Something weird happened to Jeff Bridgman and his business in 2008—in fact, two weird things. In the midst of a global economic collapse, he had his best year ever, and in December, he made a large sale to a Democrat. “To the best of my knowledge, it was the first time I’d ever made a major sale to a Democrat,” …
Endnotes: African American schoolgirl embroidery
“Amy is a treasure,” Linda Eaton, curator of textiles at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware, said to me referring to Amy Finkel, the Philadelphia needlework dealer, who recently brought a rare Berlin work picture stitched by a black American schoolgirl to her attention. Knowing that Eaton has long felt that Winterthur’s collection does not adequately represent the cultural diversity that …
The New Americana
Now in its eighth year, the American Antiques Show, a major fundraiser for the American Folk Art Museum, remains a highlight of Americana Week in New York. The forty-seven dealers who set up in the Metropolitan Pavilion January 22-25 exhibited some of the finest examples of American folk and outsider art from the 17th to the 20th centuries. …