Tag: Announcement

*Millard Fillmore Dewey by Asa Ames (1823-1851), Evans, N.Y., 1847, paint on tulip poplar, Bequest of Vivian F. Greene. WILLIAMSBURG, VA. — When the young sculptor Asa Ames (1823-1851) died, he left behind nearly a dozen carved portraits, many of which are signed. Most of his sculptures portray family and friends, including a wooden bust of the artist’s nephew Millard Fillmore Dewey (1845-1916) at the age of two. This likeness descended from the subject through his son and was recently given by bequest to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The bust of Millard Dewey is the third Ames portrait to join the Foundation’s esteemed American folk art collection. Ames’s carvings are among the most celebrated in American folk sculpture, despite the artist’s desire to align his work with fine art. Use of the word “sculpturing” to describe his occupation on the 1850 Federal Census suggests Ames considered himself more akin to a sculptor working in marble or stone. His familiarity with academic principles and formal artistic conventions can be seen in several of his figures. Ames’s carved portraits are life-like in their simplicity and serve as poignant portrayals of the artist’s subjects, residents of his Evans, N.Y., community. Examples of Ames’s work include carved full-length, half-length, and bust-length portraits of his extended family, the children of his physicians, and a few yet-unidentified subjects. Sadly, his death just four years into his budding career did not allow him time for further artistic output. Millard Fillmore Dewey (1845-1916), painted on what appears to be tulip poplar, shows the toddler with short brown hair, brown eyes and rosy cheeks wearing a white shirt with blue belt. It stands 14-1/2 inches tall, 14-5/16 inches wide and is 6-11/16 inches deep. Inscribed into the base of the sculpture is

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – After 40 years in the making, Brunk Auctions has announced a rebranding with refreshed logo and an updated website, which will take effect in the first weeks of the new year. Renovations of the brick and mortar are scheduled to get underway early in the new year as well. It is a new look but with the same exceptional staff, service and results. For decades, the company has held true to the vision of Brunk Auctions as founded by Robert Brunk; that will not change. Transparency, client service and good old-fashioned connoisseurship will remain. These days, clients expect a great database, social media presence, exceptional photography, video content, logistics and a website content manager, numerous aggregators and a fancy coffee machine. We can check all those boxes too. Brunk Auctions is a trusted name in the auction world because of the experience we bring to all aspects of the auction process. Many of the specialist staff cut their teeth at auction houses in either New York or Boston, several have worked at museums and the new kids are all clever, savvy and plugged in. We are looking forward to the next 30 years with a fantastic staff and clients who have trusted us from one generation to the next. Brunk has a great lineup of estates and auctions in 2023, with details to be announced in the coming weeks. For information, www.brunkauctions.com.

“Making a magazine is a group effort,” said editor-in-chief Gregory Cerio, left. By his side, from left, were senior editor and digital-media producer Sammy Dalati, art director Martin Minerva, consulting editor Eleanor Gustafson, publisher Don Sparacin, keynote speakers Tom Savage and Alexandra Kirtley, and editor-at-large Betsy Pochoda. By Laura Beach WILMINGTON, DEL. – The Antiques Dealers Association of America (ADA) on November 12 presented its annual Award of Merit to The Magazine Antiques, since 1922 the journal of record for the field. “Everyone in this room understands the scope of the magazine’s contribution over several generations,” ADA president John Chaski said, welcoming a crowd of nearly 140 dealers, collectors, curators and auctioneers to the gala dinner, staged at the Westin Wilmington in conjunction with the Delaware Antiques Show. After an introduction from ADA executive director Judith Livingston Loto – who observed that the prize itself is celebrating a milestone year, its 20th – keynote speakers Tom Savage of Colonial Williamsburg and Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley of the Philadelphia Museum of Art each affectionately described their decades-long admiration for the publication. Savage, who documented his long affiliation in detail in the May/June 2012 article, “The Boy Who Loved Antiques,” noted that it was editor Alice Winchester who helped launch the Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum, celebrating its 75th edition from February 24-28, 2023. Kirtley lauded Antiques as “stalwart, steadfast, authoritative, lively, progressive, creative, elegant, intelligent and relevant.” In a lighthearted literary homage, the curator traced the magazine’s history in verse, concluding, “We who admire the century of tweaks and critiques / We honor you, O Mag Antiques.” “Antiques is one of the columns that holds our industry up,” said ADA board member Arthur Liverant, presenting the group’s signature trophy,

By John Voket, Newtown Bee NEWTOWN, CONN. — Momentarily overwhelmed by the excitement and emotional impact of the moment as family, staff and local officials surrounded him on the occasion of the 145th anniversary of The Newtown Bee, Publisher R. Scudder Smith found himself in an uncommon situation Tuesday afternoon: speechless. Smith, who still spends time at the local newspaper’s Church Hill Road offices typically reviewing and sorting through the countless papers, notes, books and memorabilia in his office, arrived on the morning of June 28 as the guest of honor for a celebration not only heralding The Bee’s longevity as a legacy Newtown business and media institution, but also a celebration of his and his family’s love for and dedication to the community. After Smith settled into a chair in The Bee’s cozy front lobby area, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal conveyed letters and certificates of recognition from Connecticut’s two US Senators, Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, and 5th District US Congresswoman Jahana Hayes. In his letter, Blumenthal recalled his visits to the newspaper’s office, “fittingly situated right in the heart of Newtown,” where the senator said he “enjoyed substantive and challenging conversations with you…and the rest of your talented staff. “Publications like yours provide depth and specificity of coverage, which larger papers simply cannot rival,” Blumenthal added. “Local independent papers like The Bee are a tremendous boon to democracy, for which I am deeply grateful.” Murphy reflected, “When the Smith family bought the paper in 1881, they began the tradition of consistent, weekly publications, and have published over 7,500 weekly editions since.” While The Bee, as it was then called, was established in 1877, it operated under its first four years under John Pearce. The Smith family purchased the business in 1881 and has owned and operated it

LITCHFIELD, CONN. — Please join Peter Tillou’s family in celebrating the life of international art and antiques dealer, Peter Tillou (1935-2021), on Saturday, June 4, from 3 to 6 pm. The celebration will take place at the Litchfield Country Club, at 256 Old South Road. All are welcome to attend; it is not necessary to RSVP.

BRIMFIELD, MASS. — Generally, it’s the Devil who gets blamed for stealing souls, but someone apparently sticky-fingered a prized possession of Newcastle, Maine, dealers Jewett-Berdan Antiques, making off with a double-face cast iron Devil bank that the dealers value at $900. The bank was made by the A.C. Williams Co. between 1905 and 1912. It was stolen sometime between opening at noon and 1 pm at Hertan’s during the first rush. “I hope they know it’s a devil and karma is going to get them,” said Butch Berdan. Anyone who sees it or is offered it can contact Tom Jewett or Butch Berdan at 207-563-3682 or email info@jewett-berdan.com. As for the thieves, concluded Berdan, “I hope they rot in hell.”

NEWTOWN, CONN. — Antiques and The Arts Weekly welcomes Zoë “Z.G.” Burnett to its editorial staff. Many may recognize our new assistant editor, who has worked in art and antiques for the past decade. Others might remember Burnett from even earlier days, trailing behind her parents at Brimfield and Norman C. Heckler & Co., in search of the next great find. Burnett earned her master’s degree in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2017, after which she worked with Antiques Associates at West Townsend and wrote for The Vintage Woman Magazine. Burnett operates her own online shop, Ram’s Head Vintage, which specializes in Twentieth Century menswear; she also participates in The Threadbare Show in Southbridge, Mass., and Alfargo’s Marketplace in New York City. Always scribbling something down, Burnett’s writing has appeared in The Attic on Eighth, Ivy Style and DigBoston. A lifelong Bay Stater with brief stints in France, she is currently relocating to Connecticut with her chow chow, Sisi.

LONDON — Bonhams, the global auction house, announced on March 16 that it had acquired the Boston-based auction house, Skinner. The company will be known as Bonhams Skinner. Financial terms are not being disclosed. Skinner holds around 80 sales a year in 20 collecting categories, including Americana, Fine Art and Collectibles and Wine, and ranging from fine violins to contemporary paintings. Important sales have included a Qing dynasty vase that sold for $24.7 million in 2014, a record price at the time for Chinese art in the United States; the record-setting sale of “Manchester Harbor” by American artist Fitz Henry Lane that achieved $5.5 million in 2004, which remains the highest price for a work of art ever realized at a New England auction; and a bottle of whisky believed to be the oldest known (circa 1860s) which achieved $137,500 in June 2021. Skinner was founded in 1962 by Robert W. Skinner Jr who hired Stephen Fletcher as his first employee. Fletcher is now executive vice president and chief auctioneer who owns the company with Karen Keane, its chief executive officer. The acquisition will give Bonhams greater access to the North American market, through Skinner’s salerooms in Boston and Marlborough, Mass., and its highly effective digital platform for online sales. The purchase of Skinner will also build on Bonhams’ local to global business strategy, following on from the addition of Bukowskis, the leading auction house in the Nordics (based in Stockholm, Sweden) that was announced in January 2022. Bruno Vinciguerra, chief executive officer of Bonhams, said, “Skinner is such an iconic presence in New England, and much-loved and celebrated for the rich treasures it offers. It also has a well-established digital footprint throughout North America that complements Bonhams’ presence which will allow both companies to reach more consignors and

NEW YORK CITY — The Winter Show announced that the 68th edition of the fair will take place April 1–10 at 660 Madison Avenue, the former flagship location of Barneys New York, following the postponement of its previously scheduled January dates due to surges in Covid-19 cases. The 2022 edition will feature an exhibition of 62 dealers that will have booths installed across four floors of the historic building. The interim location neighbors the Park Avenue Armory, offering a familiar location for the show’s committed patrons, collector base and exhibitors. Following this temporary move to accommodate the new dates, the Winter Show, a benefit for East Side House, will return in 2023 to its longtime home at the Park Avenue Armory. “We are thrilled that the Winter Show will once again take place in person in New York City. Although it will look slightly different from the fair we have become so familiar with, this is a true comeback story that can only happen in New York. The success of our exhibitors is at the forefront of our decisions, and we are excited to offer such a dynamic platform at 660 Madison to showcase their works,” said executive director Helen Allen The Winter Show was established in 1954 by East Side House Settlement, a community-based organization serving the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. In response to the Covid-19 crisis, East Side House introduced new initiatives to meet the emerging needs of the communities that bear the brunt of public health crises, focusing on services such as education tools for students and food distribution programs. All net proceeds from the Winter Show benefit the organization’s life-changing programming. “The Winter Show has long been a part of the East Side House tradition and it is vital in raising the funds necessary to

NEW YORK CITY – The Metropolitan Museum of Art and descendants of the late Dr Mortimer Sackler and Dr Raymond Sackler announced that seven named exhibition spaces in the museum, including the wing that houses the iconic Temple of Dendur, will no longer carry the Sackler name. The museum and the families of Dr Mortimer Sackler and Dr Raymond Sackler have mutually agreed to take this action in order to allow the Met to further its core mission. “Our families have always strongly supported the Met, and we believe this to be in the best interest of the museum and the important mission that it serves,” descendants of Dr Mortimer Sackler and Dr Raymond Sackler said in a statement. “The earliest of these gifts were made almost 50 years ago, and now we are passing the torch to others who might wish to step forward to support the museum.” “The Met has been built by the philanthropy of generations of donors – and the Sacklers have been among our most generous supporters,” said Dan Weiss, president and chief executive office of the Met. “This gracious gesture by the Sacklers aids the museum in continuing to serve this and future generations. We greatly appreciate it.” For additional information, www.themetmuseum.org.