Showrunner Frank Gaglio speaks with a customer in the booth of Curated by Ryan Matthew Cohn, Westport, Conn.
Review & Onsite Photos by Z.G. Burnett
RHINEBECK, N.Y. — On the morning of May 23 at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, an early crowd of customers stood patiently in light drizzle, and grew with each passing minute as new arrivals passed through the ticket gate. Despite the relative calm, customers’ excitement could be heard in their somewhat hushed conversations. All were eager for the steel barriers to be moved aside so they could speed-walk up to three buildings containing 125 dealers who were part of Barn Star Productions’ Spring Antiques at Rhinebeck show that ran through May 24.
“The show went extremely well despite intermittent showers which only served to keep buyers actively shopping,” said showrunner Frank Gaglio. “I believe this Rhinebeck had a record crowd of new customers, as well as seasoned collectors, who found the show to be even more exciting due to exhibitors coming from as far away as California and Texas.”
This year’s edition introduced a number of new dealers and welcomed back others who have exhibited at Rhinebeck for decades. Many were fresh out of Brimfield with their best finds. There was a notable increase of folk art and country furniture offered, and prices were reasonable overall; some booths even offered objects for less than $100. This variety no doubt attracted a number of young buyers, many with families in tow.
This New Jersey pine dry sink on offer with In The Vernacular, Philadelphia, was decorated with its original painted surface and was on its way to a new home by the end of Memorial Day weekend.
As prices climb and manufacturing quality drops, consumers are seeking pieces that have already stood the test of time to join their household, both for visual and practical application. “The Rhinebeck Show encourages exhibitors to push the envelope not only with the material they bring to the show, but how they display their objects for maximum impact and decorator ideas and appeal,” Gaglio added.
One such centerpiece was from In the Vernacular, Philadelphia, a Nineteenth Century dry sink that was found in New Jersey. The sink was made from pine and retained its original blue-gray paint along with whimsically painted black dots and lines. It showed enough wear to authenticate its longevity and was impressively sturdy. The sink was bought over the weekend. Child of Folk (New York City) showed furniture on a more diminutive scale for children, along with toys, small goods, ephemera and vintage decor. One of its most eye-catching pieces was a stuffed black Labrador puppy from the early Twentieth Century, not only because it was very cute, but also entirely unfaded. Owner Thais Glazman shared that it came from England and later reported a great first time showing at Rhinebeck.
Another dealer specializing in the small but exquisite was Peter K. Carlisle, also of New York City. His booth was situated like a minimalist sitting room, if such a thing existed in the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth centuries. Below one of Carlisle’s artfully arranged tables was a curious footstool that stood out due to its unusually shaped feet and bright teal upholstery. Created in the style of Duncan Phyfe, the feet appeared to be spade-shaped from afar but were actually carved three-toed paws. Carlisle shared that the upholstery was not original, but that did not detract from the stool’s appeal.
Poised as though about to scurry away, this Phyfe-style stool was still available at press time from Peter K. Carlisle, New York City.
Customers were overheard many times complimenting the variety of dealers’ stock at Rhinebeck. Hot Tamale Antiques (Aledo, Texas) still stood out with the range of styles and objects offered. Having just sold a rare circa 1929-30 Erector Set Ferris wheel dubbed “The Climax,” owner Jan Orr-Harter also indicated a similarly scarce étagère that was bought earlier that morning. Designed by Brutalist architect Adrian Pearsall (American, 1925-2011), the Goop shelving unit was manufactured around 1960 by his Pennsylvania-based furniture company, Craft Associates. It had a solid wood frame covered with resin that was sculpted with both Neoclassical designs and natural forms, supporting three floating smoked glass shelves. The Goop étagère is often associated with Craft’s Sculptura line due to its faux bronzed surface, as furniture in this collection was similarly decorated with silver and burnished gold.
Trade signs are trending at Northeast antiques markets and a Nineteenth Century example from Scott Bassoff – Sandy Jacobs Antiques (Swampscott, Mass.) captured the energy at Rhinebeck. Made of sheet metal in old green paint, their American tobacco trade sign was a silhouette of two men flanking a bushel of tobacco. The man on the left smoked a pipe, while the man on the right held a large tobacco leaf and stood next to a tobacco plant. Smoking is not permitted on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, but a few decades or centuries earlier may have presented a similar scene of dealers and customers.
This lively Nineteenth Century tobacco trade sign emulated the convivial company of Rhinebeck on Memorial Day Weekend. Scott Bassoff – Sandy Jacobs Antiques, Swampscott, Mass.
Patrons of fine arts were not disappointed either. Dan Popuch of Daniels Antiques (Chicago)presented a small tempera on board painting that was striking for its color and subject matter. Surrealist Irvin Cowen, sometimes spelled Cowan (American, b 1922), composed an improbably balanced grouping of objects that included a carved but weathered wood post, a miniature portrait of a black-clad gentleman and a porcelain doll head against a pink void. Auction records of the painting title it “Baroque Baby,” one of only a few listed works. According to AskArt, Cowen was born in Chicago and attended the Art Institute and also studied in Mexico. Three of his exhibitions are listed from 1958 to 1966 and then the artist disappears from record.
An earlier example of American art came with local character. A pair of late Eighteenth Century oil and pastel scenes from the Hudson Valley hung in the booth of Willow Spring Perennial Antiques (Rexford, N.Y.). “A woman who came by earlier knows of this house,” owner Nancy Douglass said of a fine white estate on the river that, though by an unknown and presumably self-taught artist, was detailed enough to be recognized. Its companion piece was more mysterious, a ruined stone cathedral or abbey that might have been more at home on the British Isles facing another wooden structure on the opposite bank. Douglass agreed with this observation, but had no other details about the paintings or their creator.
Barn Star Productions’ Spring Antiques at Rhinebeck occurs annually on Memorial Day Weekend. For information, 914-474-8552 or www.barnstar.com.
