Stories for February '18
(Issue Story)More Than Flurries
The end of 2017 brought more than a flurry of interesting news.
- The biggest surprise was that Fairfield, Maine’s James D. Julia has been acquired by Morphy Auctions. Jim Julia, who took over his father’s small auction house, built it into a multimillion-dollar business with a combination of savvy dealing ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Ludlow Antiques Show to Continue Under New Management
The Ludlow Antiques Show—one of the five shows that make up Antiques Week in Vermont—will continue this year under new management. Kris Johnson and Steve Sherhag, promoters of the Okemo Antique Show and the Vermont Picker’s Market, will now manage the show, assisted by Robert Conrad, promoter of the New ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Frank Daley and Judith Engel, Modern on the Hudson, Hudson, New York
In the Trade
No matter how you may feel about mid-century modern, you’ve got to be curious about anyone who buys Eames chairs by the gross.
That’s what Frank Daley and Judith Engel do. It may not be the major part of their business—and they certainly don’t consider it the most exciting ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)The Dodges and Their Potteries
There are many noted families that produced red earthenware in New England’s 18th- and 19th-century pottery industry, such as the Parker family in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the Osborn family in Peabody, Massachusetts, and the Corliss family in Maine. These families often receive high praise today from collectors, museums, and scholars. It ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Barnebys Buys Collectors Weekly
Barnebys, an Internet search engine for design, antiques, and art, has acquired Collectors Weekly, according to a press release.
Based in San Francisco, Collectors Weekly is a website that lists hundreds of thousands of objects in almost 2000 collecting categories. The site attracts roughly 1 million visitors every month. In addition ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, February 2018
Discerning Drinkers—Raise Your Glasses to the Kaplan Collection!
There have been moments when I wished that I had decided as a young man to collect beautiful old drinking glasses. Instead, I took to filling my home with books, and, though I continue to enjoy drinking beer, wine, and peaty malt whiskies, ... (Read More)
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(Computer Article)Cloud Storage
Computer Column #349
We often have written about cloud storage of computer files. Recent changes in some cloud systems have greatly increased their usefulness. Cloud storage is a figurative reference to storing your computer files on some company’s large computer system reached over the Internet. The object is to protect the ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Met Changes Admission Policy
It was a tightwad’s best secret—the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) had only a “suggested” admission price, not a mandatory one. On January 4, it was announced that the policy would be rescinded and a mandatory admission fee would be charged beginning March 1.
The updated policy, which received approval from ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Morphy Auctions Merges with James D. Julia, Inc.
On December 20, 2017, it was announced that Morphy Auctions of Denver, Pennsylvania, and Las Vegas, Nevada, has merged with Fairfield, Maine, auction house James D. Julia, Inc., which will become a division of Morphy Auctions. Terms of the deal, which was finalized on December 14, were not announced.
James Julia, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Changes at the Boston Athenaeum
Change has come to the Boston Athenaeum with the appointment of John Buchtel as curator of rare books and head of special collections beginning in June. He succeeds Stanley Ellis Cushing, who announced his retirement in 2017 after 47 years. Most recently Cushing was the Bromer Curator of Rare Books ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Venue Change for Miami Beach Jewelry & Watch Show
The Miami Beach Jewelry & Watch Show, scheduled for February 1-4, will be held in a new location at One Herald Plaza, the current site of Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami—two well-attended art fairs that take place during Art Basel Miami. One Herald Plaza is located at NE 14th ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Be It Resolved
The Young Collector
By the time you read this, the holidays will be well behind us, and, let’s face it, so will most of those New Year’s resolutions. So since you’ve abandoned those good intentions, let us suggest a few replacement options. Don’t overdo it—pace yourselves! As they do on those ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)John Bartlam Teapot Discovered in the U.K.
On February 20 Woolley and Wallis in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in the U.K. will sell the earliest known American porcelain teapot. The blue-and-white porcelain teapot, missing its lid and its handle reglued, is attributed to the John Bartlam factory at Cain Hoy, South Carolina. The blue transfer-printed pattern on one side ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions, February 2018
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)
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(Fragment)"Lollipop Tree" Brings $1.08 Million
On January 1 Nadeau’s Auction Gallery in Windsor, Connecticut, sold Lollipop Tree, an oil on board painting by Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920) for $1,080,000 (includes buyer’s premium), well above the $400,000/800,000 estimate. The painting, 13" x 10¼", is signed and dated 1969 in pencil and has a 1970 Allan Stone ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New York City Art Dealer Charged
On December 15, 2017, a complaint was unsealed in federal court charging Manhattan art dealer Ezra Chowaiki with wire fraud and transportation of stolen property. He allegedly used his art gallery located on Park Avenue to defraud art dealers and collectors of millions of dollars.
According to court papers, until November ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Year-End Jewelry Auctions Bring Holiday Cheer, Investment Possibilities
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
A roundup of auction results from sales held at the end of 2017 brings highlights, prices realized for rare antique pieces, and trends that have endured this past year.
Grogan & Co.
First up was Grogan & Company’s 30th anniversary auction in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 5, 2017, (covered ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Glass, Maritime Art, and Americana in Marion
Marion Antique Auctions, Marion, Massachusetts
Estates and collections make up most sales at Marion Antique Auctions in Marion, Massachusetts, bringing to market antique and historical objects and art from the area lately termed the “Southeast coast.” For the November 25, 2017, auction at the Marion Music Hall, Frank McNamee and C. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Western Paintings and Sculpture
Bonhams, Los Angeles and San Francisco, California
Photos courtesy Bonhams
All of the top 20 lots at Bonhams’ Los Angeles/San Francisco November 20, 2017, California and Western paintings and sculpture auction were bought by private collectors. What happened to the dealers?
Aspens, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado (40" x 30") by Colorado artist ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The 2017 Louisiana Purchase Auction
Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, Louisiana
Photos courtesy Neal Auction Company
In 2017 Neal Auction Company’s Louisiana Purchase Auction, a three-day event held November 17-19, fell on a busy weekend in New Orleans. Everyone was talking about the Thursday wedding of tennis star Serena Williams to Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian at the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Preserving the History of Mankind
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, Thomaston, Maine
Auctioneer and company president Kaja Veilleux floridly introduced the three-day auction at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in Thomaston, Maine, as “preserving the history of mankind.” It was, perhaps, an overstatement, but not a serious one. The November 17-19, 2017, auction offered nearly 1500 lots of ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana at Freeman’s
Freeman’s, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Freeman’s
Freeman’s marketing focuses on selling collections. “Not only does it create a historical record, it delivers a better financial result” is the pitch of the Philadelphia auction house. Over the last four years, Freeman’s has successfully offered large and small collections in separate catalogs. And when ... (Read More)
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(Auction)A Little Knowledge and a Little Money Go a Long Way at Farrin’s
Farrin’s Country Auctions, Randolph, Maine
Every year for the past two decades or so, Rusty Farrin of Farrin’s Country Auctions, Randolph, Maine, has piled together some of the best of a year’s worth of gathering for presentation in a pre-Thanksgiving sale, which happened on November 15, 2017. A larger-than-usual crowd perused ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Salon Art + Design 2017
New York City
The Salon Art + Design, held November 9-13, 2017, at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, exploded with color—from the neon shades of yellow, orange, and turquoise on the show’s catalog to the deep reds, pinks, and greens of the stones used by jeweler and lead ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American Art at Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s, New York City
Photos courtesy Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s American art auction on May 23, 2017, was all about the Rockwells that sold, whereas the sale on November 13, 2017, was all about the Rockwells that were withdrawn by a court order.
No Credit Given (Boy and Shopkeeper) by Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), one of ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Delaware Antiques Show
Wilmington, Delaware
Was it the buoyant stock market, the promise of tax cuts, realistic prices on dealers’ tags in a tax-free state, or the hard work of dealers who reached out to clients ahead of time that that made shoppers ready to buy at the Delaware Antiques Show in Wilmington, Delaware, ... (Read More)
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(Show)Steady Sales at Hunt Country Antiques Fair
Middleburg, Virginia
The 26th Hunt Country Antiques Fair, held November 11 and 12, 2017, at the Hill School in Middleburg, Virginia, was produced, promoted, and managed by Dordy Fontinel Show Management, Inc. Fontinel manages several shows in the mid-Atlantic states, and attendees have become familiar with the consistent quality of the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Miniature Portraits Lead at Evans Americana Sale
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Mt. Crawford, Virginia
Photos courtesy Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates held its 33rd cataloged auction of Americana and fine antiques on November 10 and 11, 2017. These semiannual sales are designed to emphasize items from Virginia and the South.
As is his custom, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fine Art, Pottery, and Jewelry Headline Arts of the American West
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Denver, Colorado
Photos courtesy Leslie Hindman Auctioneers
Provenance packs a punch, especially when discussing artwork being offered up by an institution. Not only do collectors know the items in question were probably handled and cared for properly, said artwork has a documented past.
These attributes added to the appeal of ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Americana Collection of Lynne Dingus
Forsythes’ Auctions, LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Forsythes’ Auctions, LLC
Dispersal auctions of well-known antiques enthusiasts’ collections are always met with mixed emotions. There is the sadness of the person’s passing mixed with the realization that what was collected is now going to be broken up. Sometimes, as collectors, we are witnessing ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Jewelry and a Painting by John Singer Sargent
Grogan & Company, Boston, Massachusetts
Grogan & Company celebrated its 30th year on November 5, 2017, with an approximately $2.55 million sale, drawn primarily from jewelry and paintings. The auction house is earning a reputation as the bijou auction house in Boston. It’s small and located conveniently, and the small size ... (Read More)
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(Show)A Smaller York Show with Serious Buyers and High Quality
Greater York Antiques Show, York, Pennsylvania
The Greater York Antiques Show, held November 3 and 4, 2017, in York, Pennsylvania, was small, with 36 dealers, including a stand for Keystone Auctions and the Landis Valley Farm Museum, down from 84 at Greater York in May 2015, but quality was high, the ... (Read More)
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(Show)Ohio Country Antique Show
Wilmington, Ohio
Two and a half hours after the doors opened for the fall edition of the Ohio Country Antique show, held October 28, 2017, at Wilmington, Ohio, a man stood in the cold outside one of the entrances, looking at the wooden baker’s rack hanging out of the rear of ... (Read More)
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(Show)TEFAF New York Fall 2017
New York City
The European Fine Art Foundation’s New York shows have grown in stature and have become a brand in the world of art fairs, emphasis on “world.” The 95 exhibitors, who participate at the discretion of TEFAF and by invitation, come from Spain, Germany, France, the U.K., the U.S., ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Historic Arms and Militaria at Auction
Skinner, Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts
History was on view and for sale at Skinner, Inc.’s October 26, 2017, auction of historic arms and militaria—an auction that kept collectors and representatives of institutions in their seats throughout the sale. Bidding in the Marlborough, Massachusetts, gallery was strong to the end. (All prices given ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Fall Monroe Antique Show & Sale
Monroe, Washington
Fall is a time for settling in and reflection. It is the perfect time to explore and seek new treasures to enjoy once winter fully arrives. For those on the hunt for such treasures, many could be found at the Monroe Antique Show & Sale, held at the Evergreen ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Curiouser and Curiouser
Rago Arts, Lambertville, New Jersey
Photos courtesy Rago Arts
When Marion Harris, a regular exhibitor at the Outsider Art Fair and antiques shows, and her husband, dentist Jerry Rosenfeld, sold their house in Connecticut and moved full time to their New York City apartment, they talked to Miriam Tucker, a partner at ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Boston International Fine Art Show
Boston, Massachusetts
Now a mature 21, the Boston International Fine Art Show (BIFAS) had a decidedly upbeat feel for the October 19-22, 2017, event at the Boston Center for the Arts. The 2016 event fell just before the election, and certain pre-election jitters hung over the Cyclorama. This time was ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Cleveland Connections Featured at Fall Sale
Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Cleveland, Ohio
Photo courtesy Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Fine art featuring works of the Cleveland School of Art or pieces with a Cleveland connection have become Rachel Davis Fine Arts’ go-to setup. And why not? Located in Cleveland, Ohio, Rachel Davis knows the history of the area and ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Inaugural Auction of the David and Janice Frent Collection Sees $911,538
Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas
Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions
One down, seven to go. “This was a very successful sale by any measure—number of views, number of new bidders, number of telephone bidders, you name it,” stated Tom Slater, director of Americana auctions for Heritage Auctions, in reference to the company’s Dallas, Texas, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fine and Decorative Arts Auction, Featuring Americana
Cowan’s Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Cowan’s Auctions
The Kentucky Chippendale secretary desk and bookcase recently sold by Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati, Ohio, for nearly half a million dollars offers a glimpse into the narrow yet highly competitive market for the best furniture from the Bluegrass State. Offered during Cowan’s October 20 ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fine Furniture, Decorative Arts, and Silver
Leslie Hindman, Chicago, Illinois
Leslie Hindman’s furniture, decorative arts, and silver auction held October 16 and 17, 2017, offered everything from a 135-lot collection of thimbles to a pair of small ship’s cannons, that had been fired from the Eiffel Tower to signal daily openings and closings of the 1889 World’s ... (Read More)
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