Park Avenue Armory

  • Art,  Bernardaud,  Calendar of Events,  Legends of La Cienega,  Life and Style,  Park Avenue Armory,  Sebastian and Barquet,  Showrooms,  The Weekender

    The Weekender: Social Butterflies

     
    LEGENDS OF LA CIENEGA
    On Wednesday, May 9th, acclaimed interior furnishings company Rose Tarlow Melrose House hosted the VIP cocktail party that officially commenced the La Cienega Design Quarter’s 4th Annual LEGENDS of La Cienega.
    The opening event historically draws notables across categories and offers the design community an opportunity to gatherin celebration of the Los Angeles design scene, of which the LaCienega Design Quarter is the heart. Last night’s event reflected the “Windows to the World” theme with globally inspired catering by Taste that referenced the featured countries of the windows.

    Partygoers from the East and West Coasts

     

    The evening was attended by some of the world’s most celebrated names in interior design, including Amy Kehoe, Campion Platt, David Hicks, David Phoenix, Joe Lucas, Kathryn Ireland, Madeline Stuart, Malcolm James Kutner, Muriel Brandolini, Oliver Furth, Mary McDonald, Jeff Andrews, Suzanne Rheinstein, Todd Nickey, Trip Haenisch and Waldo Fernandez, as well as Susan Feldman, Co-Founder, Chief Merchandising Officer of One Kings Lane, among others. The Legends of La Cienega Kick-Off event was hosted by Meg Touborg, CEO of Rose Tarlow Melrose House.

    Photos courtesy D. Blodgett
    JOHNNY SWING OPENING RECEPTION AT SEBASTIAN + BARQUET
    Murmuration brings together five examples of Johnny Swing’s iconic coin furniture, and will serve as the debut of his most recent and ambitious work to date. His recent publication is a fully illustrated catalogue showcasing each of the works from the series, with essays by David Collens, Judd Tully and James Zemaitis, will accompany the exhibition. The opening reception was hosted by Interior Designer, Geoffrey Bradfield.
    Geoffrey Bradfield
    Michael Brummel, Corice Arman
    Jim O’Donnell: Sitting on his Johnny Swing Chair
    Photos courtesy High End Weekly™
    SAKE TASTING at BERNARDAUD
    Bernardaud welcomed 150 guests to its flagship boutique on Park Avenue for a unique Sake Tasting reception on Wednesday, May 9th. Four kuramotos ot house masters from four of the most venerable sake breweries in Japan – Urakasumi, Sudohonke, Masumi, and Masuizumi. The four masters offered samples of their products, the fruits of centuries-honored brewing techniques, that were accompanied by unexpected food pairings of French cuisine (such as duck breast and pate) during the cross-cultural gastronomic event. Guests savored the various sakes in a Bernardaud Anno cup that was designed by architect Sylvain Dubuisson. The Sudohonke brewery boasts a legacy of 55 generations of family ownership. Many of Japan’s breweries have been severely impacted by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake.
    Katsuhiko Miyasaka, George Kakaty and Ryuichiro Masuda
    Koichi Saura, George Kakaty and Genuemon Sudo
    Photos courtesy Bernardaud
    PARTICLES + WAVES at ILIAD
    Cornelia Thomsen at the the opening reception of Particles + Waves, which is a curated group exhibition at Iliad Gallery located at East 57th Street. The exhibition presents a group of twelve artists whose work resonates with quantum theory, the perplexities of the subatomic world, and various interpretations of the “observer-dependent universe” through visual metaphors presenting the paradox of particle/wave duality as a modern day parable. Featuring provocative works by Cair Crawford, Karen Gunderson, Alice Hope, Ron Kingswood, Kari Lindstrom, Nefeli Massia, Norman Mooney, Svetlana Rabey, Taney Roniger, Rhonda Smith, Cornelia Thomsen and Andrea Zemel, the exhibition will include a rich variety of artistic media in a broad range of 2D and sculptural works.
    VACHERON CONSTANTIN
    Madison Avenue Watch Week

    Vacheron Constantin kicked-off the Madison Avenue Watch Week with an exclusive cocktail reception on the evening of Monday, April 30th at two locations. Hugues de Pins, president of Vacheron Constantin North America, welcomed guests at the Vacheron Constantin Madison Avenue boutique as well as a distinguished private bank across the street from Vacheron. Guests previewed the exclusive 2012 collection of timepieces, including the Patrimony Traditionnelle 14-Day Tourbillon, the Métiers d’Art Les Univers Infinis, and the newly redesigned Malte collection, the highlight pieces from this year’s SIHH.
    Hugues de Pins, President of Vacheron Constantin, and Aldo Sohm, world renowned Chef Sommelier at Le Bernardin
    and 2008 winner of the “Best Sommelier of the World.”
    Vacheron Constantin, The Value of Vintage Timepieces
    Photos courtesy Monica Schipper Photography
    SPRING SHOW NYC 2012Earlier this month, at the Park Avenue Armory, astute organizers of art and antique fairs pursued a dual mission by appealing to museum professionals, seasoned buyers, and welcomed neophytes. No art and antiques fair anywhere in the world fulfilled those two goals with more aplomb than the Spring Show NYC, which opened on May 3rd and ran through May 6th. There, in a hospitable, non-intimidating setting, fair goers of all backgrounds were comfortably united in awe and appreciation of the wide range of the fair’s offerings.

    Serena Tufo, Mike Gallagher, Vyna St Phard, Rio Hamilton
    Photo Courtesy Annie Watt

    Magen H Gallery owner, Hugues Magen, and Benoist Drut, Partner, Maison Gerard Ltd
    Photo Courtesy High End Weekly™
    Nara Simmons, David Kristie, Andersen Gumbs
    Paul Baker from Whistlepig
    Photos Courtesy Annie Watt
  • Art Fairs,  Life and Style,  Park Avenue Armory,  The Weekender

    The Weekender: Spring Show NYC

    The Spring Show NYC opening party is on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 from 5:00-9:00PM. The show runs from May 3rd through the 6th. Once again, this year’s show highlights the very best in English, Continental and American furniture, paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, glass and decorative arts; Asian works of art; folk art; 20th-century decorative arts; aesthetic movement and Arts & Crafts furniture; prints, photographs, maps, posters and wallpaper; antiquities and ancient objects; silver and metalwork; nautical art and objects; jewelry; garden ornaments; books, manuscripts and autographs;

    Abby Taylor Brown, Looks Like Rain

    Chinese export porcelain and decorative arts; Native American and tribal art; carpets and rugs; tapestries; textiles and needlework; and clocks.

    This is the second anniversary year for the show which takes place at the prestigious Park Avenue Armory. Collectors and designers, and art enthusiasts can shop in confidence knowing that this is a vetted show – every item in every booth is examined by panels of experts for authenticity. The panels also ensure that comprehensive, accurate labeling is attached to every piece. Vetted shows are the standard for all quality art and antiques fairs.

    Last year, I attended several VIP museum tours and visited several collectors homes. A good number of my designer friends got together for several “in-house” lectures that went on at the Park Avenue Armory. Next week, why don’t you join us for the following lectures:

    Friday, May 4th 

    3 – 4 p.m.

    Designs On Film: A Century Of Hollywood Art Direction
    Cathy Whitlock’s lecture covers a century of cinematic set decoration, featuring highlights from every decade of Hollywood history. A slide presentation will show photographs, behind-the-scene images and designer sketches of sets from Top Hat, The Fountainhead, Gone With the Wind, The Age of Innocence, Something’s Gotta Give-and many more! Cathy Whitlock’s book Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction(Harper Collins, November, 2010) represents the marriage of her two passions-design and cinema. She is also a contributing writer for Traditional Home magazine and 
    *The Huffington Post, and features editor for Array Magazine. Cathy writes the blog Cinema Style, which chronicles trends and inspirations in film, reaches 70 countries, was named one of the Top Ten Best Design Blogs of 2010 by Fox News. A graduate of Parsons School of Design and a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, Cathy has more than 24 years of experience in the interior design industry and has had practices in New York, Chicago, Memphis and Nashville.
    4:30 – 5:30 p.m. 
    Adoption, Absorption, Assimilation: Foreign Influences In Early Chinese Art

    Abby Taylor, Archipenko

    Dr. Robert D. Mowry’s slide lecture examines China’s native artistic traditions as they developed during the Great Bronze Age (1600 B.C.- A.D. 220). Attendees will learn about the wealth of materials introduced from foreign lands via the Silk Route trade during the Han through the Tang dynasties and see how Chinese artists absorbed and assimilated these new influences.

    *Dr. Robert D. Mowry is Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art and Head of the Department of Asian Art at the Harvard Art Museum. He is also Senior Lecturer on Chinese and Korean Art in Harvard’s Department of the History of Art and Architecture. 


    Saturday, May 5th 
    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 
    Legendary Designing Women: Inventing A Profession
    Emily Eerdmans discusses the history of interior decorating and how it evolved into a billion-dollar profession thanks to the seminal efforts of astute women like Elsie de Wolfe, Dorothy Draper and Madeleine Castaing.
    *Emily Evans Eerdmans is a noted design historian and expert with Corfield Morris, a private art advisory. She is the author of several books, including The World of Madeleine Castaing and the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Wendell Castle. She received her master’s degree in fine and decorative arts from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London and is an instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
    3:30 – 4:30 p.m. 
    Château De Fontainebleau: 500 Years Of Royal Taste In Architecture And Design
    No French palace holds the living presence-the sweep of 500 years of French royal history-the way that Fontainebleau does. David Garrard Lowetraces its centuries-in-the-making transformation from a forested hunting ground for French kings into a magnificent royal palace in the 16th century. Tour Fontainebleau’s interiors, including Empress Eugenie’s astonishing Oriental Chamber with its rare Chinese porcelain, fine lacquer and jeweled Buddhas. Presented by French Heritage Society.
    *David Garrard Lowe is a well-known cultural historian whose articles have appeared in The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal and American Heritage. He is Chairman of Cultural Programs, New York Chapter of French Heritage Society and President of the Beaux Arts Alliance; and has lectured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, among others.
  • Art Fairs,  Decorative Arts,  Fine Arts,  Park Avenue Armory

    SOFA New York, April 20-23, 2012

    Sculpture Objects Functional Art Fair Celebrates 15th Anniversary in NYC

    SOFA New York will be back at The Park Avenue Armory (at 67th Street) in the Spring of 2012. Get ready for some wonderful surprises, cutting edge design schemes and an exciting roster of fifty-five international dealers.
    Merete Rasmussen
    Red twisted Form, 2011, Stoneware, 17.5 in. h. x 19.5 in. wide x 11 7/8 in. deep
    J. Lohmann Gallery
    The 15th anniversary will kick off on Friday, April 20th through Monday, April 23rd. The invitation-only Opening Night VIP Preview is Thursday, April 19 from 5-7 pm, followed by a Public Preview from 7-9 pm by ticket purchase.

    Donna Davies, Director of SOFA fairs in New York, Chicago and Santa Fe adds, “In celebration of SOFA NEW YORK’s milestone 15th anniversary, plans are underway to reinvigorate the design and aesthetics of the exhibition hall. We look forward to presenting an exciting group of new dealers this fair who are strong in international ceramics.” This year’s new comers are: Cultural Connections CC (Missenden, England), specialists in Danish ceramics. Erskine, Hall & Coe located in London’s Mayfair, specialists in 20th century and contemporary ceramics. Former director of the prestigious Galerie Besson, Matthew Hall established the new gallery with his partners in the same Bond Street location when seminal ceramics dealer Anita Besson retired in June. Flow Gallery, also from London: Yvonna Demczynska of Flow said, “Our international selection of artists will include Dutch artist Henk Wolvers, master of porcelain who creates colorful, subtle forms alive with movement and translucency. Wolvers’s work, Lines, was recently purchased for The Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The Museum of Arts and Design in New York also purchased a Wolvers piece for its permanent collection. Megumi Ogita Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), focusing on young Japanese and American artists remarkable “for their absorption and adaptation of traditional materials and techniques in startling new expressions.”
    Of Note
    SOFA Lecture Series, free with paid admission. Leading the way on this year’s docket is glass artist/designer Dan Dailey (Schantz Galleries, Stockbridge, MA), internationally-known for his vibrant, humorous sculpture and luminary art. AVIP Program for upper-level collectors and gallery clients will again offer VIP cardholders ultra-exclusive private collections and curator-led museum exhibitions tours. Over 400 VIPs participated in the program last year.
    Friday Evening Savvy Soirée, April 20 for the 35 and under set. Last year’s enthusiastic crowd included alumni from the Institute of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), School of Visual Arts, New York University, Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, Boston University’s MFA Program, Pilchuck Glass School, and Chicago Art Institute; young collectors groups from the Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian, The Whitney Contemporary, Fuller Craft Museum, and Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses; and young designers from the offices of Bradley Stephens, Jayne Michaels, Adrianne Neff, Jennifer Eisenstadt, Tamara Eaton, and Tim Button.
    The 5th annual invitation-only Designer Breakfast Preview, Friday, April 20, planned in consultation with SOFA’s National Design Committee, which includes such notables as Alexander Gorlin, Amy Lau, Juan Montoya, Jamie Drake, Nancy Epstein, Steven Gambrel, David Ling, and Joyce and Maya Romanoff.


    David Ebner
    Oval Dining Table, Ovangkol, 35 x 55 x 96
    William Zimmer Gallery

    Photo: LuAnn Thompson

    Hans Coper
    Selected Works, 1960s – 1970s, stoneware, various sizes

    Erskine, Hall, & Coe

  • Art Collections,  Events,  Life and Style,  Park Avenue Armory,  The Weekender

    The Weekender: Young Collectors Night

    Young Collectors Night at the Winter Antiques Show, Thursday January 26, 2012
    Last week, 800 guests hobnobbed with dealers of the most exquisite collections of America’s antiques, at the prestigious Winter Antiques Show. For the last couple of years, The Young Collectors Night has become one of the most well attended show at the Park Avenue Armory, partly because it offers a whole new generation of collectors, and interior designers the opportunity to re-imagine the rules of design as they infuse their projects with the highest quality of antiques and modern design – from Regency to 20th Century Art and Furniture.

    The gathering was also an opportunity to meet old friends and colleagues, and to make new ones. I enjoyed the high energy that was on display that evening. It was Co-Chaired by Courtney Booth, Emily Israel Pluhar, and Stephanie Clark. The Vice Chairs were Melissa D. Berkelhammer, Roric Tobin & Justin Concannon, Cristin & Britt deVeer, Clay Floren, Ashley & Charlie Fox, and others. Led by Chairwoman Wendy Goodman, Design Editor of New York magazine, the evening afforded guests the opportunity to meet Ms. Goodman, along with 77 of the country’s most distinguished designers. Proceeds raised from the evening went to benefit East Side House Settlements vital work in the South Bronx and surrounding communities. The sponsors  were New York Magazine, Benjamin Moore and Elie Tahari.

    Milly de Cabrol, Nate Berkus, Muriel Brandolini, Wendy Goodman
    Winter Antiques Show Exhibitor Barbara Israel and daughter Co-Chair Emily Israel Pluhar
    Young Collectors Night Co-Chairs Courtney Booth, Emily Israel Pluhar Stephanie Clark
     Valaer Van Roijen and Co-Chair Emily Israel Pluhar
    Robin Wilson
    Elizabeth Brown and Tripp Potter
     Margaret Boyle, Ashley Rettenmaier, Chelsea Rettenmaier
    Geoffrey Bradfield
     Stephanie Woodmanse and Ellie Clymer
    Elizabeth Pyne and Christopher Spitzmiller
     Nate Berkus and Natalie Obradovich
     Wendy Goodman and Muriel Brandolini
     Lacary Sharpe and Rebecca Regan
     Atmosphere
     Jamie Drake
    Roric Tobin and Justin Concannon
    Lisa Yom and David Lipke
    Meghan Kelly and guest
    Renald White
    Ariel Ashe and James Reginato
    Scott Currie, Kyle Rouse, guest and Christian Leone 
    Katie Williams, and guests
    Photo credit: Billy Farrell Agency
  • Art Fairs,  Fine Arts,  Life and Style,  Park Avenue Armory,  Photography

    The Weekender: Young Collectors

    Lillian Bassman: Portrait of a Lady

    What component of a photograph makes it beautiful to the viewer? Is it its sense of fantasy, mystery, or can it be its lucidness? For me, a great photograph lies in its significant form. Lines and colors combined in a particular way in order to create and stir aesthetic emotions. The photographs of Lillian Brassman evoke all these emotions, In truth, her photography is conceptional, which means that her subject matters are real, but it is strictly abstract. That is a good thing if you’re considering collecting art and willing to start with photography.

    Artists like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jeffrey Conley, and Martine Franck blend in very well with her work. Lillian Bassman is considered one of the last great women fashion photographers. A breed of geniuses, which I hope one day won’t become extinct. Her work is all about high contrasts between light and dark, the graininess of the finished photos and the geometric placement and camera angles of her subjects. Starting a photography collection is certainly a great start for any young collector, and usually, the price point isn’t prohibitive. The Peter Fetterman Gallery in Santa Monica offers a wide variety of some of the most renowned artists, and now, you can view a number of their collections when you visit them at the Winter Antiques Show which is still open to the public at the Park Avenue Armory. The show ends on Sunday, January 29th. Last night, I had the opportunity to go to the Young Collectors Night which offered guests a private viewing of one of the world’s most prestigious antiques, from English, European, and Asian fine art, to decorative arts dating from antiquity through the 1960s. Starting an art collection may not be an easy process, but thankfully, one has many choices to select from, when you visit a fair such as this one.

    Lillian Bassman, It’s A Cinch, Carmen, Harper’s Bazaar, New York, 1951, gelatin silver print
    Peter Fetterman Gallery

    Lillian Bassman Photos (including Ms. Bassman herself, holding a camera)
    Cover: Lillian Bassman, Charles James Dress, 1960, gelatin silver print
    Lillian Bassman, The Cost of Living: Barbara Mullen in a Dress by Omar Kiam for Ben Reig, 
    New York, 1950, gelatin silver print
    Lillian Bassman, Margie Cato, Junior Bazaar [White Dress and White Gloves], c. 1950, 
    gelatin silver print
    Lillian Bassman, Anne Saint –Marie, Chanel Advertising Campaign, New York, 1958, 
    gelatin silver print
    Lillian Bassman, Barbara Mullen, Flat Hat, Bare Back, c. 1950, gelatin silver print
    Above images from Peter Fetterman Gallery
    All rights reserved
  • Art,  Celebrities,  Design,  Life and Style,  Modern Art,  Museums,  Park Avenue Armory,  Photography,  The Weekender

    The Weekender: The Winter Antiques Show & The Bard

    The Importance of Being Fashionable
    A couple of days before I went to a Press Preview at the Bard Graduate Center, I had no idea who Jane Harding was. Although the actress was not so well known here in the United States, back in France, she was all the rage. It is said that during her lifetime, Ms. Harding was one of the most photographed women in the world. Enter Staging Fashion, an “absolutely required” exhibition for fashionistas, and those who are so enthused by the celebrity culture.

    Woman’s Hat by Joseph G. Darlington and Co. Philadelphia, circa 1908 – 10.

    Straw, silk flowers and leaves.

    The show is mostly about how celebrities like Jane Harding, Lily Elsie, and Billie Burke dominated the fashion scene back in the early 20th Century. They managed to do so by one important medium – Photography. Carefully staged photographs represented a vital self-promotional tool by which the actresses asserted their status as Fashion Arbiters. Sound very much like our current culture right? Back then, the images by Harding emphasized an image of an attractive, elegantly dressed, and poised woman, who offered herself for admiration and at the same time, scrutiny. A close collaboration between photographers and actors was crucial back then as it is today. The promotional interest between the media to its public is phenomenal and is ever increasing. In this sophisticated exhibition, Fashion and Theater came together beautifully to form a brilliant and lasting marriage.

    January 18 – April 8, 2012
    The Bard Graduate Center
    18 West 86th Street
    New York City

    Left: Reutlinger Studio (French, 1850-1937). Postcard of Jane Hading in La Pompadour, ca. 1901. Hand-colored photograph with glitter. Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White. Right: Foulsham & Banfield (English, 1906–1920). Postcard of Lily Elsie in The Merry Widow, ca. 1907. Private collection.
    Photographed by Bruce White.

    Advertisement for Rogers & Thompson’s Soirée Silk featuring Billie Burke. Photograph by Sarony Studio. From The Theatre (September 1916): 165. Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White.
    Jane Hading: Paul Boyer. Jane Hading in Plus que Reine. Cover of Le Théatre (May 1899). Private collection. 
     Photographed by Bruce White.
    Postcard of the Théâtre du Vaudeville and the Boulevard des Italiens, ca. 1905. Hand-colored photograph. Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White

    All photos courtesy of the Bard Graduate Institute.
    © All Rights Reserved
    The Winter Antiques Show 2012

    The illustrious Winter Antiques Show opens today at the Park Avenue Armory for the 58th Year in a row. This year, be prepared to get reacquainted with old dealers and meet new ones. Jonathan Boos is displaying an impressive collection of Alexander Calder’s standing mobiles.

    Originally gifted by the artist to a family who cared for his mother in the 1950’s, these pieces were kept there for over 50 years and now are ready to embrace a new home. Highlights from the show included a rare and important African-American Pictographic Plantation desk, ca. 1870, from Madison, Mississippi. This particular desk is attributed to “Willie” Howard, a favored slave at Kirkwood Plantation, owned by pre-Civil War Governor McWillie. Art Deco dealer, Maison Gerard, have several new acquisitions from Leuleu. They are exquisite and offer themselves as perfect additions to any art deco collector. Another exciting dealer to look for is Keshishian. Mr. Eddy Keshishian, a carpet dealer from London, is exhibiting a jaw-dropping Art Deco carpet made for the Maharajah of Indores palace. This magnificent piece demonstrates the widespread appeal of Art Deco design, which was originated in France and quickly spread as far as India. Go inside the show, by visiting us on Facebook, for more photographs. The Winter Antiques Show benefits the East Side House Settlement which was founded in 1891 to help immigrants and lower income families on the East Side of Manhattan. In 1962, it moved to the South Bronx where it serves 8,000 residents annually within one of America’s poorest congressional districts, the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx.

    My Fair Ladies
    Quintessential Victorian fairies from the 19th Century
    Clockwise: From Nicholas Grindley Works of Art, Ltd. A ceremonial fan of circular leaf shape made of three boards crudely joined together and carved on the face with radiating ribs with an incurved lip at the top. Thai, 18th – 19th Century. Egyptian gilded and painted cartonnage mummy mask. Ptolemaic Period, c. 4th – 3rd century BC, from Rupert Wace Ancient Art. Foreground – One of three remarkable series of Alexander Calder standing mobiles (untitled) from Jonathan Boos

    Photos property of High End Weekly
  • 1stDibs,  America,  Art,  Design,  Events,  Park Avenue Armory

    Americana Week: January 17 – 29, 2012

    Your Guide to Americana Week

    Monday, January 16
    Metropolitan Museum of Art
    New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts Opens
    1000 Fifth Avenue
    New York City

    Sotheby’s Preview
    Important Americana: Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Porcelain, Prints and Carpets
    1334 York Avenue

    Tuesday, January 17
    Hayes Fine Arts Building
    The Modern Art of Antique Quilts

    Fisher Heritage Specialty
    305 East 61st Street
    New York City

    Bohemian National Hall
    New York Ceramics Fair
    Opening Night
    5 p.m. until 9 p.m.
    321 East 73rd Street
    New York City

    Christie’s
    Preview of Important American Furniture and Folk Art
    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    Christie’s
    Preview of Chinese Export Art
    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    Bonham’s
    Preview of Fine American and European Furniture and Decorative Arts
    580 Madison Avenue
    New York City

    Keno Auctions
    Auction: Important Americana, Paintings, Furniture and Decorative Arts
    48 E 84th Street

    New York City

    Sotheby’s
    Preview: Americana: Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Porcelain, Prints and Carpets
    1334 York Avenue
    New York City

    Hayes Fine Arts Building 

    The Modern Art of Antique Quilts
    A Fisher Heritage Specialty 
    305 East 61st Street
    New York City
    Wednesday, January 18
    Metro Show Opening Night
    7 p.m. until 9 p.m.
    125 West 18th Street
    New York City

    Christie’s 

    Preview: Important American Furniture and Folk Art
    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    Christie’s
    Preview: Chinese Export Art

    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    Bonham’s 

    Auction: The Mapping and Discovery of America
    580 Madison Avenue
    New York City
    Bonham’s 
    Preview: Fine American and European Furniture and Decorative Arts
    580 Madison Avenue
    New York City

    New York Ceramics Fair 

    Lecture: Searching for Pots: 40+ Years Above and Below the Ground
    12 Noon
    321 East 73rd Street
    Lecture: Getting the Blues: Cobalt Ornament on Tin-Glazed Earthenware from Around the World 
    2 p.m.
    321 East 73rd Street
    New York City

    New York Ceramics Fair 

    Lecture: The Impressionists 
    Dishes: Ceramics in the Florence Griswold House and the Odd Way They Were Collected 
    4 p.m.
    321 East 73rd Street
    New York City

    Sotheby’s

    Preview:  Important Americana: Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Porcelain, Prints and Carpets
    1334 York Avenue
    New York City

    American Folk Art Museum
    Music:  2 p.m. until 3 p.m.

    Performed by jazz guitarist Bill Wurtzel
    Hayes Fine Arts Building
    Fisher Heritage Specialty
    Show: The Modern Art of Antique Quilts
    305 East 61st Street
    New York City
    Thursday, January 19
    Winter Antiques Show 
    Opening Night Party
    5 p.m. until 9 p.m.
    Park Avenue Armory
    643 Park Avenue @ 67th Street
    New York City

    Christie’s 
    Auction: Silver Auction

    Rockefeller Center
    New York City
    Sotheby’s 
    Auction: Important Americana: Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Porcelain, Prints and Carpets
    1334 York Avenue
    New York City

    Christie’s

    Auction: Important American Furniture and Folk Art
    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    Christie’s 
    Preview: Chinese Export Art

    Rockefeller Center
    New York City
    Bonham’s 
    Auction: Fine American and European Furniture and Decorative Arts
    580 Madison Avenue
    New York City

    New York Ceramics Fair 

    Lecture: Going Beyond Chromium Green: Overglaze Enamel Formulations and the Dating of Factory and Hausmaler-Decorated Meissen Ware 
    12 noon
    321 East 73rd Street
    New York City

    New York Ceramics Fair 

    Lecture: American Blues: Printed Pottery Celebrating a New Nation
    2 p.m.
    321 East 73rd Street
    New York City

    Sotheby’s

    Preview: Important Americana: Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Porcelain, Prints and Carpets
    1334 York Avenue
    New York City

    Hayes Fine Arts Building

    Fisher Heritage Specialty
    The Modern Art of Antique Quilts
    Show: at 305 East 61st Street
    New York City
    American Indian, circa 1900s
    via The Financial Times: How To Spend It
    Friday, January 20
    Christie’s
    Auction: Important American Furniture and Folk Art
    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    Christie’s
    Preview: ‘Chinese Export Art

    Rockefeller Center
    New York City
    Sotheby’s
    Auction: Important Americana: Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Porcelain, Prints and Carpets
    1334 York Avenue
    New York City

    Antiques at the Armory 

    Stella Shows
    10 a.m. until 7 p.m. 
    69th Regiment Armory
    Lexington Avenue at 26th Street
    New York City

    Hayes Fine Arts Building

    Fisher Heritage Specialty
    The Modern Art of Antique Quilts
    305 East 61st Street
    New York City
    Saturday, January 21
    Christie’s 
    Preview: Chinese Export Art 
    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    New York Ceramics Fair

    Lecture: From a Mere Lump of Clay: Harry Potter and Ceramic Technology
    12 noon
    321 East 73rd Street
    New York City

    New York Ceramics Fair 

    Lecture: Hot Plates: Every Dish Tells a Story
    2 p.m.
    321 East 73rd Street
    New York City

    New York Ceramics Fair 

    Lecture: A Variegated History: Tortoiseshell Earthenware in Colonial America
    4 p.m.
    321 East 73rd Street
    New York City

    Antiques at the Armory 

    Show: 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. 
    69th Regiment Armory
    Lexington Avenue at 26th Street
    New York City

    Americana and Antiques at the Pier 

    Show: 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
    Pier 92
    New York City
    Sunday, January 22
    Christie’s 
    Preview: Chinese Export Art
    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    Antiques at the Armory 

    Show: 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. 
    69th Regiment Armory
    Lexington Avenue at 26th Street
    New York City

    Americana and Antiques at the Pier

    Show: 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
    Pier 92
    New York City
    Monday, January 23
    The Modern Art of Antique Quilts 
    Show: A Fisher Heritage Specialty
    Hayes Fine Arts Building 
    305 East 61st Street
    New York City
    Christie’s

    Auction:  Chinese Export Art

    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    Life size Nubian Goat Sculpture on Wheels
    Photo courtesy of 1stDibs
    Tuesday, January 24 – Saturday, February 25

    1stDibs

    Folk Tales: Bringing Folk Art Home Exhibition & Sale

    The New York Design Center
    200 Lexington Avenue
    New York City

    Christie’s
    Auction: The Peter H B Frelinghuysen Jr Collection of Chinese Export Porcelain
    Rockefeller Center
    New York City

    The Modern Art of Antique Quilts

    Show: A Fisher Heritage Specialty
    Hayes Fine Arts Building 
    305 East 61st Street
    New York City
    Wednesday, January 25
    National Academy Museum and School 
    Exhibit: The Annual: 2012
    1083 Fifth Avenue
    New York City

    American Folk Art Museum 

    Music: 2 p.m. until 3 p.m.
    Performed by jazz guitarist Bill Wurtzel
    The Modern Art of Antique Quilts
    Show: A Fisher Heritage Specialty
    Hayes Fine Arts Building 
    305 East 61st Street
    New York City
    Thursday, January 26
    New York Historical Society Homes of Early New York
    Lecture: Birth of an American Style
    6:30 p.m.
    170 Central Park West
    New York City
    For tickets inquiries, contact: East Side House Settlement | 718-292-7392

    Winter Antiques Show Young Collector’s Night

    Park Avenue Armory
    643 Park Avenue @ 67th Street
    Show: 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.
    New York City

    Outsider Art Fair

    Preview
    7 West 34th Street
    New York City
    Friday, January 27
    National Academy Museum and School The Annual
    Exhibit: 2012
    1083 Fifth Avenue
    New York City
    The Modern Art of Antique Quilts
    Fisher Heritage Specialty
    Show: at Hayes Fine Arts Building 
    305 East 61st Street
    New York City
    Saturday, January 28, 29
    National Academy Museum and School
    The Annual: 2012 Exhibit
    1083 Fifth Avenue

     Bringing Home A Legend 

    A handful of rare and historical objects will go on view, during Americana Week in New York City. This time honored tradition kicked off yesterday at Keno Auctions with a gallery talk entitled American Still Life Painting in the 19th Century by Doctor William H. Gerdts.
    This lecture marked the beginning of a series of high profile art fairs, auctions, and showroom events. Americana Week is in fact two weeks of sales, viewings and symposium devoted to three centuries of American craftsmanship in all its forms, including important furniture, decorative arts, and of course, folk art. Young and old collectors will become transfixed by an impressive mix of the finest museum quality art, and antiques. Yours truly will make the rounds to most of these events, shopping for clients, and gathering materials for you lovely readers out there. I’m looking forward to a couple of impressive lectures and auctions at Christie’s as well as the January 24th event at 1stDibs entitled: Folk Tales – Bringing Folk Art Home.
    Life Guards from Just Folk 
    (Michael and Gael Mendelsohn Collection)
    Iconic Figures
    Cover photo: Marionettes, also from Just Folk 
    Extremely Rare 34 Star Flag
    Used as a national parade flag during the Civil War period it features four different size stars on a blue canton, Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques
    Above photos courtesy of 1stDibs
    All right reserved

    This will be an important selling exhibition of rare and extraordinary examples of American Folk Art and Ephemera curated by five of the country’s leading Americana specialists, and 1stdibs dealers including Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques, Just Folk and Judith and James Milne. Ames Gallery and A Bird in Hand will be displaying their antiques as well. Folk Tales is a group show of independent dealers from across the United States who will highlight collectible quilts, weathervanes, flags, outsider and tramp art, game boards, original-surface painted furniture, trade signs and one-of-a-kind pieces, all of which offer a fascinating view into the American decorative past. This show will include a broad range of items priced from the affordable (under-$500) to pique the interest of the budding collector to museum-quality to satisfy the ardent enthusiast ($100,000).

    January 24 – February 25, 2012

    1stDibs at New York Design Center
    200 Lexington Avenue, 10th Floor
    @ 33rd Street
    New York City
    Free and Open to the Public
    Monday – Friday: 9:00AM – 5:00PM
    Saturday 10:00AM – 5:00PM
  • Decorative Arts,  Design,  Industrial Furniture,  Interior Design,  Park Avenue Armory

    Pavilion of Art & Design at The Park Avenue Armory




    November 11 – 14, 2011

    Since its grand opening in Paris 15 years ago, the Pavilion of Art & Design fairs, better known as PAD, have been closely associated with presenting works of art of the highest quality which have been vetted by distinctive panels of experts. This year, PAD brought their “oeuvre d’art” to the prestigious Park Avenue Armory.
    Galerie Downtown

    This inaugural fair brought together 49 international galleries who are exhibiting works of Modern Art, Design, Decorative Arts, Photography, Jewelery and Tribal Art. The exhibit is inviting and full of design inspirations.  Many of the dealers are carrying some of the most exquisite pieces that I’ve ever laid eyes on.
    One such dealer is Galerie Downtown.  Its owner, François Laffanour created the gallery with a thoroughly avant-garde brief: the rehabilitation of 20th century architects’ furniture which had sunk into oblivion. He is championing the works of two pioneers of 20th century Decorative Arts: Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand (joint founder of the Union des Artists Modernes with Le Corbusier in 1929), as well as that of Serge Mouille and Isamu Noguchi. I like the fact that these blue-chip artists were passionate about freedom, they were able to re-invent far more than a way of life or a way of dwelling, rather a life project, no less, a manifesto of the period’s technical and scientific modernity. Charlotte Perriand once said “What interests me is people. Spare lines whose functional quality goes hand-in-hand with everyday gestures, and simple materials (wood, metal, bamboo) combined with a keen sense of detail contributed to the refinement of their works”. This in fact is a huge interest of mine as well.

    For this first Pavilion of Art and Design, the French architect Jean de Piépape exclusively designed Galerie Downtown’s stand with all the geometry and subtlety that are the hallmarks of his reputation. His deft selection of furniture and objects include a seating and a staircase by Jean Prouvé, a bench, seats and shelves by Charlotte Perriand.

    Park Avenue Armory
    643 Park Avenue
    (67th Street)
    New York, New York 10065
    212-744-8180
    Hours:  11 AM – 8 PM

    Jean Prouvé
    Circa 1942, Dining table
    Charlotte Perriand
    1955, “Shadow” chair
    Pierre Jeanneret
    Ca. 1955, Armless easy chair
    Charlotte Perriand
    1961, Bench with drawer box
  • Art,  Decorative Arts,  Events,  Fine Arts,  Park Avenue Armory

    The Fine Art and Antiques Show

    The Spring Show at the Park Avenue Armory


    Now that the first New York Spring Show is out of the way, I can comfortably reflect upon how vibrant and well organized it was. Kudos Mr. Clinton Howell for pulling one of the most memorable fair – to date.



    The opening night had such a great turn out that at some point, I even thought perhaps they were expecting a dozen head of states, but no, what was happening was the gathering of a great number of well dressed New Yorkers, who were gamed to enjoy some of the best art and antiques from around the world. I love how the show engaged its audience by having a variety of VIP tours. Just today, my husband and I were at a private tour over at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, enjoying the special exhibition Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels. The museum’s curator, Ms. Sarah D. Coffin, adroitly directed more than a dozen attendees (more than all the other tours combined). Truly, I was puzzled that not many people took advantage of these VIP tours. Since this was the 1st Spring Show, perhaps more people will join in the fun in the years to come.  The pictures above represent my key highlights, from Iliad Gallery, where classicism meets modernism, to those gorgeous carpets from Sonia Delaunay (there is a current exhibit of Ms. Dalaynay’s work at the Cooper-Hewitt until the beginning of June) at the Vojtech Blau to that not so beautiful easy chair from Alexander Cohane which happens to be one of the most comfortable seating you will ever have the pleasure of lounging in. The Spring Show had some earthly treasures for all those art and furniture lovers.
    Park Avenue Armory
    643 Park Avenue
    New York, NY 10065
    212-744-8180

    Daphne Alazraki Fine Art
    Vojtech Blau

    Geoffrey Diner Galler

    Michael Pashby Antiques

    www.michaelpashbyantiques.com

    Lost City Arts
    www.lostcityarts.com

    Jack Kilgore & Co.
    Douglas Dawson

    www.douglasdawson.com

    Robert Simon Fine Art

    www.robertsimon.com

    Carlotn Hobbs
    www.carltonhobbs.net

    RM Barokh Antiques

    Conru
    Alexander Cohane

    Photos by High End Weekly