Utility, artistry, and soul: The collection of Allan and Penny Katz

Editorial Staff

Photography by Gavin Ashworth | August 2009 | “It escapes the form,” Allan Katz will say, to explain why he favors one particular piece of American folk sculpture over others of its genre. What he means is that the artist or craftsman, while satisfying the needs of the client—the nineteenth-century tobacconist who wanted an Indian figure, the barber who needed …

Hidden treasures

Editorial Staff

Those wishing to escape crowds this summer need not avoid Europe. With minimum planning, you can view some of the most spectacular but still privately owned properties and collections in Great Britain and France. Exhibitions in Arles and Barcelona explore intercultural exchange with profundity and elegance. Secrets of Great BritainSavvy travelers to Great Britain can visit nearly six thousand objects …

Tin, Chrome, & Steam

Editorial Staff

Designer and automotive historian Strother MacMinn once told me, “if it moves, even if it’s a vacuum cleaner going back and forth at three miles per hour, it has to follow the rules of transportation design.”  For those enthusiasts who missed this year’s Concours d’Elegance in Greenwich, Connecticut, the Japan Society offers a chance to examine some of the greatest …

The End of an Era

Editorial Staff

The Grande Dame of art fairs is, reluctantly, retiring. Organizers of the Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, held in London nearly every year without interruption since 1934, announced yesterday that it will close. They cited problems with the event’s longtime venue, the Grosvenor House Hotel, which last year was renovated and re-branded as a JW Marriott. But what really happened to …

Spring is in the air for Charleston Antiques Week

Editorial Staff Art

Charleston’s architecture, gardens, and history always draw visitors, but for lovers of antiques, there’s no better week of the year to be here. Wednesday, the twelfth annual Charleston Art and Antiques Forum opened—four and a half days of lectures, tours, discussions, and visits to private collections—and Thursday evening brought the festive preview party for the Charleston International Antiques Show, a …