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Now showing 2200-2300 of 9822 result(s)
(Show)Finally, a Building to Match the Quality of the Exhibitors
The Nashville Show, Nashville, Tennessee
The Nashville Show is the current--and surely permanent--title for the long-running February gathering of exhibitors presented by the Indiana-based Jenkins show management team. After many wanderings, the event has been held in recent years at what is formally called the Fairgrounds Nashville. In the past, the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Dogs in Art and Sporting Art
Doyle, New York City
Photos courtesy Doyle
Doyle offered 151 lots of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, and other objects featuring dogs, horses, and sporting art in a sale scheduled to coincide with the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden, New York City.
The February 12 auction totaled $294,431 (includes ... (Read More)
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(Show)A Long-Running Show Transformed
Fiddlers at the Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
"Same Great Show, New Location" was the slogan on pre-event advertising, which proved to be absolutely true as the long-running Fiddlers show opened on February 12 at the brand-new Expo Center at The Fairgrounds Nashville complex, just off Interstate 65. Over 70 dealers set up ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Benton Family Accuses Trustee of Mismanagement
Missing paintings and mismanagement to the tune of millions of dollars are what the heirs of iconic American artist Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) are alleging in a legal action filed in Circuit Court in Jackson County, Missouri.
Jessie Benton, Benton's daughter, and her three children-Anthony Gude, Daria Lyman, and Cybele Benton ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Book Auctioneer Pleads Guilty to Grand Larceny
Auctioneer David Hall of Freeville, New York of National Book Auctions and Worth Auctions pleaded guilty on February to grand larceny in the second degree. Hall was indicted in August 2019 for not paying $227,000 in auction proceeds for an estate consignment.
He will be sentenced on April 2. The maximum ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Dynamic Duo: Cleopatra and Dave Reign at Brunk Auctions
Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina
Photos courtesy Brunk Auctions
"Was she ever outdoors?" That was the question asked by potential bidders for Cleopatra Morente, a signed Carrara marble sculpture by Pio Fedi (Italian, 1816-1892). Brunk Auctions' sculpture specialist Laura Crockett could account for roughly half of the life of the elegant 1842 ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fresh-to-Market Daumier Drawing Leads Potomack Sale
The Potomack Company, Alexandria, Virginia
Photos courtesy The Potomack Company
The Potomack Company opened its 2020 auction schedule with a four-part sale beginning with a live auction on February 8 at its gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. The live sale offered a cross section of all categories of antiques and artwork. As has ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)The Roadshow Effect
The Young Collector
Recently we took the kids to see the final (let's be honest-latest) installment of Star Wars, and they were talking about how excited they were, and how they could not wait. Andrew pointed out that he had been waiting for this moment for more than 40 years. It ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Fine Estate Jewelry at Alex Cooper Auctioneers
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
Photos courtesy Alex Cooper Auctioneers
Alex Cooper Auctioneers' February 6 auction included 192 lots of jewelry from two prominent Maryland estates. I spoke with Selden Morgan, director of fine jewelry at the Towson, Maryland, company, when I noticed that post-sale results included antique items that had brought good ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, February 2020
Into the New Year with a selection that has changed somewhat since I first drew up a list of options and is now heavily weighted towards Far Eastern works of art, both Chinese and Japanese, and to the world of antiquities.
Those Chinese lots are principally drawn from London sales, as ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New Show for Charlotte
Puchstein Promotions has announced a new addition to its roster of shows. The Charlotte Vintage and Antiques Market will debut May 22-24 in the new Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, located on the northeast side of Charlotte in Concord, North Carolina. The promoters note that there will be more than ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New Location for Naples Show
The Naples Art, Antique & Jewelry Show will be held February 21-25 at a new location, 5305 Airport-Pulling Road North in Naples, Florida. The location is on the northwest corner of two of the most-traveled roads in Naples, Airport-Pulling and Pine Ridge Roads, and two miles west of exit 107 ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Shining Light on Sundials
A Book Review
Photos courtesy Adler Planetarium
Many years ago I was given a 1902 book, Sun-Dials and Roses of Yesterday by Alice Morse Earle. I later gave the book away but then was gifted another copy. How glad I am now to pull it from my shelf as I review a ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville Celebrates 30 Successful Years
Nashville, Tennessee
The theme was "Legacy" as the Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville presented its 30th edition, held January 31-February 2. The long-running event is a rare example of a highly successful charity event. It benefits Cheekwood, a local house museum and garden complex, and 20 charities supported by the ... (Read More)
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(Show)Fresh-to-Market Merchandise and Big Crowds
The Original Semi-Annual York Antiques Show and Sale, York, Pennsylvania
There was a big crowd at the Original Semi-Annual 174th York Antiques Show and Sale, held January 31-February 2 at Memorial Hall East at the York Fairgrounds in York, Pennsylvania. Show manager Melvin L. Arion said the crowd on Friday was ... (Read More)
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(Auction)African American Art from the Johnson Publishing Company
Swann Auction Galleries, New York City
Featuring 70 artists, some of whose works had never been offered at auction, Swann's sale of African American art from the Johnson Publishing Company, LLC, Chicago, Illinois, put an exclamation point on the breadth and influence the department has in the marketplace.
The small 13-year-old African ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Morphy Files Suit against Julia
It was a surprise merger that now, less than two years later, has led to a court fight.
On December 20, 2017, Morphy Auctions announced that it had merged with Fairfield, Maine, auction house James D. Julia, Inc., which became a division of Morphy Auctions. On November 18, 2019, Morphy Auctions, ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Dealers Are Financial Institutions-In the Eyes of Congress
The fight against money laundering and terrorism might result in art and antiques deals being much more transparent.
The "Coordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Technology, and Examiner Reform Act of 2019" or "COUNTER Act of 2019" was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in October 2019 by a unanimous voice ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Saved Walls Head West
Helaine Fendelman, a board member of Wall Preservation (CPWP), recently shared a story of saving ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions, February 2020
Christina Nicodema (b. 1987), The Tower of Babel, Placenta, 2019, oil and archival ink on canvas, 45" x 45". Courtesy the artist and Hollis Taggart, New York City.
-Through February 22 -New York City
Hollis Taggart Contemporary presents Of Folly, Fortune, Glory, Ruin, a two-person exhibition featuring the work of contemporary artists ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Manuscript and Printed Americana
Sotheby's, New York City
Photos courtesy Sotheby's
For the third year Sotheby's offered printed and manuscript Americana during Americana Week with some good results. Three years ago when the musical Hamilton was the talk of the town, Sotheby's books and manuscripts department offered Alexander Hamilton letters and documents in January hoping they ... (Read More)
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(Show)The 2020 Ceramics Fair
The New York Antique Ceramics Fair, New York City
Eleven dealers set up shop at the New York Antique Ceramics Fair on the third floor of the Bohemian National Hall, January 23-26, and did plenty of business. The fair charges no admission. It opened with an invitation-only preview party for museum ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Art, Design & Antiques Show at Wallace Hall
New York City
The Art, Design & Antiques Show at Wallace Hall, held January 24-26, welcomed a new dealer to its ranks this go-round and drew collectors, curators, and designers in town for January's Americana Week to its 33 booths.
Americana dealer Jeffrey Tillou of Litchfield, Connecticut, set up a good-sized booth ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Singh Sale of Americana
Sotheby's, New York City
The Singh Sale of Americana
by Lita Solis-Cohen
Photos courtesy Sotheby's
Dr. Arun Singh was born in India in 1944, overcame childhood hand injuries and undiagnosed dyslexia, and went to medical school. When he traveled to America in 1967 to continue his studies, he had only a few dollars in ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Vintage Poster Auction
Potter & Potter Auctions, Chicago, Illinois
Photos courtesy Potter & Potter Auctions
Potter & Potter Auctions took a big step toward its goal of diversifying from magic and circus memorabilia, upon which its reputation was built, with a vintage poster auction featuring more than 600 items on January 25 in Chicago. Hundreds ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Audubons and Maps Sell at Arader during Americana Week
Arader Galleries, New York City
Photos courtesy Arader Galleries
Arader Galleries' first sale of 2020, held during Americana Week in New York City, totaled $2,618,047. Of the 247 lots offered, 157 lots sold, for a 64% sell-through rate.
The auction house offered 52 lots of first-edition aquatint engravings from John James Audubon's The ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Sultanabad Carpet Takes Flight at Wooten Sale
Wooten & Wooten, Camden, South Carolina ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Sale of Folk Art to Benefit MFA, Boston
Sotheby's, New York City
Photos courtesy Sotheby's
The foreword to Sotheby's January 25 auction catalog, "A New Dimension of Tradition: Important American Folk Art," noted that the proceeds of the sale would benefit the folk art initiative at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). The gift "will provide focus and momentum ... (Read More)
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(Show)Atlanta's Heavenly Antiques Show
Cathedral Antiques Show, Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta has long had a tradition of being a city of gracious homes, many filled with fine antiques and appropriate accessories. In addition to the various antiques shops, malls, and auctions available locally, the owners of these homes, their decorators, and collectors looked forward to two ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Hicks's Peaceable Kingdom Brings $4.575 Million
Christie's, New York City
Photos courtesy Christie's
At Christie's on January 24, Edward Hicks's Peaceable Kingdom, estimated at $1.5/3.5 million, sold for $4,575,000 (includes buyer's premium) to an anonymous collector; a Newport mahogany dressing table attributed to Christopher Townsend was bought by the Chipstone Foundation in Milwaukee for $81,250 (est. $20,000/40,000); the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Sotheby's Various-Owners Sale
Sotheby's, New York City
Photos courtesy Sotheby's
"The Mario Buatta preview was like a cocktail party," said a longtime collector. "Young and old and middle-aged were having a good time deciding what they wanted." In contrast, he said, "Walking into the adjoining galleries to see the various-owners Americana, it was like entering ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Solid Results at Two-Day Art Auction
Skinner, Boston, Massachusetts
Skinner has changed up its paintings sales, with prints, multiples, and photographs in the evening of the first day, followed by paintings and sculpture at noon the next day.
American artists were well represented at Skinner's January 23 and 24 paintings sale, and it brought solid results. The three ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Small Sale of Americana
Keno Auctions, New York City
Small Sale of Americana
In just 21 days, Leigh Keno of Keno Auctions organized a sale of 46 lots of American furniture and folk art. He held the sale at his New York City townhouse on January 24 at 3 in the afternoon, right in the middle ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Sale of the Mario Buatta Collection
Sotheby's, New York City
Photos courtesy Sotheby's
Mario Buatta's collection was on view for nearly two weeks, and lots of people came and had a hard time paring down their lists of what to bid on. Sotheby's ran out of catalogs, but the sale was available online. There was a barrage of ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Winter Show 2020
New York City
There were only a handful of dealers with American furniture and folk art at the Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory, January 23 through February 2, but they made more sales than most of the other 70. Moreover, the press release sent at the end of the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Shute Portrait Tops Americana Auction
Doyle New York, New York City
Photos courtesy Doyle New York
On January 23 Doyle New York offered a single-owner collection of toys, folk art, and Americana. The roughly 400 lots brought $924,069, right about in the middle of the $787,175/1,247,475 estimate. The sale was 91% sold by lot. The timing of ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Chinese Export Art
Christie's, New York City
Photos courtesy Christie's
The January 23 Chinese export art sale at Christie's in New York City was a small focused collection designed to appeal to American, European, South American, and Asian collectors. Some collectors bid in the room and on the phones; 38% of bidders were online from ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)2020 Wunsch Awards
Surrounded by family, friends, and colleagues, Maine Antique Digest's senior editor, Lita Solis-Cohen, was presented with the 2020 Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts at a reception at Christie's in New York City on January 22. It is the eighth year that the Wunsch Americana Foundation ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)"Becoming America" Launched at American Folk Art Museum
On January 21 the American Folk Art Museum in New York City hosted a reception to celebrate the publication of Becoming America: Highlights from the Jonathan and Karin Fielding Collection of Folk Art. The 264-page tome with 271 color illustrations chronicling the Fieldings' American folk art collection will be available ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Outsider Art Fair 2020
New York City
Collectors at different levels were given an opportunity to view and buy art-paintings, sculptures, mixed media, ceramics-at the 28th edition of the Outsider Art Fair, and they did so with gusto.
The four-day show, held January 16-19 at the Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street, has been managed for ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana, Folk Art, and Textiles Auction
Garth's Auctioneers and Appraisers, Columbus, Ohio
Photos courtesy Garth's
It's not unusual for Garth's Auctioneers and Appraisers to begin each year with an Americana sale, and the 2020 version on January 18 and 19 in Columbus, Ohio, offered a solid selection of paint, brown furniture, folk art, and smalls. But there was ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Vase Sells for $329,400
Pook & Pook, Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Pook & Pook
In these days of the Internet, not much is overlooked. At Pook & Pook's sale of American and European decorative arts on January 17 and 18, a Qing porcelain vase, 161/4" tall, picturing two Dutch merchants wearing tricorn hats and frock coats ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Christie's Outsider Art Auction
Christie's, New York City
Photos courtesy Christie's
Christie's January 17 Outsider art auction, held the morning after the opening of the Outsider Art Fair, was a celebration for collectors and dealers and for curator Cara Zimmerman, head of sale.
The sale, which offered 129 lots, totaled $3,312,125 (including buyers' premiums), with a 98% ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Witherell's Luxury Auction
Witherell's, Sacramento, California
Photos courtesy Witherell's
Who says brown furniture doesn't sell?
Not Brian Witherell, chief operating officer of Witherell's, a Sacramento auction house. Witherell said the January 16 "Luxury Asset" auction featuring property from the Newport, New Hampshire, home of William B. Ruger Jr. (1939-2018) ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Susquehanna Collection
Morphy Auctions, Denver, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Morphy Auctions
After a monthlong preview, the mysterious Susquehanna collection of early Kentucky rifles, Revolutionary War pistols, 18th-century powder horns, and several rooms of 18th- and early 19th-century American furniture, paintings, and accessories sold unreserved at Morphy Auctions in Denver, Pennsylvania, on January 16 for a ... (Read More)
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(Auction)More Carpenter Estate Consignments
Nye & Company, Bloomfield, New Jersey
Photos courtesy Nye & Company
The sale at Nye & Company in Bloomfield, New Jersey, on January 15 included antiques from the collection of Ralph (d. 2009) and Roberta "Bobbie" (d. 2019) Carpenter that did not meet Christie's minimum $3000/5000 per lot. The sale at Nye ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Wunsch Award for Excellence
Lita Solis-Cohen, senior editor of Maine Antique Digest; Laura Beach, editor-at-large of Antiques and The Arts Weekly; and Mira Nakashima, architect, designer, and furniture maker at George Nakashima Woodworkers, will be honored as the 2020 recipients of the Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts on January ... (Read More)
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(Show)Washington Winter Show Celebrates American Icons
Washington Winter Show, Washington, D.C.
The annual Washington Winter Show of antiques and fine art was held January 10-12 at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C. This year marked the 65th edition of the show and the tenth year that it was held at ... (Read More)
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(Show)Great Offerings and Interesting Weather Bring Decent Sales to Hudson
Hudson Antique Show, Richfield, Ohio
The 49th annual Hudson Antique Show, organized by show promoter Steve Sherhag, was held January 11 and 12. Though the show's location has changed several times since its inception, this year the event was again held at the Quality Inn & Suites, Richfield, Ohio.
Again this year ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Two-Day Auction of Folk Art, Fine Art, and Antiques
New Haven Auctions, New Haven, Connecticut
Photos courtesy New Haven Auctions
The gallery at New Haven Auctions was fitted out with the collection of Susie and Richie Burmann for the January 11 auction. The mellow brick walls of the former Erector set factory in New Haven, Connecticut, made an ideal setting for ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Variety Continues to Be a Hallmark at Laughlin
Laughlin Auctions, Inc., Edinburg, Virginia
Laughlin Auctions, Inc., held its first sale of the new decade on January 11 at its High Street galleries in Edinburg, Virginia. A packed house welcomed the unofficial opening of auction season in the Shenandoah Valley, and as expected the Laughlin brothers offered something for everyone. ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Ron Bourgeault Honored in Boston
Historic New England's elegant event "My Favorite Things" celebrated Ronald Bourgeault for his lifetime of contributions to American decorative arts in a gala evening on January 11 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston. Over 200 guests arrived for cocktails and dinner to toast and roast Bourgeault.
The man of the ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Decorative Arts Trust Awards Concord Museum Curatorial Internship Grant
The Decorative Arts Trust has announced that the Concord Museum, Concord, Massachusetts, will be its partner for its 2020-22 Curatorial Internship Grant.
The Decorative Arts Trust is a nonprofit organization that underwrites curatorial internships for recent master's degree or Ph.D. graduates in collaboration with museums and historical societies. Through a matching ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Books Received
These are brief reviews of books recently sent to us. We have included ordering information for publishers that accept phone or online orders. For other publishers, your local bookstore or a mail-order house is the place to look.
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Edith Halpert, The Downtown Gallery, and the Rise of American Art by Rebecca ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Americana Week in New York City: A Preview
It is called Americana Week in New York City in January, although it is usually a fortnight full of auction previews, lectures, sales, and shows. This year, it's nearly a month. Auction previews begin on January 11 when Outsider art goes on view at Christie's, and the "week" ends on ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Three Plead Guilty in Fake Native American Jewelry Case
In federal court in Arizona on January 6, three members of an international conspiracy to import knock-off jewelry from the Philippines and misrepresent it as Native American pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.
Laura Marye Wesley, a.k.a. Laura Lott, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit ... (Read More)
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(Book Review)Roy J. Zuckerberg's Silver Collection
A Book Review
Roy J. Zuckerberg is an ardent collector of American silver and a great friend of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He underwrote the research and publication of the Met's catalog Early American Silver in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Beth Carver Wees, published in 2013, the first ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)The Wigmore Gift
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced the promised gift of 88 examples of American Aesthetic Movement and Gilded Age decorative arts and contemporaneous paintings from the collection of Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore, who live with one of the preeminent holdings of late 19th-century art in private hands. The ... (Read More)
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(Auction)A New Year, a New Decade, and a Lot More Old Stuff
Robert L. Foster, Newcastle, Maine
It's a new year and a new decade, and there's lots of old stuff to go. Robert Foster broke the New Year's ice with his traditional January 1 auction in Newcastle, Maine, just as he's done for the last several decades since taking over his father's ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Duveen Brothers: Dealers and Advisors
A Book Review
Charlotte Vignon, curator of decorative arts at The Frick Collection and visiting associate professor at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City, has written a revealing book about the role of Duveen Brothers as dealers and advisors in the formation of major American collections of decorative ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, January 2020
As ever at this time of year, I have been looking out for something to serve as a "Letter from London" Christmas card, and I found something in a December 3-10, 2019, Sotheby's book sale that seemed to fit the bill.
The Carol Singers is a pencil and watercolour drawing by ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Another Trip Around the Sun
The Young Collector
People are fond of telling tired parents, "The days are long, but the years are short." Time does seem to change after having children, but perhaps not in that way. Unlike most of the things around us or at least in comparison to them, children change rapidly. The ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Newly Expanded, Peabody Essex Museum Is "A Whole Window on the World"
My first reaction to touring the new galleries at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, just before its public opening on September 28, 2019, was indignation. PEM has had all these treasures for decades, if not centuries, and I'm only just getting to see them now? My second ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Harsh Punishment for Peddling
This is the one that should break the camel's back.
According to a report in the Everett Herald, Donald Rooney, a 72-year-old longtime antiques dealer from Everett, Washington, is going to jail for 15 days.
Not only is Rooney going to jail, he's facing a month of house arrest with electronic monitoring, ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions, January 2020
Leila Jeffreys, Candle, 2019, photographic ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Arader Buys The Birds of America for $6.6 Million
Graham Arader bought The Birds of America; from Original Drawings by John James Audubon at Sotheby's in New York City on December 18, 2019, for $6,642,400 (including buyer's premium) and said he got a bargain. The estimate was $6/8 million.
The total was about half the $11,542,683 (the auction record price ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Native American Art
Bonhams, Los Angeles, California
Photos courtesy Bonhams
A Navajo blanket (the catalog cover lot) and a Plains muslin painted with ledger drawing-like figures of a Sun Dance scene were the stars of the December 16, 2019, auction at Bonhams in Los Angeles. Department director Ingmars Lindbergs told M.A.D. that at 190 lots, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Illustration Art at Swann
Swann Galleries, New York City
Photos courtesy Swann Galleries
Swann Galleries offered 277 lots of illustration art in its December 10, 2019, auction. Categories included advertising and design; theater and fashion; children's book and magazine illustration; general book and magazine illustration; sports, action, and adventure; comics, cartoons, and caricatures; and The New ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Top Results in Antique Jewelry at John Moran Auctioneers
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
John Moran Auctioneers, Monrovia, California, wrapped up its 2019 season with a fine jewelry and timepieces auction on December 10, 2019. Collectors "vied for a glittering selection of jewels and gems. Signed pieces, good gems, and important jewels proved ever popular with the audience," according to a ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Man Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Smuggling Rhinoceros Cup
On October 1 Richard Sheridan, 50, an Irish national who was extradited to the United States in August, pleaded guilty and was sentenced for his role in trafficking a libation cup made from the horn of a protected rhinoceros.
After Sheridan entered his guilty plea in Miami, U.S. District Judge Jose ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Under the Influence
The Young Collector
We are part of an odd generation, a generation that straddles a digital divide. We were ten before our mothers owned microwaves, which happened only a few years before we got our first family computers. Hollie says she often feels our childhood was like The Wizard of Oz, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Kinzle Recovers Rare Kentucky Rifle
On July 5, 2018, in the middle of a heat wave, antiques dealer Kelly Kinzle of New Oxford, Pennsylvania, bought a collection of what he called "stuff" from a fellow he described as a hoarder.
"He went to flea markets every weekend and put what he bought in his barn," said ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Georgian to Contemporary Jewelry and a New Jewelry Director at Rago
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
Photos courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center
Rago Arts & Auction Center's December 8, 2019, fine jewelry auction included many interesting antique items that performed well, making it difficult to choose a group to best illustrate this column. Dianne Batista, the new director of jewelry at Rago, an ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionism
Freeman's, Philadelphia
Photos courtesy Freeman's
Freeman's December 8, 2019, American paintings sale was a good barometer of the market.
Romare Bearden's "New York Scenes" provoked the most spirited bidding. The set of 23 watercolors on paper, some with pencil and collage, each signed in pencil, the largest 11?" x 91/4", sold with buyer's ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Art & Design with Tradition & Innovation
Toomey & Co., Oak Park, Illinois
In December 2018 as Toomey & Co. in Oak Park, Illinois, introduced a new "Tradition & Innovation" sale, vice president and senior specialist John Walcher explained the thinking behind the move: "We saw a need for more curation regarding the market and trends as a ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Rare Bitters from the Ken Fee Collection
American Bottle Auctions, Sacramento, California
Photos courtesy American Bottle Auctions
Color, condition, rarity, mystery, history, and a hefty price. A Cassin's Grape Brandy Bitters bottle had it all during an absentee auction held by American Bottle Auctions, Sacramento, California, that ended on December 8, 2019. The bottle sold for $155,100 (including buyer's ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Antique Toys and Other Amusements
Pook & Pook, Inc., and Noel Barrett Antiques and Auctions Ltd., Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Pook & Pook, Inc., and Noel Barrett
On December 7, 2019, along with the usual fare of playthings from the past and holiday decorations, Noel Barrett and Pook & Pook offered a collection of Coney Island, Atlantic ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Books Received, December 2019
These are brief reviews of books recently sent to us. We have included ordering information for publishers that accept mail, phone, or online orders. For other publishers, your local bookstore or a mail-order house is the place to look.
For America: Paintings from the National Academy of Design, edited by Jeremiah ... (Read More)
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(Auction)It was First, Second, and Third for North Carolina Furniture at Mebane
Mebane Antique Auction Gallery, Mebane, North Carolina
Photos courtesy Mebane Antique Auction Gallery
As expected, the Mebane Antique Auction Gallery was packed on December 6, 2019, for Jon Lambert's annual Americana and Continental sale. This sale topped the year-end "to do" list for 150 area antiques dealers, collectors, Mebane auction regulars, and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)British Shipping Company Sentenced for Role in Smuggling Scheme
A British shipping company pleaded guilty on October 16 and was ordered to forfeit $175,000 for smuggling into the United States over 100 undeclared wildlife items, including items protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Keith Foster, 61, of Upperville, Virginia, operated an ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Winterthur Garden Commemorated on a Postage Stamp
The 70-acre garden designed by Henry Francis du Pont that surrounds his house, museum, and library at Winterthur, Delaware, is one of ten classic gardens illustrated on a new pane of 20 postage stamps. The stamps feature ten different photographs of country estates and municipal gardens, taken between 1996 and ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London
Something a little different for this month's "Letter." With two of the biggest three London rooms either busy selling in the Far East, focussing largely on modern art, or operating in collecting fields that I do not usually cover, I was relieved to find that Bonhams were up and running ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)A Deeper Understanding of the Past: Washington's War Tent
A Book Review
"I want visitors to the Museum of the American Revolution to feel like they have walked through a movie," said R. Scott Stephenson, president and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution, shortly after the museum opened at Third and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia in April 2017.
Stephenson ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Heritage Auctions Eclipses 1.25 Million Online Bidder-Members
Heritage Auctions has eclipsed 1.25 million online bidder-members who use its online platform (www.HA.com) to buy and sell objects across more than 40 collecting categories, the Dallas, Texas-based auction house recently announced.
"Heritage Auctions remains at the forefront of auction technology, and our free database of nearly 5 million lots has ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Scrimshaw and More at Thanksgiving Sale
Marion Antique Auctions, Marion, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Marion Antique Auctions
Local estates and collections are reliable components of the biannual sales by Marion Antique Auctions in Marion, Massachusetts, and they draw good crowds to the auction hall. The Thanksgiving sale on November 30, 2019, presented fine objects to a crowd.
Attendance was slightly ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Thanksgiving Americana
Garth's Auctions, Columbus, Ohio
Photos courtesy Garth's Auctions ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Seabrook Family Portraits on View at MESDA
A group of family portraits painted in Richmond, Virginia, during the American Revolution are now on exhibit at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The portraits of the Seabrook family are the work of the so-called "Payne Limner," who worked in Virginia during the ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Passion in Collecting
Passion: many collectors have it. Some believe it is the engine that keeps the collecting world turning and churning. It certainly leads to a variety of behaviors that those in the non-collecting world might consider unusual, even bizarre. (Of course, passionate love does the same thing.) I think of Brimfield ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)The Other Simon Willard, Clockmaker
Photos courtesy Willard House & Clock Museum
While not quite a household name, Simon Willard (1753-1848) is well known to American decorative arts scholars and collectors as an eminent and innovative Massachusetts clockmaker. His signed clocks, including the "banjo" style that he invented, continue to earn top prices. He was just ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Two Art Auctions
Bonhams, Los Angeles, California
Photos courtesy Bonhams
In this one story M.A.D. is covering two Bonhams auctions in Los Angeles on November 25, 2019: the sale of the Eddie Basha collection of Western American art, and Bonhams' traditional California and Western art auction. San Francisco specialist Aaron Bastian said the two auctions ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Louisiana Purchase Auction: Magnificent Portrait Closes 2019 with a Flourish
Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Neal Auction Company in New Orleans wrapped up its 2019 activity with its most important sale, the Louisiana Purchase Auction. Held this time on November 23 and 24, 2019, the annual event traditionally focuses on regional material, both historical and contemporary. These consignments are ... (Read More)
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(Auction)A Grand Old Flag: The Stars and Stripes Collection of Dr. Peter J. Keim
Freeman's, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Freeman's
The largest collection of historic American flags ever offered at auction was scheduled to be the first sale at Freeman's new Philadelphia gallery at 2400 Chestnut Street on November 24, 2019. The city of Philadelphia's building inspector held up permits, so the flags that were supposed ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Casco Bay Closes Out Its First Calendar Year
Casco Bay Auctions, Freeport, Maine
It was a small auction, only about 220 lots. But on November 23, 2019, it came near the end of the first calendar year in business for auctioneer Andrew Davis and his Casco Bay Auctions in Freeport, Maine. Davis reported that he was satisfied with the ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions, December 2019
Albrecht Altdorfer (German, circa 1480-1538), The Small Spruce, 1517-20, etching with watercolor, 61/4" x 4?". Albertina, Vienna (DG1926/1778). Image (c) The Albertina Museum, Vienna (Peter Ertl and Olga Pohankova).
-Through January 20, 2020 -New York City
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) presents The Renaissance of Etching. Etching is an intaglio printmaking ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Masterworks of American Craft
Rago Arts and Auction Center and Wright, Lambertville, New Jersey
Photos courtesy Rago Arts and Auction Center and Wright
Rago Arts and Auction Center and Wright's first co-branded "Masterworks of American Craft" sale offered 43 lots on Friday morning, November 22, 2019, at Rago's salesroom in Lambertville, New Jersey. A few days ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Suspect Seizure
Consider the plight of Wiscasset, Maine, dealer James Kochan and his rare Jacob Hurd (1702-1758) silver sword. Kochan was due to sell the sword-steeped in history-at Nadeau's Auction Gallery in Windsor, Connecticut, to benefit his newest venture, the Mars & Neptune Trust, a nonprofit formed to foster knowledge of military ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Eldred's Marine Sale
Eldred's, East Dennis, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Eldred's
Scrimshaw was the main attraction at Eldred's marine sale held November 21, 2019, in the East Dennis, Massachusetts, gallery. In preparation, the auction gallery hosted the meeting and cocktail reception of the Antique Scrimshaw Collectors Association (ASCA) the evening before the sale. There were presentations ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American Art Sale
Christie's, New York City
Photos courtesy Christie's
Christie's offered an "edited and selective" sale on November 20, 2019, selling $21,895,250 in American art in its live sale and $2,237,625 in the online auction, which ran November 14-20. The overall total was $24,132,875.
"We're very selective in what we include," said Eric Widing, deputy ... (Read More)
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(Show)The 12th American Art Fair
The American Art Fair, New York City
The 12th edition of the American Art Fair, held November 16-19, 2019, opened to a larger-than-usual crowd on Friday, November 15, an evening where collectors, clients, art dealers, curators, and auction house specialists mingled on the three floors of the Bohemian National Hall on ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American Art at Bonhams
Bonhams, New York City
Photos courtesy Bonhams
A 100-lot auction of American art, including nine lots from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), was held at Bonhams in the late afternoon of November 19, 2019. The second-floor salesroom was filled with approximately 35 people at the 4 p.m. start of the auction. ... (Read More)
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