The American Antiques Show 2008

New York City

by Lita Solis-Cohen

There is no question that The American Antiques Show (TAAS) is a firmly established part of Americana Week in New York City. On January 17-20, for the ninth year, it was a place where collectors found treasures and where dealers and curators came to shop.

Commerce began at setup, where plenty of business was done. It continued with a surge of buying at the Wednesday evening preview party and kept a steady pace through Sunday when pending sales were consummated.

Although furniture did not fly out the door, Peter Eaton of Newbury, Massachusetts, sold six pieces. Folk art starred. Traditional 19th-century paintings, weathervanes, pottery, samplers, hooked rugs, and quilts as well as edgy works by self-taught artists sold. The newly discovered Martin Ramirez drawings, some with primary colors, which are rare in that artist's known oeuvre, were the talk of the show. By the end of preview night, four on view at the stand of Ricco Maresca Gallery, New York City, had been sold, and three more leaning against the wall were promised. Ricco Maresca won the competition to represent the family that found the stash of Ramirez drawings in their garage in Auburn, California, last fall. The gallery has 126 of them to sell.

Ricco Maresca also sold a large round braided rug, priced at $35,000, that they bought from Raccoon Creek Antiques at Oley Forge, Oley, Pennsylvania, during setup and moved to a wall of their own at the left of the show entrance. Some thought it was a Shaker rug, and some did not, but all agreed it was a textile of extraordinary quality at an extraordinary price.

George Allen and Gordon Wyckoff of Raccoon Creek went on to have one of their best shows anywhere, anytime. Other dealers, who came without great expectations in this difficult economic time, said they too were pleasantly surprised by good sales.

"At a time of recession, the show was surprisingly good, really excellent," said Stella Rubin of Darnestown, Maryland, who sold quilts, rugs, jewelry, and pottery. "Selling patterns were not the usual. Friday was like Thursday used to be, Saturday was slow, and on Sunday I was selling to serious people who came back to buy and to new people as well."

Pat Garthoeffner of Lititz, Pennsylvania, said she and her husband, Rich, had the best show of their lives. "We sold forty-seven things—toys, folk art, paintings, quilts—some from our own collection we had owned for thirty years," said Garthoeffner. "There is no place like New York. It's hard work but a lot of fun."

Others agreed. "We delivered to doormen all over New York all week long," said Amy Finkel of M. Finkel & Daughter, Philadelphia, specialists in needlework who also sell furniture and accessories from their booth right up front. "I watched a steady crowd come and go all week long, but I guess New Yorkers are not used to carrying packages," she said. "Of course, we deliver."

There were no auctions on Sunday this year, and this lack of competition was good for all the shows.

The preview party on Wednesday began at 5 p.m. and hosted a later crowd than usual because of the higher costs of the earlier tickets, which caused some to wonder aloud if a one-price ticket might be a good idea. Because the crowd came in waves, it was easy to see and get around, and there seemed to be the same urgency to buy as when the crowds have been larger.

Dealers said their best things sold first. "It is necessary to keep things for this show. It makes a big difference. The surprise element is very important," said George Allen, who could have sold a painted chest of drawers four times over. The bold salmon-colored loops on its yellow ground stopped people in their tracks.

With the addition of Ned Jalbert: American Indian Masterworks, Westborough, Massachusetts, who's also an interior designer, there were five dealers in American Indian arts. "This is the second-most important Indian art show in the country, second only to Santa Fe in August," said Jalbert. "With five major dealers here, and Don Ellis and Morning Star at the New York Winter [Antiques] Show, collectors can find the best Indian material available in New York in January." Jalbert, who also participated in a gallery show at Tambaran Gallery on Madison Avenue, said business was very good.

Specialist dealers sold well. Cherry Gallery, Damariscotta, Maine, has clients with houses in the Adirondacks, Aspen, Colorado, and the New Hampshire Lakes Region who come each year to see the rustic furniture and accessories on their stand, and they buy it all. The Weiss twins at Gemini Antiques, Chester, New Jersey, said they sold 16 mechanical banks along with weathervanes, paintings, and smalls.

Robert Lloyd Inc., New York City, the only silver dealer, sold some of their finest. "This show should be known as the American Antiques Show not the Folk Art Show. I know it benefits the museum, but there is a lot here that is not folk art." But then again, that painted metal head of a boa constrictor that Lloyd sold to the owner of a 1914 Rolls-Royce for a hood ornament did have a folk art quality about it.

The half-dozen dealers who said TAAS was not a blockbuster show for them this year also said they met a lot of interested people and expect follow-up business. Dealers exhibit at shows to establish relationships with customers; shows are where dealers launch collectors.

At TAAS, the dealers spent five days talking patiently with people who came, stayed, and looked at things carefully, and many returned. TAAS is an experience seasoned collectors look forward to and would not miss. It is where new collectors can get their bearings. Although attendance was down this year, the right people came and recycled antiques, knowing it's the green thing to do.

For more information, see the Web site (www.theamericanantiquesshow.org).

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