South Bay – Important Estate Auction – The Collection of Laura Fisher (1945-2021)
May 21st, 2022
www.southbayauctions.com
info@southbayauctions.com
631-878-2909

EAST MORICHES, N.Y. — South Bay Auctions will conduct a single-owner sale of more than 400 selected lots from the estate of quilt expert, dealer and author Laura Fisher (1945-2021) at its gallery on Saturday, May 21, starting at 11 am. The auction will feature a selection of quilts, hooked rugs and other textiles ranging from the late Eighteenth to mid-Twentieth Century, alongside Americana, folk art and jewelry, including some items from Fisher’s personal collection being offered for the first time.

Highlights include a unique late Nineteenth Century pieced quilt with a Passover verse from the Book of John, a rare Amish Roman stripe quilt made in Holmes County, Penn., around 1910 to 1920 and many other Amish quilts in bold geometric patterns, such as “Diamond-in-the-Square.” These quilts are popular with collectors and interior designers for their resemblance to works by Josef Albers, Victor Vasarely and others, though most predate the major Twentieth Century art movements they call to mind.

Other top lots include two rare 1876 Centennial commemorative flag-kerchief quilts, a hard-to-find Vermont needlework sampler made by Lucinda Townshend in 1820 and three 1940s pictorial hooked rugs by Mercedes and James Hutchinson with their characteristic witty sayings.

Laura Fisher was born and raised in the Bronx and graduated from Cornell University where she studied home economics. Her career in antiques began in 1975 when, on a whim, she bid on and won three months of storefront space at Manhattan Art & Antiques Center in a charity auction for New York’s Channel 13 PBS station. In the 45-year-long career that followed, Fisher became a recognized expert on Americana, specializing in textiles. Top collectors and designers would vie for the unique finds she sourced internationally.

A frequent guest on Martha Stewart Living Television, Fisher lectured at museums and universities and was known for her extensive writing on quilts. Books by Fisher include Quilts of Illusion and Home Sweet Home: The House in American Folk Art (with Deborah Harding), and she contributed essays to Diamonds and Bars: The Art of the Amish Quilt, America’s Glorious Quilts and others. A regular contributor to periodicals such as Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and Country Living, her shop was also featured frequently in Town & Country, The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker, among many others.

“Laura Fisher’s golden reputation was unmatched in the world of antique quilts,” said Jean-Paul Napoli, co-owner of South Bay Auctions, “and when we were approached about doing a single-owner sale of her collection, there was no hesitation. We are honored to present this auction celebrating Fisher’s legacy of style and scholarship.”

Preview is Sunday, May 15 through Friday, May 20, 11 am to 4 pm, and by appointment

South Bay Auctions is at 485 Montauk Highway. For more information, 631-878-2909 or www.southbayauctions.com.

World-Renowned Quilt Expert, Dealer and Author
Amish Diamond-in-the-Square five-color quilt.
19C Amish or Mennonite Compass Star pieced quilt. U.S. Centennial Exhibition
“Flags of the Nations of the World” U.S. Centennial Exhibition commemorative quilt.
19C “Gather Up the Fragments” pieced quilt, New York State.
Rare African American World Geography pictorial quilt.
39-Star Flag Kerchiefs Centennial commemorative quilt.
19C American portrait of a Jewish gentleman. 30”h, 25”w.
New York City Garment District painted tin trade sign. 28”h, 37”w.
Early 19C silver mounted whale ivory swift. 21-1/2”h overall.
Book-form cabinet, 20C. 62”h.
Native American silver concho belt. Each concho 3”h , 3-1/2”w,
18k snake form necklace. 13.3 dwt.
19C American sampler, Richard Wilcox’s family.
19C Folk Art cupboard. 80-1/4”h, 41”w, 20”d.
Large Missoni Corners Log Cabin rug. 8’5”w, 12’7”l.
Carved Folk Art chandelier, having faux antlers. 20-1/2”h, 50” dia.
MERCEDES and JAMES HUTCHINSON Pictorial hooked rug with saying. 51”w x 30”h.
Folk Art parquetry bar cart. 32-1/2”h, 51-1/4”w, 28”d.