Stories for August '24
(Issue Story)A Timekeeper and a Remarkable Scientific Instrument
Several months ago I traveled to see a William Claggett clock at Delaney Antique Clocks in West Townsend, Massachusetts. While there I was afforded the opportunity to see a tall-case clock inscribed “Joseph Pope / Boston.” The magnificence before me was overwhelming. The beautiful mahogany case, the brass-fluted columns, and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Charges Filed in Ivory Case
On June 14 Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the indictments of Yincheng Wu, Grace Hu, and Merces Gallery LLC for illegally selling thousands of dollars’ worth of illegal elephant ivory through online auctions.
Wu, Hu, and Merces Gallery LLC are each charged in a New York State Supreme ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)“Antique Shop Bandit” Arrested
In June detectives with the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Police Department’s Burglary Unit arrested and charged David Johnson, 55, who is on the department’s top ten burglary offender list for serial burglaries throughout the city. Police have dubbed him the “antique shop bandit.”
Businesses targeted include Old Town Antiques, U Neek Findings, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Farnsworth’s Internship Program to Address Lack of Diversity
The Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine, has launched its inaugural Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Institute for Museum Studies internship program. This initiative offers rising undergraduate sophomores and juniors an opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of museum curation, engagement, and operations while creating new pathways for young ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Man Cited for Antique Revolver in Carry-on Bag
A Middletown, Pennsylvania, man was cited by police June 9 at the Philadelphia International Airport after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected an antique revolver among the man’s carry-on items at a security checkpoint. The old revolver was sitting among some clothing and was not loaded.
When TSA officers detected the ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Going to the Dogs
Beneath the Surface
Back in 2017, in “What We Did on Our Summer Vacation,” we talked about a trip to Dish Camp in Historic Eastfield Village when Andrew was invited to speak on the broad topic of Ohio pottery. Back then, the kids were just six and four, so most of ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Hanging with Alasdair Nichol
Ask a busy person, the saying goes. Alasdair Nichol, auctioneer, executive vice president, and deputy chairman of the auction house Freeman’s | Hindman, artist, bon vivant, father of three, does more in a week than many folks do in a season.
For example, the week M.A.D. had the opportunity to hang ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Center for Preservation of Paint Decorated Walls Receives Grant
The Center for Painted Wall Preservation (CPWP) has received a grant from the American Folk Art Society. The funds will be used to launch the Digital Archives in the fall of 2024 and the Virtual Museum soon thereafter.
The Digital Archives will show photographs of 19th-century paint-decorated walls photographed in situ, ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Ceramics in America 2023
A Book Review
After more than 20 years as editor of Ceramics in America, Robert Hunter has passed the torch to Ronald W. Fuchs II, who will continue to bring us the latest research by scholars engaged in the study of ceramics made and used in America.
The cover story for the ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Robin Starr Is New General Manager of Bonhams Skinner
Robin Starr has been appointed general manager of Bonhams Skinner. In her new role, effective immediately, Starr will be responsible for overseeing the overall performance and operations of Skinner across its two salesrooms in Marlborough and Boston, Massachusetts.
Starr has been an integral part of Skinner since 1987. Most recently she ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Auction Prices Realized, August 2024
Here are a few notable prices of antiques sold recently at auction, as provided by press releases. All prices include the buyer’s premium when charged. We’re always looking for news of prices realized at auctions, particularly unusual or top lots. Send pictures, complete descriptions, and information to A.P.R., Maine Antique ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Canadian French Regime Armchair Identified
The Collector’s Find
An armchair that sold at the auction of the Kindig collection at Pook & Pook, Inc., February 8 for $27,500, well over its $1500/2000 estimate, that was cataloged as a “New York or New England painted white pine William and Mary wainscot armchair” has been correctly identified. It ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Roosevelt’s Stolen Watch Recovered
When a Florida auctioneer was asked to auction a pocket watch from the late 1800s, his research led him to believe that he might be holding a piece of U.S. presidential history.
The auctioneer realized that the watch might have belonged to Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Bonhams Does the Right Thing
It took some pressure, but auction house titan Bonhams did the right thing recently when it waived the buyer’s premium for lots sold benefitting a worthy charity—the Teenage Cancer Trust.
According to a July 7 report in The Guardian, art dealer John Brandler inquired about 12 lots in the “Anything But ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions, August 2024
Frank Stewart, Radio Players Series (or The Bus), 1978, gelatin silver print, 14" x 11". Collection of Sing Lathan and Bining Taylor.
—Through September 22 —Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
Frank Stewart’s Nexus: An American Photographer’s Journey, 1960s to the Present at the Brandywine Museum of Art traces the half-century of Frank Stewart’s work ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Penn Dry Goods Market
Pennsburg, Pennsylvania
The 11th annual Penn Dry Goods Market at the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, May 31 and June 1, was another gathering of the clan that calls themselves the “Textilians.” This group of scholars, curators, archivists, quilters, and embroiderers presented and listened to a dozen lectures about ... (Read More)
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(Show)A Kaleidoscope Show of Color, Energy, and Activity
Spring Rhinebeck Antiques Show, Rhinebeck, New York
Frank Gaglio’s Barn Star Productions offered 125-plus dealers in three buildings at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds during the Spring Rhinebeck Antiques Show, held May 25 and 26 in historic Rhinebeck, New York. Those dealers welcomed huge crowds of toddlers, tweens, and twenty-somethings, plus longtime ... (Read More)
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(Auction)$10,000 Bucher Box Tops Auction
Horst Auctioneers, Ephrata, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Horst Auctioneers
Horst Auctioneers in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, has been in business since around 1900. According to the history the company posts on its website, which calls the firm “The Voices of Experience,” A. A. Landis, Timothy and Thomas Horst’s great-grandfather, began calling auctions at the turn ... (Read More)
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(Show)Great Picking at Gilmanor Farm
Virginia Pickers Antiques & Collectables Show, Glen Allen, Virginia
The weekend of May 17 and 18 marked the 12th installment of the Virginia Pickers Antiques & Collectables Show. The biannual event is held at Joel Gilman’s Gilmanor Farm in Glen Allen, Virginia. The show is still feeling its way as it ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Sale of Barry D. Hogan’s Collection
Pook & Pook, Inc., Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Pook & Pook, Inc.
The catalog for the sale of Barry D. Hogan’s collection is the most recent addition to a long shelf of catalogs for single-owner estate sales of mostly Pennsylvania folk art and what used to be called “country furniture” that the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Modern Design at Auction
Rago, Lambertville, New Jersey
Photos courtesy Rago
Auctions reflect the taste of the minute. The Rago sale of modern design May 16 in Lambertville, New Jersey, and the contemporary glass sale that followed on May 17 are good examples.
The two sales covered a broad range of 20th-century design. David Rago said his ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Sherman Collection Anchors Civil War and History Auction
Fleischer’s Auctions, Columbus, Ohio
Photos courtesy Fleischer’s Auctions
Fleischer’s Auctions held its Civil War and African American history auction May 14 and 15 in Columbus, Ohio. This spring premier sale featured more than 500 historical items that generated a total of over $2 million in prices realized, far exceeding initial expectations.
The auction ... (Read More)
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(Auction)A Stellar Selection of Art
Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas
Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions
Works of American art continue to be in demand among art lovers and collectors, who are willing to pay top prices to own pieces by their favorite artists. The May 15 American art “Signature” auction by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions presented a stellar selection of ... (Read More)
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(Show)The American Art Fair 2024
New York City
Seventeen dealers set up booths for the 17th edition of the American Art Fair, held May 10 to 14, and offered works in all genres. The fair “is unique in choosing to focus exclusively on historically important artists,” wrote Thomas Colville of Thomas Colville Fine Art, who established ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The 25th Annual Grass Valley Old West Show
Grass Valley, California
At the booth of Sierra Gold & Coin, Grass Valley, California, gold nuggets from Nevada County were priced at $12,000, while the bear-claw necklace with a nugget centerpiece on a 14k gold chain was $17,000.
The Old West Show has been held at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, which is ... (Read More)
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(Show)Antiques At The Tavern Continues to Shine
Hanover, Virginia
Hanover Tavern Foundation presented its annual antiques show at the historic tavern in Hanover, Virginia, May 3-5. Dubbed Antiques At The Tavern, the event has quickly grown into one of the mid-Atlantic’s destination events. Although the show is small, with space for only 20 dealers, the foundation’s executive director, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)“Spring Extravaganza” Sale at Marion
Marion Antique Auctions, Marion, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Marion Antique Auctions
Marion Antique Auctions held its “Spring Extravaganza” sale May 4 in the Marion, Massachusetts, gallery. The sale was live, with about 60 bidders in the room at various times. Staff were on the phones and executing left and online bids. Collections from ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Exceptional Art in Remarkable Condition
Grogan & Company, Boston, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Grogan & Company
Grogan & Company’s May 4 fine art sale in its Beacon Hill gallery in Boston was an especially pretty sale with especially disparate offerings. President and fine art director Georgina C. Winthrop told M.A.D. that the results were a 92% sold rate ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fine Art Sale at Shannon’s
Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers, Milford, Connecticut
Photos courtesy Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers
Three lots sold at $100,000 (including buyer’s premium) and over, and many other lots brought multiples of their estimates at Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers’ May 2 auction in the Milford, Connecticut, gallery, making for a $2.5 million sale. The auction ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Slotin Auction Surpasses $1.7 Million
Slotin Auction, Buford, Georgia
Photos courtesy Slotin Auction
Slotin Auction, Buford, Georgia, continues to generate interest for self-taught art, works that might not always have been well received or considered worth recognizing. Not only is this genre now considered cutting edge, but new discoveries keep popping up and finding their way to ... (Read More)
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(Show)Loyal Sellers and Buyers Make for a Good Crowd
Earlier Times Antiques & Folk Art Show, Millersburg, Ohio
Earlier Times Antiques & Folk Art Show was held at the Holmes County Fairgrounds in Millersburg, Ohio, April 26 and 27. The semiannual event featured 34 dealers. “Spring is always a little lighter,” said promoter Cheryl Williams. Her husband, Kent, added that ... (Read More)
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(Show)Simply Irresistible Show in Ohio
Simple Goods, Berlin, Ohio
The lights went out about an hour and a half into the spring edition of Simple Goods on April 27. At the time, the Heritage Community Center, located a few miles north of Berlin, Ohio, was filled with dealers and shoppers at the semiannual antiques show, known ... (Read More)
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(Auction)A Duck Doubleheader
Guyette & Deeter/North American Decoy Collectors Association, Lombard, Illinois
One early spring doubleheader highly anticipated by outdoor enthusiasts throughout the U.S., most especially in the Midwest, doesn’t happen in baseball. It is the annual two-day Guyette & Deeter auction in Lombard, Illinois, held along with a multi-day large and eclectic show ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Sale of Americana at CRN
CRN Auctions, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy CRN Auctions, Inc.
CRN Auctions’ April 21 sale in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, gallery drew on several area collections, including that of Alan A. Varteresian (1934-2023) of Boston, who seldom missed a CRN sale. A knowledgeable collector of Persian carpets, Varteresian had gathered an enviable selection ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Dave, Lanier, and Friends in Georgia
Cagle Auction Company, Bogart, Georgia
Photos courtesy Cagle Auction Company
Located just outside of Athens, the town of Bogart, Georgia, at the base of the foothills of the Appalachians, is home to Cagle Auction Company. Rivers and creeks in this area of the Piedmont are rich with the clay deposits essential for ... (Read More)
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