Gigi Liverant’s annual calendars for Liverant Antiques are a sophisticated form of branding, showcasing the firm’s playful sensibility along with its unsurpassed stock. Here, she depicted Arthur as Superman on the cover of the 2014 edition. Courtesy Gigi Liverant.
By Laura Beach
COLCHESTER, CONN. — Many years ago, on perhaps my first visit to Nathan Liverant and Son Antiques, proprietor Zeke Liverant (1916-2000) explained how his family’s business decades earlier came to occupy a handsome Greek Revival meeting house on Colchester’s historic Main Street. The 1835 church, Zeke said, “fell victim to the disappearance of Baptists in Colchester.” Though presumably said in jest, the remark has long troubled me. What happened to these Baptists? Were they not assembling elsewhere?
The more salient point, of course, is that for as long as most anyone can remember Nathan Liverant and Son has itself been a landmark — for Colchester, for Connecticut and for the antiques industry nationally. Regular visitors to the Liverant shop know it represents the best traits of the antiques business. The firm is honest and ethical, rooted in a deep love of history and a passion for preserving America’s material past, with a spirited commitment to education. The Liverants keep it real, as we say. Their warm, welcoming shop communicates that while the best antiques may be rare, living with them should not be rarified. The company’s special affection for objects made close to home — Connecticut especially, but also neighboring Rhode Island and Massachusetts — is at heart a tribute to family and community.
These and other virtues define Arthur Liverant, the third member of his family to lead the company and the 23rd winner of the Antiques Dealers’ Association of America (ADA) Award of Merit, to be presented at a dinner honoring Arthur at the Delaware Antiques Show on Friday, November 15.
Ever the showman, Arthur alarmed television co-host Scot Haney when he climbed on a chair during an interview. “I was making a point. Antiques are durable and meant to be used,” the dealer protests.
On a recent Thursday evening, Arthur could be found at his shop, dressed from hat to boots as the prosperous farmer Pierpont Bacon (1724-1800). Playfulness in the service of a serious cause is another of Arthur’s traits. He sits on the board of the not-for-profit Bacon Academy, steward of a stately yellow schoolhouse on Colchester’s green. Endowed by Bacon and his wife, Abigail, “Old Bacon” has been educating students since 1803 and recently launched a capital campaign to repair its crumbling structures. It is a goal dear to Arthur, who says, somewhat alarmingly, “It’s something I want to do before I die.”
One of Arthur’s proudest achievements remains his role in leading his family and community to recreate Colchester’s School for Colored Children, as it was historically called. The institution educated non-white students in the first decades of the Nineteenth Century, before Bacon Academy admitted students of color. The dealer recalls, “I told my wife, ‘I just have to do this.’ She agreed, and I persuaded my sisters and their spouses to take part.”
Antiques and The Arts Weekly has published extensively on the history of Liverant Antiques. (For more, see “A Tribute to Zeke Liverant,” October 17, 2000, and “The Liverants of Colchester: Thoughts on Turning One Hundred,” September 8, 2020). It also chronicled the rise of the ADA (“The Keeping-Room Cabal: How A Gathering Around an Old Harvest Table Gave Rise to the ADA,” April 16, 2019.) The topics overlap meaningfully.
One of Arthur’s proudest achievements is the leading role he and his family took in recreating Colchester’s first school for non-white children, shown here.
In 1984, more than 100 dealers gathered at the Hilton Hotel in Danbury, Conn., to formalize plans for the ADA, then a nascent trade organization emphasizing ethical conduct and buyer education. “My son and I feel it’s time for professional dealers to be self-regulated and to insist on a better level of knowledge,” said Arthur’s father, Zeke. Arthur, who joined his father in business in 1971 after majoring in economics and art history at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., has long championed education for buyers and sellers.
Often an ADA officer, Arthur has devoted himself to the organization for the past 40 years. He was the first to suggest the Award of Merit and its accompanying dinner, staged annually since 2002, and has been involved in its details ever since. Arthur told colleagues, “Too many times we speak well of people only after they die. It would be nice to honor people while they are alive.” The first ADA Award of Merit went to Albert Sack (1915-2011), the dean of American furniture and a close friend of the Liverant family.
Arthur’s most essential business partners are his wife of 50 years, Gigi Horr Liverant, and his associate of 26 years, Kevin Tulimieri, who will deliver the keynote address on November 15. Busy with her own award-winning artistic career, Gigi also serves as the company’s informal creative director, bringing flair to all Liverant productions. Assisted by the couple’s daughter Hannah, Gigi is the creative genius behind the annual Nathan Liverant and Son calendars. Elegantly monochromatic when Gigi began in 1999, the calendars have since grown whimsical, featuring the madcap antics of the Liverant grandchildren as they careen from lowboy to looking glass. The message, which Arthur credits to Gigi, is that antiques are meant for family life, theirs and others. Clients, sometimes across generations, are part of the extended Liverant family.
Gigi and Arthur Liverant in the Liverant Antiques booth at the 2013 Winter Show in New York City.
Living with Arthur is never dull. Yes, he thinks about antiques nonstop. Gigi says, “The family joke is that if we all go to the beach, one of us will take a photo of him on the phone. He just can’t resist. He can make my jaw drop when he enthusiastically reports the price he paid for an object because it’s the best he’s ever seen. Our kids would tell you there wasn’t a college tour that didn’t include a house call. He loves talking to people and he’s always excited about what he might find.”
Gigi adds, “Arthur is passionate about material culture and its history. It’s what he lives for and why he and Kevin are such a good fit. Kevin loves to do research and find the stories behind the objects. Arthur loves the beauty of the objects and the history and the stories behind them. Arthur lives to share that with others.”
Kevin Tulimieri is indeed the yin to Arthur’s yang, as thoughtful and circumspect as his employer is gregarious and occasionally uncensored. With Arthur often on the road and occupied with clients, Kevin is frequently in the shop, during lulls engaging in the thorough cataloging that makes buying from Liverant Antiques a satisfying, stimulating anomaly in superficial times.
Kevin Tulimieri, left, joined Liverant Antiques in 1998. “The hardest part of my job may be keeping up with Arthur,” says Kevin, who conducts educational forums with his boss throughout the year.
Originally from Boston, Kevin grew up fascinated by the “odd contraptions” his grandfather stashed in his old horse barn. After attending art school, Kevin briefly lived and worked in New York City and Portsmouth, N.H., before returning to Connecticut. His interest in history led him to Zeke Liverant, with whom he formed a close bond. He joined Liverant Antiques in 1998. Of his early days with the firm he recalls, “Arthur would come rushing in like a whirlwind. Zeke and Arthur would have a quick, intense conversation. Then the door would slam, and Arthur would be out of the driveway and onto the next target. He is passionate and enormously energetic. The hardest part of my job may be keeping up with Arthur.”
Kevin muses, “Arthur earned this award, but there is also a generational dynamic at work over 104 years. Nathan Liverant, who was born in Odessa and came to the US in the 1890s as an unaccompanied minor, had a story he liked to tell. Nathan’s father operated a tearoom, and it was Nathan’s job as a child in Russia to keep hot water in the samovar. As a boy of five or six, Nathan got distracted and the samovar ran dry and melted down. Nathan’s message to Arthur: keep your business and your business will keep you. Zeke would say, ‘Be prepared to work hard every day.’ That’s the ethic Arthur embodies.”
One of the best places to see Arthur and Kevin in action together is at their forums, offered free on Saturday afternoons at the shop throughout the year. The programs appeal, as intended, to everyone from neophytes to hardcore collectors. Shot by Gigi, videos of the classes are subsequently posted to Liverant Antiques’ YouTube channel, forming an important library of online instruction.
“When a dealer can improve his expertise and knowledge, everybody wins,” says Arthur, who enjoys sharing his knowledge with others.
Forum topics range from serious connoisseurship — to date, the most watched episodes offer guidance on evaluating furniture for age and authenticity — to social history. All showcase Arthur’s gift for storytelling. Kevin says, “It’s serious business but Arthur makes it fun. I personally have been a great beneficiary of Arthur’s gift for teaching.” Upcoming sessions include a presentation on regionalism in American chair design on November 23. The Liverants’ annual holiday open house is December 14.
It was at the Liverant holiday party in 2023 that Philippe L.B. Halbert, the Richard Koopman associate curator of American decorative arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, spotted a circa 1740-60 Queen Anne side chair made by the Spencer family shops of Hartford, Conn. Acquired by the Wadsworth in 2024, the chair is now the oldest attributed piece of Hartford furniture in the museum’s collection. A year earlier, the museum purchased an important Abolitionist power horn, dated 1802, that originally belonged to Daniel Read of Lisbon, Conn. Horn and chair are currently on view at the Wadsworth in related exhibitions. Halbert says, “Part of what Arthur has done is build awareness and sustain a market for material that was made right here in Connecticut.”
Well-stocked, welcoming and open six days a week, the Nathan Liverant and Son shop is a rarity in an increasingly online world.
Liverant Antiques has long since been synonymous with the best antique American furniture, and it is the hunt for great objects that keeps Arthur going. But while his discoveries adorn leading public and private collections, these treasures are not what first spring to mind when friends and colleagues think of Arthur. Rather, it is his knowledge, humor, generosity and enthusiasm for Americana, qualities the dealer brings to the cause of rallying a wide community of like-minded enthusiasts. For the ADA, there can be no higher calling nor a more richly deserved reward.
The ADA Award of Merit dinner honoring Arthur Liverant is planned for Friday, November 15, at 6 pm at the Delaware Antiques Show at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Del. To purchase tickets to the dinner, visit www.adadealers.com or call 603-942-6498.
The Art Of Being Arthur
The talented Matao Dreskin composed this fitting tribute to friend and colleague Arthur Liverant. Courtesy Amy Finkel, M. Finkel and daughter.
Compiled by Laura Beach
Arthur Liverant wins praise for his knowledge, passion and dedication to his calling. But when we asked friends and colleagues to share their thoughts on the dealer, who will be honored with the ADA’s Award of Merit on November 15, some of the responses were….salty. Clearly, Arthur’s ability to forge connections and bring people together involves an equal mix of humor and humanity. Here, shared, are a few examples.
From Pam and Brian Ehrlich:
From the first time entering the shop in Colchester and meeting the Liverants during the latter years of the 1980s, a special bond of friendship developed between our family and Arthur’s. We were all of the same age, with two daughters apiece, living in Eighteenth Century farmhouses. As well as gaining (at the time) a much-needed education of the “good, better and best” of American decorative arts and finding a trusted guide as we decorated our home, we shared the joys of watching our children mature, marry and bless us with grandchildren, as we also shared the sadness associated with the loss of loved ones in both our families. Arthur is rightly being honored for his contributions to the field of Americana through his leadership, friendship and humor — but most importantly to his dedication to community and family. For us, it is his friendship and thoughtfulness over 35 years that we most cherish. We thank Arthur for being Arthur.
From Judith Livingston Loto, ADA executive director:
I met Arthur (and Zeke) at the Delaware Antiques Show when I was a graduate student in the Winterthur Program, back when the show was at the Tatnall School. The Winterthur Fellows had been challenged to find an object and present it to the collections committee for acquisition. The Liverants had a chair in their booth that I felt would complete a partial set already in the museum’s collection. Arthur spent a long time with me, explaining all the details and nuances of the object, pulling out reference books to show similar examples and explaining the good, better, best of the object. He was patient, funny, irreverent, knowledgeable and kind. I was learning, and he proved to be an extraordinary teacher. That day led to an enduring friendship that has now spanned 26 years. I was thrilled when I heard that the ADA board of directors had voted to award Arthur this year’s Award of Merit. A fine choice indeed.
From Elle Shushan, Fine Portrait Miniatures:
I’ve been lucky enough to have had Arthur as a fabulous friend for so long that I also had the joy of knowing his legendary father, Zeke. Zeke, one of the all-time great characters, refined curmudgeon-ship to an art. Arthur is more and more like him every day.
Philadelphia dealer Elle Shushan shares a moment with Arthur.
From Amy Finkel, M. Finkel and Daughter:
Arthur and I have enjoyed sharing the fact that we each joined our wonderful fathers in the antiques business. We’ve had many meaningful conversations about this over the years. Zeke and Morris were such excellent mentors. We both feel so fortunate to have followed their examples as we continue to succeed in the antiques world.
From Robert Lionetti, furniture consultant and conservator:
Arthur’s the true antiquarian. He’s also one of the last old-school dealers at the top of the trade. I’ve discovered over the years how passionate he is not only about objects, but also the history connected to them. He’s always been unrelenting with his support and generosity in the American decorative arts field. He’s very pro-active as a historian, especially with his local community. I was particularly moved when I learned how Arthur and his family personally funded the reconstruction of the School for Colored Children in Colchester, Conn. Arthur is always experimenting with new ideas to preserve and continue the interest and appreciation of not only Connecticut but American history. Over the years, the field has evolved and fluctuated but the Liverant firm has remained a steadfast asset and foundational force for the trade.
From Sarah Dove, Sarah Dove Fine Art Conservation LLC:
I met Arthur through the painting conservators Gay Myers and Lance Mayer when I was their intern in the 1980s. From the minute I met him, his warmth and sincerity shone through. You can count on Arthur’s pure excitement for the artwork he represents. He genuinely respects the field of conservation and goes to extraordinary measures to ensure the highest level of care. You can count on an engaging conversation that spans weighty topics like politics and concern for future generations to lighter observations and well-placed irreverent jokes. You can also count on his courteousness and loyalty.
Downtime at the Winter Show. Courtesy Lori Cohen, Arader Galleries.
From Patricia E. Kane, Friends of American Arts at Yale Curator of American Decorative Arts, Yale University Art Gallery:
The presentation of the ADA award to Arthur Liverant acknowledges his many contributions to the field of American antiques over 50 or so years. It is always delightful to pay a visit to the Liverant booth at antiques shows or to the remarkable shop in Colchester. There is always something interesting to see and there will be stories that elevate many of the objects that pass through his hands. Arthur has an abiding interest in the histories of the things he has handled, in part because so many of them come from people who have owned them for generations. His appreciation of this aspect of antiques is special. In addition to the stories the objects tell, Arthur is a font of knowledge about the history of the antiques trade. Arthur typically has a twinkle in his eye and therefore it is no wonder that in recent years the firm has generated entertaining calendars with images of his grandchildren doing improbable antics with antique furniture. Each time I check a date on the one that hangs by my desk, it brings a smile.
From Alexandra Kirtley, Montgomery-Garvan curator of American Decorative Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art:
Some dealers have opted to give up shops and shows to become agents and consultants. Arthur stays the course. He never tires of the material. He is always eager to learn as well as to share. He develops relationships with clients, who become friends, and the friendships span generations. He is a dealer’s dealer whose business model reminds us of the importance of great dealers and their crucial place in the art and antiques world.
From Ron and Joyce Bassin, A Bird in Hand Antiques:
Arthur is the heart and soul of the ADA. He is a strong believer in honesty, integrity and guaranteeing one’s product. A few years ago, a Philadelphia antiques show occurred during Passover. Arthur conducted a seder in a local hotel for the first night of Passover. It was attended by many of the Jewish antiques dealers and an equal number of non-Jewish dealers interested in observing the service. At the end of the seder, to the amazement of all, Arthur demonstrated the quarter-drop challenge, a family tradition which illustrated his amazing sense of humor.
From Diana H. Bittel, Diana H. Bittel Arts & Antiques:
Fortunately, for decades all of us in the antiques world, buyers and sellers, have benefitted from Arthur’s outstanding and deep knowledge of antiques. He has been integral for so long in helping uphold the integrity of what dealers are offering at shows and what clients are including in their collections.
Arthur’s birthday, which falls during Americana Week in January, is an occasion for merriment. We will let you supply the caption. Courtesy Elle Shushan, Fine Portrait Miniatures.
From Skip Chalfant, H.L. Chalfant American Fine Art & Antiques:
Arthur and I have a close friendship and have done business together for 50 years. We have NEVER had a disagreement. He was the genesis of the ADA’s Award of Merit.
From Elizabeth Pochoda, editor at large, The Magazine ANTIQUES:
Early in my tenure as editor of The Magazine ANTIQUES, I drove to Colchester. Arthur showed me a collection of miniature furniture. I thought it was extraordinary and we subsequently did a story. I’ve come to know Arthur as honest, kind, generous, energetic and passionate about the material and the field. He is full of interesting anecdotes and loves to have fun. There’s a place for that.
From Karen DiSaia, show manager:
Arthur is a traditionalist in the best sense of the word. He’s loyal beyond imagination, completely unselfish and is devoted to the causes and people he cares about. He’s one of my favorite people, but it wasn’t always so. The first time I met him he stepped on my hand and broke my finger as we competed for rugs at a tag sale. He was mortified when I told him about it much later. Our friendship, which I cherish deeply, has only grown.
From Deanne Levison, American decorative arts consultant:
The very fact that Arthur has been chosen by his peers for this honor speaks for itself. He has continued the “Liverant Legacy” of scholarship, integrity and devotion to the field of Americana. I have known him since his college days, and he has never wavered from this legacy. He also inherited a superior propensity for telling the best jokes…. not saying what kind!! How lucky I have been to have him as a close friend.
Arthur models his latest find. Courtesy Lori Cohen, Arader Galleries.
From Frank Levy, Levy Galleries:
I really wanted to write something funny about Arthur but every story I thought of wouldn’t be fit for print, so I will have to be serious. The ADA could not have picked a more deserving recipient. I don’t think there is anyone who does more for the field of American decorative arts than Arthur. He is a longstanding board member of the ADA and one of its greatest advocates. He is a friend to many museums and historical societies throughout the country, giving sage advice and counsel. The forums that he runs bring in a number of new collectors and are always interesting and fun. On a more personal level, you can’t have a better friend or partner in the business. Arthur is honest, industrious and just plain fun to work with. His knowledge is extraordinary and his work ethic impeccable. This honor is well deserved and long overdue.
From Barbara Israel, Barbara Israel Garden Antiques:
Congratulations, Arthur! We applaud your leadership, friendship and sense of humor….the latter being the most engaging at shows when you lure us into your booth with a sneaky smile and produce some hyper-erotic piece of “art.”
From Barbara Pollack, Frank & Barbara Pollack American Antiques & Art:
This award is so well deserved. Throughout the years you have opened the eyes and hearts of so many to the field of Americana. This award also has to be for your incredible sense of humor, for telling the best jokes ever, and for keeping us all upbeat and lifting our spirits when exhibiting at shows together. I remember coming to your booth and you would say “ya wanna see something great that was brought to me today?” And out of a drawer would come the most hilarious and erotic item that would immediately start you laughing hysterically. Thank you for being such a good friend, for keeping me laughing and for those fabulous calendars you send each year (actually that award should go to Gigi).
Three amigos Kevin Tulimieri, Arthur Liverant and Frank Levy at the Winter Show. Courtesy Barbara Israel, Barbara Israel Garden Antiques.
From Sandy Jacobs, Bassoff & Jacobs Antiques:
We all know Arthur as an extremely knowledgeable antiques dealer who loves teaching about construction, origin, restoration and provenance. He is also fascinated by things naughty. This brings us to a November day in the early 1990s. Grace Snyder was hosting a surprise 50th birthday party for her husband, Elliott. Arthur asked me to help him with his costume, then introduce him to Elliott as a female stripper. The breasts Arthur procured were unusual in appearance — rather saggy and long. After I made him up with mascara, eyeliner, rouge and lipstick, Arthur was ready to go. I will always remember Arthur shimmying for Elliott after stripping off his coat and boa and pulling down the negligee to expose the breasts. Too bad this was before cell phones with cameras. The moment should have been preserved for posterity.
From Elliott and Grace Snyder, Elliott and Grace Snyder Antiques:
Many of you are no doubt aware by now of Arthur’s predilection for cross-dressing at celebratory events (chiffon is his favorite) and his fondness for erotica. While we can offer many examples, there’s no point in covering familiar ground. Instead, we’d like to focus on his personal side. His generosity, gift for friendship and commitment to causes he cares about come especially to mind. To friends in need, he has always been there, always giving of his time to listen, sympathize or offer advice. To the ADA, he has been a steadfast supporter over the decades. He has done every job to ensure the success of the ADA Award of Merit, from fundraising, soliciting sponsorship and boosting attendance to suggesting worthy recipients, organizing the dinner itself and arranging for speakers. No job has been too small or too large. Casting a wider net, Arthur has supported the preservation of early buildings in his hometown of Colchester and has worked tirelessly to make more people aware of the history and material culture of early Connecticut. He has contributed greatly to his synagogue, sometimes a contentious undertaking. Finally, every holiday season he gives friends products of local businesses he supports or makes donations in their names to causes he values. Perhaps above all, is a devoted father and husband.
Finally, there is Nathan Liverant and Son, a third-generation business Arthur has brought to new heights. Arthur’s father and grandfather would be awfully proud of all he has accomplished in his life. He has truly taken to heart Judaism’s precept of tikkun olam, meaning to repair the world one small act at a time. Arthur, congratulations. We have been blessed to have known you and your family since we all were “kids.”
