote, “My wife, Erin, and I are at home welcoming our first-born daughter, Zoe, who will represent a new generation of antiques and arts enthusiasts. She, like all of us, will walk in the steps of the countless pioneers like Arthur, who have worked tirelessly to preserve, protect and enhance the industry we all know and love.”
Speaking to the audience via video, surprise presenter Samara Liverant Burke offered an affectionate account of growing up with antiquarian parents in an old house in Colchester, Conn. To laughter, she described the warren of interconnected rooms with creaking floorboards and rattling furniture brass that thwarted teenage dreams of sleeping late, saying, “My dad always said this was good preparation for dorm life, because clearly you need to start prepping for dorm life when you’re in elementary school.”
ADA officer and past Award of Merit winner Karen DiSaia presents Liverant with the ADA trophy.
With Liverant Antiques since 1998, keynote speaker Kevin Tulimieri wove humor into his illustrated history of the Liverant firm, founded by Russian immigrant Nathan Liverant over a century ago and elevated by Nathan’s son Zeke and grandson Arthur. Dating the start of the “Arthur era” to 2000, when Liverant was 51 and Tulimieri was 33, the speaker described his own apprenticeship with his mentor, “a great teacher,” and cataloged some of the pair’s many important discoveries. Tulimieri spoofed his boss’s eccentricities, among them a love of practical jokes. “When you combine cross-dressing with family, Arthur is really happy. I’m sure all this fun is exhausting,” he said, concluding, “Arthur, working with you every day has been an honor and a privilege. The long list of great finds is epic, but your tremendous heart, deep compassion and boundless love outweighs every item you’ve ever found.”
“In the Liverant family, we have a long tradition of Top 10 lists for all occasions. In that tradition, I offer a Top 10 list of the Merits of Being Arthur,” began daughter Hannah Liverant Close, who joined her sister as a surprise presenter. Number 8: “You can start and end a sentence with the ‘F-word’ without anyone around you batting an eye.” Number 1: “No one loves more richly than you do. Your family, your friends, your community, Colchester, the University of Connecticut sports teams, your clients, your dealer compatriots — you make all our lives more beautiful and richer, with history, art, antiques and passion for all that you love.”
Kevin Tulimieri — here greeted by ADA executive director and the evening’s organizer, Judith Livingston Loto — delivered a keynote speech rich with history and humor.
Presenting the carved finial that serves as the Award of Merit trophy, DiSaia saluted Liverant’s integrity, ethical standards and generous contributions, “not only to our businesses, but to our personal lives and to our energy and hopes for the future.”
“I’m touched and humbled beyond belief,” said an emotional Arthur Liverant, rising to thank friends and colleagues. Among those he singled out for special praise was his wife, Gigi, “a consultant, advisor on business ethics, artistic director, parent, photographer and calendar designer.” He added, “I share this award with my grandfather, who took me on my first house call, and my father, who was a constant study with a fantastic eye and the ability to talk to anyone.”
Tulimieri grabs a selfie with Liverant and the ADA trophy, this year in the Colchester style. Madelia Hickman Ring photo.
Liverant closed with an inspirational message to his colleagues, saying, “We are coming up on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a time to celebrate what our patriot fathers and mothers gave us. I urge everyone to make a real effort to connect the material objects that we buy and sell to the history of our country, because history is what people are really buying. Put our antiques world back on the pedestal it deserves.”
For more on the ADA, go to www.adadealers.com.
Family joined the winner on stage. From left, Gigi Liverant, Josh Close, Hannah Liverant Close, Arthur Liverant, Theo Close, Emme Close and Linda Barger.
