Displaying items by tag: American Antiques

When the doors of the prestigious Winter Antiques Show opened at the Park Avenue Armory on January 23, 2015, David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles celebrated their fourteenth year of exhibiting with a new, larger booth and for the first time offering historic and aesthetic mineral specimens in addition to fine American antiques. The minerals and native elements (gold, silver and copper) have been selected for their merit as natural works of art and historic associations. Beginning with European royalty and aristocrats and then gilded age American millionaires, mineral collecting has evolved into a worldwide market of connoisseurs for mineral specimens exhibiting a beauty and perfection uniquely created by natures. The minerals on offer will range from tiny diamonds to a large and impressive Rhodochrosite. Held at the historic Park Avenue Armory, The Winter Antiques Show runs through February 1, 2015, www.winterantiquesshow.com

The gallery of David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles is located at 358 Main Street South in Woodbury, Connecticut. Telephone: 203 263-3131. For additional information please visit the website: www.Schorsch-Smiles.com.

Kicking off New York City’s 2013 “Americana Week” show schedule is The New York Ceramics Fair (January 23–27), with an opening night preview party on January 22. At the Bohemian National Hall (321 East 73rd Street) for the third year in a row, the Ceramics Fair brings together forty galleries from England, Europe, and across the US. Offerings include porcelain, pottery, glass, cloisonné and enamels, as well as an educational lecture series. Visit www.caskeylees.com.

The Metro Show NYC opens its second year at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 W. 18th Street) with a preview reception January 23 and extends through January 27. This year the show recasts the “A” word (antiques) into the now trendy Historical Design. New dealers include Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts and Fred Giampietro Gallery. The Metro Show welcomes Editions | Artists’ Book Fair to the adjoining building. Visit www.metroshownyc.com or call 800.563.7632.

Opening on January 25 and running through the 27, Antiques at the Armory, Lexington Avenue at 26th street, 69th Regiment Armory, features one-hundred select exhibitors of American & European antiques, period furniture, Americana, folk art, garden and architectural artifacts, fine art and prints, and much more. Shuttle service is available between the Armory show and the Winter
Antiques Show. Visit www.stellashows.com or call 973.808.5015.

Opening the evening of January 24 with a gala preview to benefit East Side House Settlement, the Winter Antiques Show, 67th and Park Avenue, marks its 59th year as the most prestigious antiques
show in the country. Through February 1, seventy-five exhibitors will offer works from antiquity through the 1960s with one-third of the show’s exhibitors specializing in Americana with the rest featuring English, European, and Asian fine and decorative arts. This year’s loan exhibit features “Newport: the Glamour of Ornament,” celebrating The Preservation Society of Newport County. Popular lectures relating to the exhibition and the Expert Eye series are held through the duration of the show. Among the new exhibitors is Allan Katz Americana. Visit www.winterantiquesshow.com or call 718.292.7392.

Though after Americana Week, be sure to visit Outsider Art Fair at Center 548, 548 West 22nd Street in Chelsea, from February 1–3 with a preview party January 31. Under new ownership (Wide Open Arts), the fair celebrates its twenty-first year. Visit www.outsiderartfair.com or call 212.337.3338.

On September 24^th, Christie’s presented their American Furniture, Folk Art, and Decorative Arts Sale in New York. Spanning the 18^th and 19^th centuries, works included furniture from the Wunsch Americana Foundation, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and American folk art and maritime paintings. The sale was 85% sold by lot and 93% by value.

The top lot was a Chippendale carved mahogany easy chair that was entrusted to Christie’s by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Estimated at $600,000-$900,000 and attributed to the renowned yet mysterious Garvan carver, the chair brought in $1.16 million, the third highest price ever paid for the form. “We are thrilled to have been the successful bidders on the Garvan Carver easy chair. It is a wonderful chair,” said Todd Prickett of C.L. Prickett who specializes in American antiques. The Museum will use the funds for new acquisitions.

Another lot that brought in more than expected was a Queen Anne Japanned Maple Bureau Table. One of about forty known examples of japanned furniture from colonial America, it is the only bureau table known to exist. Estimated at $60,000-$90,000, the table sold for $98,500.

Two paintings by the maritime artist, Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (1850–1921), sold for more than their estimates that ranged from $12,000 to $18,000. The Paddlewheel Steamer St. John went for $45,000 while Fred B Dalzell went for $25,000.

Not all lots did as well as anticipated. A pair of Federal eagle-inlaid mahogany side chairs attributed to William Singleton were estimated at $60,000 to $90,000 but only sold for $32,500. The pair of chairs had been lent to the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the Department of State in 1968 and remained in the Monroe Reception Room as part of a larger set of four related chairs until they were returned to the Wunsch Americana Foundation. Until know, the location of this particular pair was unknown.

The sale of Important American Furniture, Folk Art & Decorative Arts at Christies on Wednesday did extremely well, achieving $4,488,750 and was 82% sold by lot and 76% by value. The top lot of the sale was a paint-decorated oak, cedar and pine chamber table, Boston, 1690-1710, realizing $986,500, purchased by Todd Prickett of C.L. Prickett Antiques.

John Hays, Deputy Chairman and auctioneer, comments: “The enthusiasm for important American furniture with original surfaces continues to result in extraordinary prices in this sale. We are thrilled with the exceptional price achieved for the 17th century chamber table consigned by the Wunsch Americana Foundation, continuing the trend of interest in America’s first furniture. Margot Rosenberg, Head of Department, added: “Racing Schooners- a magnificent painting of a 19th century yacht race by Antonio Jacobsen may be one of his finest and most memorable of this subject, realizing a great price after competitive bidding. We are delighted with the solid results achieved across the board and look forward to Americana Week next January.”