DELRAY BEACH, FLA. — Our father, Sy Rapaport, an extraordinary American folk art dealer and art advisor, died peacefully at home on February 2. He was 83 years old.
Sy was born in New York City in 1941 and grew up collecting baseball cards and stamps from an early age. As a young boy, he would travel on his own down to Nassau Street in lower Manhattan, an area filled with old stamp shops, searching for a rare stamp to add to his collection. Even then he was obsessive about collecting. At age 21, he met our mom Susan at a dance and took her home in his new, blue Chrysler convertible. Their first date was at the Guggenheim Museum. They married soon after and the rest was history. They would have been married 59 years this March.
Together, their shared appreciation for art and collecting grew. They enjoyed spending weekends going to antiques shops and galleries in the city, looking for objects that appealed to them both. They typically finished their day at the famous Strand Bookstore to research what they had seen or heard about. Eventually, through word of mouth, they learned about the many antiques shows and flea markets in New England, where they were lured onto the grassy fields on an early Saturday or Sunday morning hoping to find something great.
Our father had a great eye and started picking for many established dealers. He began buying and selling antique cast iron and tin toys and then expanded into folk art, including antique decoys, weathervanes and decorated stoneware. He especially had a passion for the sculptural quality of weathervanes and decoys. Our parents were a recognized team and transitioned from collectors to full-time dealers after dad retired from his own real estate business. They started exhibiting at the Russell Carrell and Sarah French shows, as well as Brimfield and local Long Island antiques shows. It was during this time that our dad also met Stu Jester, a picker for Mary Allis, and an early mentor to our dad, with whom he shared endless hours discussing the merits of folk art.
Our dad was very smart and had a keen sense of humor. He was also kind, honest and driven. He loved the hunt! Throughout the years, he would be seen first in line at so many shows hoping to find “the big one,” and he usually did! He immersed himself in antiques 24/7. As long as we can remember, his famous, witty quotes included “The Early Bird Catches the Worm” and “The Fun is in the Search.” As children, our parents would wake us up at 4 am for family weekends and pack us up with their antiques in our stuffed green van. We would head to more flea markets and monthly shows such as the N.H. Highway Hotel antiques show in Concord, N.H.
In the 1980s, he and our mom were very early in presenting American decoys and antique toys as an art form at Sandy Smith’s highly regarded Folk Art Show in New York City where they exhibited for many years. Throughout their almost 50-year career, they sold to countless collectors. They bought, sold and consulted on many wonderful pieces that have become major icons in the field of art and antiques. Auction houses, Christies and Sotheby’s, would call on him for his opinion and he was always eager to share his knowledge. Our dad also developed great friendships with so many dealers and gallery owners that continued until his very last days.
Our father’s impeccable eye, his years of studying so many objects and his inquisitive nature led him instinctively to find the best examples of American folk art. He was known for being a stickler for condition, original surface and patina, and was highly respected for his expertise. His criteria for finding the best never wavered.
The collection that our parents helped curate with Jerry and Susan Lauren is unparalleled. Our dad was proud of this collaboration and friendship that they shared for over 40 years. Their quest took them traveling all over the country. Our dad loved the story and uniqueness behind each and every piece that ultimately resulted in this well-published, world class collection of masterpieces. It includes a magnificent Basquiat, important and rare weathervanes, fabulous Traylors, powerful Edmondsons, wonderfully decorated stoneware, sculpture, toys and more.
Our father loved his life and never took a day for granted. Basically, he was an existentialist. He believed, “The Good Life is Inspired by Love and Guided by Knowledge” (Bertrand Russell) He sought a life well lived, and he lived a life well lived.
As a colleague and old friend shared, “your dad…had a wonderful life, he always followed his own path and that path lead the way for so many others…young and not so young dealers and collectors are still walking that path today. Sy is not a person that one can or will ever forget, his endless stories will live on endlessly!”
Leading with passion and love, the legacy that our dad left us in searching for the best and creating a stellar reputation will always be with us.
We will miss him so much.
Lisa Rapaport Robbins and Debbi Rapaport Kraner
