Winter Antiques Show
In its 62nd year, the 2016 Winter Antiques Show in New York City is the leading antiques fair in America. With 73 exhibitors, the show beckons with its vast variety, ranging from antiquities, medieval weaponry, Old Master paintings, Americana, modern design, to contemporary Asian art. The show goes through January 31st at the Park Avenue Armory.
Always well attended by collectors, designers, curators, and dealers, this year the fair did not disappoint in it offerings. Previously exhibitors were restricted to bringing artwork that dated up to and including 1969. Recognizing the current trend to mix the old with the new, for the first time this year dealers can now bring contemporary objects. While not all booths have taken advantage of the date extension, many have explored it in fun and creative ways. Below are some of our favorite booths from the show.
At the front of the show entrance, the booth of Elle Shushan beckons with its bold pink walls. Specializing in portrait miniatures, Ms. Shushan reveals with the exquisite photographs by Bettina von Zwehl that the medium has continued beyond the usual antique painted ivories.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Robert Young Antiques has on offer a striking love token. Hewn and carved from a single block of stone, this architectural feat is a sure way to win the heart of any folk art lover.
An ancient art form used for modern purposes, this 1898-1899 prayer book was commissioned by Gustave Eiffel for his daughter Claire Salles. This and a large selection of medieval manuscripts and works of art can be found at Les Enluminures.
In Joan B. Mirviss’ beautifully spare and architectural booth, antique and modern Japanese ceramics mingle together in a harmonious whole.
The outside walls of the 19th century Aesthetic specialist exhibitor, The Fine Art Society booth, two 2013 lightboxes by Chris Levine surprise show guests as they turn the corner.
Didier turned the idea of the lighted-jewel box on its head with an architectural-minded booth. Windows allow for a peek at jewelry running the gamut from early 20th century Newlyn School brooches to a Robert Indiana Love ring.
A massive lead urn by Paul Manship dominates Gerald Peter Gallery’s booth. According to exhibitor Alice Duncan, this and three other urns were commissioned by Manship for the garden of a private collector. All four of these behemoths are available to be taken home by any buyer at the fair.
For the collector who enjoys a bit of tongue-and-cheek fun, Paradox by Danish artist Keld Moseholm is the way to go. It is arranged with several Harry Bertoia sonambulents in the booth of mid-century dealer Lost City Arts.
Picasso ceramics and 18th and 19th century paintings work well together in the booth of Alexandre Gallery. Shed of their usual gilt frames, works by Thomas Cole, Eastman Johnson, and others are strikingly unfussy and modern.
At Tillou Gallery’s booth, a display of ice skates might offer a better mode of transportation in snow-bound New York City.
Once owned by Dowager Tsarina Marie Feodorovna, this hardstone and enamel seal in the shape of an owl at A La Vielle Russie charms with its precise craftsmanship.
Chicago is represented by an abstract by mid-century 20th artist William Grayson Smythe. It hangs next to several Art Noveaun vases in James Infante’s pleasingly eclectic booth.
A flock of porcelain, Maren Kloppmann’s Murmuration II from 2015 easily mixes with mid-century modern in Hostler Burrow’s booth.
Newcomer to the Winter Antiques Show, Apter-Fredericks of London, has taken the New York City skyline as inspiration for its booth design, transporting a posh Manhattan penthouse into the 7th Regiment Armory.