The Magazine Antiques

Current & Coming | By Carolyn Kelly

Portrait miniatures from the Met debut at the Winter Antiques Show

January 28, 2010  |  American art aficionados packed into the Tiffany Room at the Park Avenue Armory last night as part of a series of special lectures hosted by the Winter Antiques Show to listen in as Carrie Rebora Barratt, associate director for collections and administration and curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Lori Zabar, an independent scholar and researcher, spoke on the subject of their new book—the Metropolitan's collection of nearly 600 American portrait miniatures. The history of these most intimate objects from the earliest days of the nation's founding up through the early 20th century was surveyed, and a number of surprises revealed.

Barratt spoke about how, with the aid of conservators, miniature cases were carefully opened to examine their contents. Most contained waxed playing cards cut as supports for the ivory, while some also held descriptions written on paper, and others exposed painting on the reverse side of the portrait. She also proudly showed the only two examples of American lover's eyes from the collection—tiny (less than a half-inch in diameter) miniatures depicting a single eye or pair of eyes that were meant to be worn on the inside of a coat near one's heart. While the form had been immensely popular in England, very few were made by artists in America, and to date the Met has more than any other museum. Though a number of artists included in the book are well-known—Peale, Copley, and Ramage—Barratt reminded the audience that many who have never been heard of were also immensely talented.
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Current & Coming | By Staff

Opening night at the 56th Annual Winter Antiques Show

January 25, 2010  |  Many of New York's most recognizable art patrons and designers came out on Thursday night to toast the 56th annual Winter Antiques Show (at the Park Avenue Armory through Sunday, January 31). The opening night party, the upcoming young collector's night, and general admission to the show, all benefit the East Side House Settlement, which has offered education and outreach programs for families in the South Bronx and Manhattan's East Side since 1891. To learn more about the Winter Antiques Show's involvement with the East Side Settlement House click here, and have a look at our slideshow of this year's opening party to catch some familiar faces.

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Current & Coming | By Carolyn Kelly

Curator's Choice: A tour of TAAS with Stacy C. Hollander

January 22, 2010  |  A visit to the American Antiques Show (also known as TAAS) at the Metropolitan Pavilion is always filled with discovery, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to join a special tour of the show with Stacy C. Hollander, the American Folk Art Museum's senior curator and director of exhibitions. This year's new layout designed by Ned Jalbert, which tossed aside rigid aisles and allows for more open space and meandering sight lines, was a perfect complement to Hollander's tour, which made ready juxtapositions among the booths and picked up recurring themes across the widely varied art on view, relying on natural serendipity. Hollander quickly identified one important trend at this year's show and that is portraiture. Some of these highlights, including portraits by Rufus Hathaway and Drossos Skyllas, are included in the slideshow below and offer a taste of why TAAS, which runs through Sunday, shouldn't be missed.

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Current & Coming | By Megan Holloway Fort

Antiques season in New York

January 19, 2010  |  
Winter Antiques Show
This year's fifty-sixth annual Winter Antiques Show will feature six new exhibitors—including two who specialize in early twentieth-century decorative arts, New York's Liz O'Brien and Lost City Arts—to complement the always stunning array that is the show's signature. Its loan exhibitions are also always remarkable in the way they transform a very small space into a lively gallery that conveys the essence of the subject at hand: this year it is the collections of Historic New England. The oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization in the country, Historic New England comprises thirty-six historically and architecturally significant properties, as well as a collection of more than 110,000 objects spanning four centuries. A full lecture program over the course of the show will cover topics related to Historic New England's collections as well as a wide variety of other subjects. A keynote address entitled "Things of Beauty" will be delivered by Peter J. Gomes of Harvard University on January 22. As always, the Winter Antiques Show is a benefit for East Side House Settlement in the Bronx.

Winter Antiques Show · Park Avenue Armory, New York · January 22-31 · www.winterantiquesshow.com

American Antiques Show
While some things are changing at the popular American Antiques Show this year—namely a redesign of the lobby and floor plan by Ned Jalbert Interior Design (Jalbert is also an expert in American Indian art and one of the show's exhibitors) and six new dealers—the show remains the only all-American antiques show held in New York during "antiques week" and features the eclectic mix of fine, decorative, and folk art objects that draws throngs of new and ex­­­­perienced collectors alike. As always, proceeds benefit the American Folk Art Museum, and the ticket price includes two-for-one admission to the museum as well as complimentary shuttle service between the show and the museum. There is also an extensive educational series for collectors, including a panel discussion on the state of the art market, a tour of the show with the museum's curator, Stacy C. Hollander, an appraisal day, and, for museum members, a visit to a private collection. 
American Antiques Show · Metropolitan Pavilion, New York · January 21-24 ·  www.theamericanantiques show.org
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