Willow Springs Perennial Antiques, Rexford, N.Y.
Review and Photos by W.A. Demers
RHINEBECK, N.Y. – Antiques at Rhinebeck, a unique and compelling show revived by Frank Gaglio of Barn Star Productions some years ago, ushered in fall with a well-attended two-day event conducted on October 12 and 13 at its longtime venue, the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. The historic village of Rhinebeck is itself a destination, which on the three-day holiday weekends around Memorial Day and Columbus Day is jammed with vacationers and New York metro-area second homeowners. Both the seasons and locale are sure-fire – and so is Gaglio’s show.
“I have never received so many compliments as I did for this show,” said Gaglio. “There were wonderful objects and 130 dealers. I can even say that ‘brown is back,’ as evidenced by the lineup of large furniture pieces awaiting customer pickup in the area that we designate for that. We were very pleased with the opening gate on Saturday having sold 1,300 tickets in just the first two hours, and we gave out between 50-75 return passes to folks who planned on coming back to the show on Sunday.”
Sandy Levy, owner of Jenkins-town Antiques, New Paltz, N.Y., said the show went very well for him. “I sold an Eighteenth Century shoe-foot hutch table, all original with rosehead nail construction, a late Eighteenth Century tiger maple apothecary chest, as well as two collections – one of blue spongeware and one of Leeds featheredge china. The crowd was very strong on Saturday and there were interested people there on Sunday as well. Most of the things I sold were from an old local family collection – fresh to the market always helps.”
Richard Lavigne, owner of Knollwood Antiques, Village of Thorndike, Mass., typically commands an expansive booth space, all the better to showcase the wide range of sophisticated furniture and accessories for which he is known. For this show, however, he claimed a smaller footprint, although it was still filled with decorative gems. “We have downsized the booth, and the results were favorable. The jewel box as opposed to the entire jewelry store,” he quipped. Sales included a pair of Harvey Probber “Architectural Series ” cube chairs, circa 1960s, a pair of cubist Academic charcoal sketches, circa 1920s, a gilt period Federal mirror, underglaze blue Chinese export jars and sundry other items. “The gate was steady until late afternoon on Saturday, with Sunday off to a slow start and finishing with clients lingering on the sales floor until the closing announcement,” said the dealer. Knollwood’s next venue is the Tricon Show in Concord, Mass, with setup on Thursday, October 31, and the show on Friday and Saturday.
This folk art train had been lovingly made by a father for a child around the turn of the century, according to Don and Betty Jo Heim, Jersey Shore, Penn. The engine and car double as a toy box.
The “king” of folk art signage, Victor Weinblatt called Rhinebeck’s gate “decent.” “Among our notable sales: a circa 1940s double-sided figural bottle-shaped Connecticut Liquors sign; an early Twentieth Century Boston sign Train To Boathouse and Bicycle Shop; a cadmium yellow Ferry Captains sign; a naive homemade rooster weathervane in original paint; a bawdy, circa 1940s naive painting of a reclining, smiling, half-naked beauty sprawled in bed while a grinning guy in an Acme Finance Company uniform exits the room lined with paintings of the same lady under the caption “Well, that’s this month’s payment”; a Maine Bean Hole Beans sign celebrating the culinary ritual of bean pots buried in fire pits; a circa 1930s original hand drawn heart-themed Kansas tattoo parlor flash art in its celluloid covered original frame; and a five-drawer Nineteenth Century dressing table in its original old white.”
The Rhinebeck show was the beneficiary of sorts of another show’s hiatus. In past years, it has had to compete for the Columbus Day weekend crowd with the Historic Deerfield show conducted by the Antiques Dealers Association of America (ADA). This year, Gaglio was able to sign up several dealers who are ADA regulars, including Jewett and Berdan, John Sideli, Greg Kramer, Dennis Raleigh and Hilary and Paulette Nolan. “We really liked the show, and it was our first time exhibiting because we normally have the ADA show at this time, which usually conflicted,” said Tom Jewett of Jewett-Berdan, Newcastle, Maine. “Loved the whole vibe of the show with an eclectic mix providing an opportunity for everyone’s interests. Frank and crew run a wonderful show, and the Dutchess County Fairgrounds is amazing. The whole area is amazing with wonderful restaurants in the area. A few of our sales included two weathervanes, a pair of carved architectural elements with carved figures, a hooked rug, numerous smalls, andirons, African American doll, folk art and other items. Overall, we had a great show and look forward to returning. Loved the fact that this type of show attracted many younger people with a vast interest in many different genres compared to a show with strict traditional antique offerings.
Brooklyn, N.Y., folk art dealer Steve Powers is another ADA/Deerfield show regular whose schedule was freed up this time. He said that although it was his first time doing Rhinebeck, he’s been going to it for 20 years. “I did some business at setup and a bit at the beginning, but it petered out for me after that. I’m not sure if it was my price points or material or both,” he said afterwards. “It’s a fun show to attend and do, but it has a casualness that I think dealers that have done the show for many years learn from experience and know better what is ‘good for Rhinebeck.’ It was great to see other first-timers like Tom and Butch do the show and a few others that I think hadn’t done the show in years. The gates were decent both days and the demographic was definitely younger than other antiques shows. I think I’ll have another crack at it in the spring.”
Rhinebeck show veterans Ed and Anita Holden pronounced the fall edition as “just fair for us in dollar terms. We sold a lot of items, about 40-45, but we did not close on any real significant items, so our total was just fair and well below what we did a year ago,” said Ed. “However, our results were not the fault of Frank and his team, we just did not have the right items for this show this time. We thought the show looked better than any other since Frank restarted Rhinebeck. He had the best roster of dealers he has had, and the gate was quite good on Saturday and the second half of Sunday. Overall we were pleased with the attendance and the quality of the folks in their ability to buy what they wanted. There was also a very good number of younger people, under 40. That is good news.”
Holden Antiques, Naples, Fla. Veteran exhibitors Ed and Anita Holden said, “We have been doing Rhinebeck since we were quite young and continue to just love the event. Great stuff, great people and great management.”
A-S Antiques is the business of Alan and Sally Hendrickson, who buy, sell and trade from their home in Oriskany Falls, N.Y. “The Saturday gate was great,” said Sally, “and we had good sales both days.” A parlor stove sold early on Saturday as well as an ornate Victorian garden gate. “We also sold a lovely little Chippendale chest of drawers,” she added. “We had great interest in the large garden urns, an Empire secretary and a Chippendale lady’s desk but no takers.”
Antique wood glowed in the form of a Georgian tall chest in walnut veneers, circa 1714-1820, and an Eighteenth Century tiger maple slant lid desk with shell carved interior and ogee bracket feet in the booth of Brian and Joanne Pinello Kaley, Cobblestone Antiques, Pleasant Valley N.Y. “Overall, we had a good show and the gate was strong for Saturday and for Sunday somewhat less so, but steady,” said Joanne. “We sold primarily smalls, including an early pine apothecary cabinet, basket, stoneware pitcher and jewelry. There was a lot of interest in our larger furniture items but ultimately no buyers. Dealers brought a lot of high-quality and interesting items and worked hard to make their booths as attractive as possible. Barn Star promoted very well and things ran smoothly. All dealers would like to see more young people attending shows but that remains a challenge to the industry.”
Stanfordville, N.Y., folk art dealer Susan Wechsler, who does business as South Road Antiques, also reported having a very good show. “Saturday was the day for serious buyers, and Sunday had lighter crowds and fewer sales. It was nice to see previous clients come back and purchase things, and always good to make new clients as well. I had a very good response to my booth and sold a number of things…had to restock on Sunday. The embroidered corded velvet and silk quilt, of course, was the most coveted, and sold to collectors. It was so highly unusual and in such good condition. I loved how graphic and modern it was, especially for a Nineteenth Century piece. Sold a number of signs, a Masonic ‘bed of nails,’ a pair of early Twentieth Century illustrations and a tole espaliered tree with birds. Also sold the painted portrait of a rooster that was in an ad for the show.”
Wechsler also passed out a number of cards for an exhibition at her barn the following weekend. “Since I closed my Hudson shop, I am hoping to have periodic sales and exhibitions at my barn,” she said. ” Many local customers expressed an interest in visiting.”
Similarly, Chinese antiques and art specialist Zhenhua Jiang, at the show for first time, was hoping that his display would entice folks to visit his recently opened gallery on New York City’s Upper East Side. “We had a wonderful show and sold several furniture pieces and early pottery pieces, including a pair of horseback soldiers from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). We received a lot of compliments and good comments on our collections,” he said. “It was very interesting to see so many visitors from New York City. Many people took our cards and will visit our newly opened gallery at 232 East 78th Street.” He added that while it appeared that local people were more interested in American folk furniture, arts and interior decors, they also showed a great interest in knowing Asian antiques and arts. “I hope we can meet those people more often and provide more information we have in this field. It was unexpected to us that people showed less interest in antique Chinese porcelain and jade carvings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which are usually the highlights in other shows like Baltimore and Miami Beach. Anyway, selling more is only one of our purposes when we come to the shows; advertising and meeting people, educating new collectors are also very important to us.”
A colorful, graphic I.N.C. trade sign reigned over the choice selection of objects shown by Thomas Longacre and Beverly-Weir Longacre, Marlborough, N.H. The early Twentieth Century sign was found in New Hampshire.
A small, Butterfieldesque Midcentury Modern sculpture of a horse made from found natural wood and dated 1978 was notable in the booth of American folk art specialist Pioneer Folk Antiques, Ellsworth, Maine. “We were fortunate to enjoy multiple sales in the categories of paintings, sculptures, weathervanes, carnival items and signs,” said dealers Ed and Lily Miller. “Our sales split roughly 50/50 between dealers and retail collectors. We truly enjoy this fall – and its companion spring antiques show.”
This year’s spring show was the first time that J&R Ferris Antiques had made a presence in about 20 years. The end result was that the selling and general interest was strong enough to return for the recent show, according to the firm’s owner Scott Ferris. “Frank and Lynn’s decision to keep the show to three buildings – Halls A, B and C – I believe, was a wise one,” he said.
“I came with a near completely different look, focusing this time on the varied-abstract to representationalism; watercolors to oils – artwork of central New York artist Edward Christiana (1912-1992), and I added to my Rockwell Kent selection, including more drawings and prints. The interest in both of these artists was high.”
Quick to set up his booth, including posting labels with prices, Ferris was able to walk around the show to see how other dealers were pricing similar items. “I see many of these same dealers in New Hampshire at Antiques in Manchester. There they show similar material at what seems to be higher prices. Regarding Rhinebeck, I thought prices would be about the same: on the contrary, the pricing appeared to be lower.”
Ferris recounted a personal aside about the artist Christiana, who he showcased along with Kent in his booth. “Ed, as I called him, and his wife Connie – both long deceased – rented an apartment to me, just down the street from them, upstairs of Ed’s studio, during the late 1980s into the 1990s. When Ed passed, I opened a gallery in his former studio. I recently got back in contact with Ed’s eldest son, who would like me to represent his father’s work. I believe that is beyond my means but I can at least broaden the scope of his audience.”
A fun milestone was observed on Sunday as the show closed out the weekend. Readers may remember that Hunter Reyes, infant son of porter Amanda and Joe Reyes, came into this world during last year’s fall show. So it was time to celebrate Hunter’s first birthday, and Barn Star’s Gaglio and Webb made sure there was birthday cake for all to mark the occasion.
Antiques at Rhinebeck returns to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds on May 30-31, 2020. For information, 845-876-0616 or www.barnstar.com.
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