Antiques & Art at the Armory

New York City

by Lita Solis-Cohen

Antiques & Art at the Armory, held December 3-6, 2009, at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, billed itself as a neighborhood show. It is produced by Avenue magazine, which is distributed on Manhattan's Upper East Side and to selected hotels and reaches people who can afford to shop at antiques shows and buy what takes their fancy.

"We want the show to appeal to the neighborhood and also to the antique collecting crowd," said Barbara Goodwin, director of new business development at Avenue. She worked tirelessly for a year to round up an impressive group of dealers during a time when antiques show business was weak and dealers were pulling out of shows in order to survive the worst economic times in memory. As the economy began to show some signs of recovery, she was able to pull together a varied roster of 61 dealers who agreed to take a chance, and she put on an attractive show.

Designed by Richard Mishaan with wide aisles and high walls, the show had room for more dealers in the spacious armory. In addition to their main stands, some dealers filled vest-pocket spaces with a sampling of their stock.

This show grew out of the Wendy shows at the Park Avenue Armory. In 2008 it was managed by a partnership of Meg Wendy Geslin and Avenue, but this time Meg Geslin was not involved. Barbara Goodwin and Avenue publisher Julie Dannenberg succeeded in changing the ambiance. Some new faces joined some of the Wendy regulars for a new show that was relaxed, friendly, and not pretentious. Many said it was fun to walk through a show where one could find such a range of things for sale, from antique slot machines and American flags to fine silver and paintings, from porcelains and furniture to works of decorative art and jewelry.

Avenue magazine arranged the kind of ancillary events that showgoers are accustomed to. Designers Mario Buatta, Maureen Footer, Miles Redd, and Guy Regal were invited to discuss "Designing with Antiques in the Modern World" on Friday morning with author and Today show contributor Susanna Salk. The Royal Oak Foundation, which spreads the word about historic houses and collections in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, presented talks on Friday and Saturday that were designed to make people go to the show and furnish with antiques.

On Wednesday evening, December 2, a small group of about 400 came to a private preview to benefit the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge, which provides cancer patients and their families a free temporary place to stay when their best hope for effective treatment requires them to be in New York City. Benefactors were offered good, healthy food and seats on sofas near the food stations so they could chat while balancing a plate of salad and a Pierre-tini, a delicious concoction of gin, spiced rum, Chambord, and orange and pineapple juices presented by the Pierre hotel's bar Two E. It was quite civilized.

Brooks Brothers presented a photo retrospective, "Generations of Style," at the entrance to the show and provided a gift certificate for a Brooks Brothers shirt in the goodie bag with an Avenue magazine given to all those who supported the Cancer Society benefit. Dealers distributed VIP tickets to their best customers for a special opening on Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m., and 800 people came, including Jon Bon Jovi, Wayne Gretsky, Vera Wang, Cyndi Lauper, Ralph Lauren, and Patty and John McEnroe.

Goodwin said "foot traffic" was very good on Sunday and steady on other days, though a bit slow on the cold, rainy Saturday. Those who came liked what they saw. Jewelry dealers—there were ten of them—sold well; for others, sales were just OK. Dealers said people are still not spending freely and that sales were for lower-end items, though some said major sales are under consideration.

Because the cost of a stand is nowhere near the cost of one at the Winter Antiques Show or the Haughtons' shows, dealers took a chance with this new endeavor. They knew that the armory was located in Manhattan's most affluent neighborhood, and that the show was at a time when people are thinking about holiday shopping.

There were some very good specialist dealers. One could buy 18th- and 19th-century English and American silver from Robert Lloyd of New York City, English silver from Stephen Kalms of London, and more English silver from David and Paul Simons of Percy's (Silver) Ltd., whose stock came right from London's Silver Vaults. Modern silver, including examples by Georg Jensen, was offered by The Silver Fund.

John Atzbach of Redmond, Washington, is a specialist in Russian objects, enamels, and Fabergé, and Made in Russia, Palm Beach, Florida, offered Russian icons. Bibi Mohamed of Imperial Fine Books, New York City, showed leather-bound sets of books, and Luxury Catalogs, Brooklyn, New York, offered autographs and documents. Other New York City dealers included the European Decorative Arts Company with small European works of art from the 16th through the 19th centuries, and Marion Harris with a large collection of artists' figures.

J. Gallagher of North Norwich, New York, had an ample selection of andirons and fireplace tools and fenders; Derek and Tina Rayment of Cheshire, England offered nothing but barometers; Larry Dalton of Scarsdale, New York, had clocks; and Nula Thanhauser of East Hampton, New York, filled her small stand with handbags, mostly evening bags.

Jeff Bridgman of York County, Pennsylvania, displayed rare and decorative American flags, and Daniels Antiques, of Hallandale, Florida, offered antique gambling machines in working order. Half a dozen dealers offered porcelain, including Chinese, Continental, and English dating from the 17th through the 21st centuries. Cliff Lee of Stevens, Pennsylvania, offered his contemporary porcelain vessels. The English, Continental, and some modern furniture that was available is the kind that decorators buy for New York City apartments.

Michael John Hunt of Sandwich, Kent, England, who has spent the last few years recording the rooms at the Winterthur Museum, exhibited his paintings of interiors for the first time in New York City. Other paintings on view included contemporary, post-Impressionist, Impressionist, 19th-century genre scenes, and American illustration art, including that of Norman Rockwell.

There was little Americana except for Bridgman's flags, Lloyd's silver, two Rockwell paintings at M.S Rau Antiques, New Orleans, and Tiffany lamps and objects from Ophir Gallery, Englewood, New Jersey, and Harvey Weinstein of New York City. The latter had a few small American folk paintings attributed to William Matthew Prior and Rufus Porter and a needlework picture.

"This is an extremely promising show for the future," said New York City art dealer Richard Schillay, an exhibitor. "If the economy continues to improve, they will be able to sign up some more good dealers, and it can develop into a premier show."

Avenue publisher Julie Dannenberg said she was pleased with the response from the community and the synergy between the publishing business and the antiques show, which she said "motivated people to shop again." Avenue Shows' next Antiques & Art at the Armory event will be held September 30-October 3 (the armory will do its own programming in December, so the pre-holiday dates were not available). Avenue Shows has also scheduled a boutique show of jewelry and objets d'art at 583 Park Avenue, April 23-25, showcasing 25 dealers with silver, ceramics, and jewelry.

For more information, contact Avenue Shows at (646) 442-1627; Web site (www.avenueshows.com).

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