“Angel Gabriel,” the 72-inch-long iron weathervane that came to wide attention when it was stolen, recovered and returned to its owner, the White Church Association, has been acquired by a private collector. The weathervane was recently purchased by New Haven, Conn., dealer Fred Giampietro, who last month resold the piece, along with a tavern sign with ironwork by the same hand, for “seven figures.”
Called “Old Gabriel” by townsfolk, the weathervane was made in 1822 by Henry Forster, a Crown Point, N.Y., blacksmith. It spent 181 years atop three successive churches in Crown Point, across from Shelburne on Lake Champlain. The iron for the piece was probably mined nearby. Shelburne Museum in Vermont featured the sculpture in its 2006 exhibition, “Silhouettes In The Sky: The Art of The Weathervane.”
As reported in Antiques and The Arts Weekly at the time, the weathervane, stolen in 2003, was offered to Giampietro, who recognized it and called the police in 2005. For security reasons, the weathervane has spent much of the past three years in police custody, most recently locked in a jail cell in Elizabethtown, N.Y.
Giampietro said that Suffield, Conn., dealer Tom Dupree first took him to see the Gabriel about 20 years ago.
“I tried to buy it then for around $100,000,” said Giampietro, who steadily upped his offer over the years. Unable to care for the object, White Church Association approached the dealer in September 2007. The Ticonderoga, N.Y., attorney who drew up papers for the sale encouraged the group to seek other offers. Giampietro suggested that the association contact Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Skinner and Northeast Auctions.
Closing day presented dilemmas. The key to the jailhouse cell, where the weathervane was stored, was misplaced and Giampietro’s vehicle would not start. After clearing these minor hurdles, the sale went off without a hitch.
“It would have been nice if a museum could have had Gabriel, but it has gone to a very good home. Crown Point is barely more than a crossroads. The White Church Association needed money for its programs. This will keep them going,” said Giampietro.
