Stories for July '17

(Issue Story)

Letter from London, July 2017
by Ian McKay

Ian McKay, <[email protected]> There’s a definite leaning towards Chinese works of art in this month’s selection, with some 2000 words in all devoted to the subject. Elsewhere, this July “Letter” looks at a canine meteorite, a sumptuous binding for a very special Galileo book, a foxy car mascot, some oddly attractive blue ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Florida Man Files Suit against Antiquorum
by M.A.D. staff

On May 19 Andrew Woods of Fort Myers, Florida, filed a lawsuit against auction house Antiquorum, watch specialists, alleging that he had not been paid for a Patek Philippe watch that he consigned to the firm’s December 8, 2016, sale. The watch appears on the price list as being sold for ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Stremmel and Overby Move to Dismiss Defamation Lawsuit
by M.A.D. staff

“If they can prove the painting is authentic, then they will not have suffered any damages. If they cannot prove the painting is authentic, then they cannot prevail at trial.” That’s one of the arguments lawyers made for Peter Stremmel and Stremmel Galleries, Ltd., Mike Overby, and Coeur D’Alene Art Auction ... (Read More)

(Young Collectors)

Antiques Show Booths: A Style Guide
by Hollie Davis and Andrew Richmond

The Young Collector At the risk of repeating ourselves, selling antiques is hard work. There’s all the driving around and browsing auctions and hauling heavy things in and out and up and down; there’s all the calculating of margins and costs; there’s the mental load of keeping a rolling sense of ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

The Art and Science of the Philosophy Chamber at Harvard
by Jeanne Schinto

Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts Photos courtesy President and Fellows of Harvard College “This exhibition is about a room, a single room,” curator Ethan W. Lasser told a group of press people a few days before the May 19 opening of The Philosophy Chamber at Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... (Read More)

(Computer Article)

Retail Analytics and a New Service from the USPS
by John P. Reid

Computer Column #343 John P. Reid, e-mail: <[email protected]> Big retailers have been gathering personal information on each of us for a decade or more. Amazon may know as much about me as I do. Walmart processes more than two million gigabytes of data from one million customer transactions every hour. Some of ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Cyd and John Emmons, Gardenalia, Falls Village, Connecticut
by Frank Donegan

In the Trade What do you do if you want to be a show dealer, but the shows at which you exhibit keep dying out from under you? That’s the question that Cyd and John Emmons, who operate their business, Gardenalia, from their home in Falls Village, Connecticut, are pondering these ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Jason Busch Appointed Director of Jason Jacques Gallery
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Jason Jacques has announced that he has appointed Jason T. Busch as the director of his gallery, located in a townhouse at 20 East 73rd Street in New York City. On his website (www.jasonjacques.com), Jacques calls himself a “pot dealer” and claims he holds the “world’s most comprehensive collection” of ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Four Centuries of Portsmouth Furniture
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Since the publication of the landmark Portsmouth Furniture: Masterworks from the New Hampshire Seacoast in 1993 and the exhibition of the same name in 1992, dedicated scholars have continued to explore the subject, widening its scope and adding new objects to the canon. The 2017 exhibition Four Centuries ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Historic Deerfield Acquires Packard Bed Rug
by M.A.D. staff

Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts, has acquired an important sewn woolen New England bed rug marked “1801 / Esther Packard.” The rug is one of a group of four similar bed rugs, at least two of which have been attributed to members of the Packard family of Massachusetts. The other ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Antiques Collectors: My, We Differ!
by Baron Perlman

You know us. We attend antiques shows or study pieces for sale online or see what sold for how much at auctions. Some of us collect Pilgrim or William and Mary, others mid-century modern. Some eschew furniture and love toys, pottery, or glass. Some specialize in paintings. The tent of ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

ADA Show Moves to Amherst
by M.A.D. staff

The Antiques Dealers’ Association of America’s ADA/Historic Deerfield Antiques Show is moving to Amherst, Massachusetts, 15 miles south of the show’s former home, Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts. The show will be held at the Mullins Center on the campus of UMASS Amherst on Columbus Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Eldred's and Decoys Unlimited, Inc. Join Forces
by M.A.D. staff

Eldred’s and Decoys Unlimited, Inc. have formed a strategic partnership. The two firms will work together in the procurement, marketing, and sale of antique and decorative decoys and bird carvings for auctions. “I have been in this business since the 1970s, and while the passion is still there, I find I ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Brent Lewis Joins Heritage Auctions
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Heritage Auctions has hired Brent Lewis, a 20th-century art and design specialist based in Los Angeles, as its director of design. He is working in Heritage Auctions’ Beverly Hills, California, office. “Brent has worked in the art and design community the majority of his professional career. His passion for mid-century and ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Alcoholics Anonymous Sues for Return of "the Big Book" Manuscript
by Jeanne Schinto

Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS) filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court on May 18, demanding the return of the original working manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, known more familiarly and even affectionately to sober ex-drinkers as “the Big Book.” The heavily annotated draft of what the lawsuit ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

The Tax Trade-Off
by Clayton Pennington

Editorial In 2015 in Arizona a new state sales tax went into effect, removing the exemption for fine art sales to out-of-state buyers who purchase art in Arizona and have it shipped out of state. The tax added 6.3% to a purchaser’s bill. In 2016 the legislature repealed the tax. In late ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

New Show in New Jersey
by M.A.D. staff

D. Turi Antique Shows will present a new one-day antiques event in Morris Township, New Jersey. The Summer Antiques Expowill take place on Sunday, July 30, at the air-conditioned William G. Mennen Sports Arena. According to Debbie Turi, there will be over 60 dealers showing everything from country Americana to ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

"Treasures on Trial"
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Treasures on Trial: The Art and Science of Detecting Fakes opened on April Fool’s day in the Winterthur second-floor exhibition galleries. The show, running through January 7, 2018, showcases some of the most notorious fakes and forgeries of our time. “The exhibition could not have arrived at a more opportune ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Exhibitions, July 2017
by M.A.D. staff

Maine Antique Digest includes, as space permits, brief announcements of exhibitions planned by galleries, museums, or other venues. We need all press materials at least six weeks in advance of opening. We need to know the hours and dates of the exhibit, admission charges, and phone number and website for ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

New Dates and Location for 43rd Annual Vermont ADA Show
by M.A.D. staff

The 43rd annual Vermont Antiques Dealers’ Association (VADA) show will be held July 21 and 22 at the Stratton Mountain Base Lodge in Stratton, Vermont. After a successful run over several years in Woodstock, the show committee has opted for the more intimate space at Stratton. Low ceilings and walled ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Man Charged in Gardner Theft Scam
by M.A.D. staff

Anonymous tipsters and digital tracks have led to the arrest of Todd A. Desper of Beckley, West Virginia, on May 22 on fraud charges in connection with a scheme to sell on Craigslist paintings that had been stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. Desper, a.k.a. “Mordokwan,” 47, was ... (Read More)

(Show)

The 2017 Brandywine Antiques Show
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Brandywine River Museum of Art Antiques Show, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania “It was amazing to see so many dealers at the forty-sixth annual have a decent show, at a time when the market for Americana is the worst it’s been during my lifetime,” was the comment of one longtime dealer who sold ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Benton Brings $455,000
by M.A.D. staff

The Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ May 24 sale included a Thomas Hart Benton still life from 1962 with a presale estimate of $100,000/200,000 that sold for $455,000 (with buyer’s premium) to a Midwest bidder competing against bidders in California and New York. “Since the Benton still life came from a private collection ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Remington Sculpture Sets Auction Record
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Christie’s, New York City Photos courtesy Christie’s Buoyed by Frederic Remington’s three-dimensional, head-on design bronze Coming through the Rye, which sold for $11,223,500 (including buyer’s premium), Christie’s spring auction of American art on May 23 in New York City totaled $41,315,750. Of the 92 lots offered, 68 sold, for a 74% sell-through ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Zao Wou-Ki Painting Brings $487,500
by M.A.D. staff

Photo courtesy Litchfield County Auctions. A 1951 painting by Chinese-French artist Zao Wou-Ki (1921-2013), Oiseaux dans les nids (Birds in the nests), 16" x 13", sold for $487,500 (including buyer’s premium) at Litchfield County Auctions in Litchfield, Connecticut, on May 20. According to the auction house, the painting came from a local ... (Read More)

(Fragment)

Painting by Theus Breaks Record at Brunk Auctions
by M.A.D. staff

A portrait of William Branford (1753-1776) by Jeremiah Theus (1716-1774) of Charleston, South Carolina, sold for $180,000 (includes buyer’s premium) at Brunk Auctions’ May 19 and 20 sale in Asheville, North Carolina. According to Brunk, this is a new record for Jeremiah Theus at auction, surpassing the previous record of ... (Read More)

(Show)

The 2017 Penn Dry Goods Market
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Pennsburg, Pennsylvania “This is the gathering of the clan,” said Newbold “Newbie” Richardson, an Alexandria, Virginia, costume and textile appraiser, conservator, and exhibition consultant, while greeting her colleagues, many of them museum curators and authors of books on needlework and textiles, at the fifth annual Penn Dry Goods Market at the ... (Read More)

(Show)

The 2017 Spring Greater York Antiques Show
by Lita Solis-Cohen

York, Pennsylvania Bob Bockius of Mitchell Displays took over the management of the Greater York Antiques Show when Donna Burk, widow of Jim Burk, decided to retire in 2012 and sell the show. Since then he has put on two shows a year. His loyal core of dealers say they like ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Potter & Potter Takes a Gamble
by Kay Manning

Potter & Potter Auctions, Chicago, Illinois Photos courtesy Potter & Potter Auctions Snug in a corner of an American gambler’s chest from around 1880, surrounded by chips, dice, a cigar cutter and holder, playing cards, and a scrimshawed ivory-handled pocket knife, lay an engraved pistol with a mother-of-pearl handle. “It might be needed ... (Read More)

(Auction)

American Indian and Ethnographic Art at Auction
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Skinner, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts American Indian and ethnographic art representing an array of collecting arenas was center stage at Skinner’s May 5 auction in its Boston gallery, including pottery, weavings, baskets, pre-Columbian art, and Native American objects from the northeastern woodlands and the American plains. Previewers at the sale were treated ... (Read More)

(Show)

Antiques for the Garden
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Antique Garden Furniture Fair, the Bronx, New York Faux bois is in vogue. Furniture made of concrete that looks like tree stumps and branches was in demand at the 2017 New York Botanical Garden’s Antique Garden Furniture Fair. Antiques for the garden and the garden room sold briskly in the Bronx ... (Read More)

(Show)

Spring TEFAF in New York City
by Lita Solis-Cohen

TEFAF New York Spring, New York City Some of those who heard about the sublime art environment at TEFAF New York Spring at the Park Avenue Armory asked how an art and antiques show became such a special new experience. “What is TEFAF?” they asked, and how did it happen? It was ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Ruskin Watercolor Tops CRN Sale
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

CRN Auctions, Cambridge, Massachusetts Karin J. Phillips and Carl R. Nordblom can be depended on to provide bidders with an eclectic range of antiques and art at their CRN gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Eclectic was decidedly the word of the day. There was something for everyone. The April 30 sale started ... (Read More)

(Auction)

The Something for Everyone Sale
by Marty Steiner

Slotin Folk Art, Buford, Georgia Photos courtesy Slotin Folk Art The April 29 and 30 Slotin Folk Art sale in Buford, Georgia, had a few changes to what has become a very predictable flow of offerings. Previous sales grouped nearly all the pottery lots at the opening of the first day. Perhaps ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Discoveries in Downingtown
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Pook & Pook, Downingtown, Pennsylvania Photos courtesy Pook & Pook Pook & Pook’s combined international and Americana sale on Saturday, April 29, was offered in a slim catalog. There was no Friday evening party followed by an evening session of selling plus an all-day Saturday sale, which has been the usual format ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Spring Sale in South Carolina
by Pete Prunkl

Wooten & Wooten, Camden, South Carolina Photos courtesy Wooten & Wooten The audience at the Wooten & Wooten sale on April 29 in Camden, South Carolina, was in the mood to celebrate accomplishments near and far. They applauded successful bidders whether they were on site, on the telephone, or on the Internet. ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Robert Cheney Clocks Out
by Bob Frishman

Skinner Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts Photos courtesy Skinner Inc. “We’re moving forward.” Those were the firm words from Skinner CEO Karen Keane. She spoke to me at the April 27 preview of the next day’s auction of clocks, watches, and scientific instruments. April 28 was also Robert C. Cheney’s final day as department ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Jamaican House Painting Brings $100,000
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Freeman’s, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photos courtesy Freeman’s Freeman’s in Philadelphia can be counted on for at least one big discovery in its semiannual Americana sales. It lures the trade and serious collectors from all parts of this country to join the locals at presale exhibitions that are timed to coincide with the two ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

An Abundance of Jewelry
by Mary Ann Brown

Antique Jewelry & Gemology Photos courtesy Leslie Hindman Auctioneers An abundance of opportunities to purchase a wide range of styles of jewelry and watches in a broad array of prices could be found at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ fine jewelry sale on April 23 and 24, fine timepieces sale on April 25, and ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Buccellati Silver and a Bird Fly at Gamage
by Mark Sisco

Bruce Gamage, Jr., Auction, Rockland, Maine “The silver is going to speak, because there’s a lot of rare Buccellati in the sale,” Bruce Gamage predicted before his April 24 auction in Rockland, Maine. Italian goldsmith Mario Buccellati opened his business in 1919 in Milan. Over the years, he expanded with outlets ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Neal's April Estates Auction: A Spring of Simple Treasures
by Karla Klein Albertson

Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, Louisiana Photos courtesy Neal Auction Company At the Neal Auction Company in New Orleans, emphasis is often placed on big events in the fall, especially the annual Louisiana Purchase Auction. The April 22 and 23 spring estates sale, however, offered many remarkable examples of 19th-century furniture and ... (Read More)

(Auction)

$1.2 Million Photography Sale Offers Americana from Ansel Adams to Anonymous
by Jeanne Schinto

Swann Galleries, New York City Photos courtesy Swann Galleries Ansel Adams, one of the 20th century’s greatest and most revered American photographers, once famously said, “The negative is the equivalent of the composer’s score, and the print the performance.” Swann’s photography department, headed by its longtime specialist Daile Kaplan, drove home the ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Custer's Last Stand, Again
by Mark Sisco

James D. Julia, Fairfield, Maine Before his firearms auction in Fairfield, Maine, April 11-13, James Julia remarked, “We’ve sold more guns that came off that [Little Bighorn] battlefield than, I think, more than everybody else combined.” A pistol with a connection to the Battle of the Little Bighorn contributed significantly to ... (Read More)

(Auction)

American Paintings, Furniture, and Decorative Arts
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Doyle, New York City Photos courtesy Doyle Doyle’s spring sale of American paintings, furniture, and decorative arts on April 5, including 96 lots from the collection of Willa Kim and William Pène du Bois, totaled $976,802 with a sell-through rate of 85%. As is the case at many auction houses, online sales ... (Read More)

(Show)

Johnson's Next-to-Last Monroe Antique Show and Sale
by Cathy Aldrich

Evergreen State Fairgrounds, Monroe, Washington Stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end; great stories we wish to go on forever. The same can be said for antiques shows. For some, the beginning, middle, and end are almost one and the same. For others that have stood the test of ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Free-Blown Tableware Demands Attention
by Susan Emerson Nutter

Norman C. Heckler & Company, Woodstock Valley, Connecticut Photos courtesy Norman C. Heckler & Company Norman C. Heckler knows bottles—antique glass bottles, to be more precise—and it is easy to see why. Having founded Norman C. Heckler & Company in 1987, he and his staff have set about establishing this company as ... (Read More)
Web Design By Firefly Maine Maine Web Design