Date: Fri 24-Sep-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: GWARD

Quick Words:

McElroy-Marion-Jackman

Full Text:

Marion Show Returns Bigger And Better

(with cuts)

By Bob Jackman

MARION, MASS. -- After a one-year hiatus, a bigger and better Marion Antiques

Show returned on its traditional weekend of August 20 to 22. Last year the

sponsoring Sippican Historical Society decided not to attempt a show during

extensive construction at the show site on the Tabor Academy campus. This year

the show moved into its new venue at Tabor's spacious, well-lighted Fish

Center, a new athletic facility. A record crowd shopped in 70 booths in room

settings. Exhibitors reported good to excellent sales.

Friday's preview party attracted 575 revelers, about 50 more than the previous

preview record. The combined attendance for Saturday and Sunday was over

2,700, an increase of almost 1,000 visitors over previous years. Historical

Society liaison Frank McNamee stated, "I think the increased attendance was

helped by better advertising with an assist from Mother Nature." The weekend

was unseasonably cool for mid August, and rain fell throughout Saturday.

Promoter Trisha McElroy was among those praising Tabor's new Fish Center. She

enthused, "The new facility helps in many ways. We have eliminated the use of

a tent for five booths. In this new space we have been able to enlarge the

show both with more dealers and larger booths. We've gone from 50 to 70

exhibitors. Previously only a few 20-foot booths were possible. This year we

offered everybody 20-foot booths, and most chose them. A few went for 18, 16,

and 14-foot booths."

She continued, "The new facility is also very attractive with lots of natural

sunlight provided by skylights. Of course with any new facility, there are

quirks that need to be worked out, but that's minor fine tuning. I don't

anticipate any significant changes in next year's show."

Most of the 20 additional dealers had been on the waiting list for two or more

years. Jean Broderick reported, "Don spoke to Trish about the show several

years ago, but there was no space available at that time. That got us on the

waiting list. With the new building, we got our opportunity."

First time exhibitor Christine Vining was favorably impressed. She

volunteered, "It's been great. The preview was very well attended, and they

bought. Today the aisles have been jammed all day. It's not just a crowd, but

a crowd that buys. I'm exhausted trying to keep up with them. It's a dealer's

dream come true."

Furniture sales were good. Since the inception of the show, Falmouth dealers

Hilary and Paulette Nolan have had one of the premier furniture booths. This

year they offered a diminutive highboy that was extensively praised. After the

show Hilary commented, "It was a beautiful show. We did some selling and some

buying. For example, we sold a good, labeled Queen Anne mirror and a Windsor

side chair in original paint. Probably our two best pickups were an Eighteenth

Century settle and a good ship model."

A new furniture exhibitor at the show was Douglas Jenkins. Doug reported, "It

was a very good show. We sold a dining room table to one client and a fine set

of chairs to another. A couple other nifty items were an Italian pottery urn

and a wall sconce. It was a beautiful show. The dealers were a sincere,

genuine, enthusiastic bunch of people."

First time exhibitor Randall DeCouteau commented, "I really enjoyed the show.

It was my first time there after three years on the waiting list. For me it

was very strong on smalls, and I sold two American Impressionist paintings.

The smalls included a large quantity of blown and pressed glass. The paintings

were by Baird and Starkweather. Starkweather was curator of the Spanish

Institute in New York, and the back of his paintings always identify the

location, weather, light conditions, time of day, etc. The painting I sold was

done on the Magdalen Islands nestled between Nova Scotia, Quebec, PEI, and

Newfoundland."

Art dealers were enthusiastic about the antique show and the show supplement

that advertised the show. Douglas, Mass. exhibitor Donna Kmetz summarized her

show experience by stating, "It was a very good show for us. We sold four oils

and two watercolors. Most were landscapes of the Blackstone Valley. The crowd

was wonderful. The preview party was well attended and the crowd was highly

interested. We'll definitely be back."

A few weeks later Mrs Kmetz added, "The response to our ad in The Bee [

Antiques and the Arts Weekly ] show section was wonderful. We got eight calls,

and from that we have four ongoing contacts that have already included some

sales. Calls came from both collectors and galleries beyond both our area and

the show area. There is something current about show supplements. Readers feel

the items are here today, but they will be gone tomorrow."

Art specialist Roy Mennell of the Bradford Trust had offered similar comments

at the preview party. Roy stated, "We had five works illustrated in the show

supplement, and we got at least one call on each painting. We were having a

good show before we pulled up to the hall. But it's also a wonderful show.

It's always been one of the more beautiful shows in New England, but this new

hall brings it to another level. This show is worth a long drive given the

caliber and quantity of what's here."

Art dealer Palmer LeRoy commented, "I think the show has gone very well. It's

a great show and very pretty. This new gymnasium is special and it adapts

nicely to the show. We've done business at the party and both days. We sold

oils by C.E.L. Green, Joseph Hatfield, C.F. Pierce, and Arthur Diehl. There

was a strong interest in things maritime. For example, we sold a Frederick

Cozzens lithograph. Trisha McElroy is an excellent promoter. She's a crisp,

efficient, friendly manager."

A void at the show was the absence of Richard Hagan. For the past six years

Richard had been a partner in Alfred J. Walker Fine Art in Boston. He died on

May 30 while solo sea kayaking off Tiverton, R.I. Richard was an accomplished

outdoorsman who enjoyed swapping travel stories about experiences in the sub

Arctic.

Behind Richard's cordial smile was a warm and generous soul. He was a

knowledgeable dealer who was eager to share that knowledge. Richard was that

hospitable person who purchased a cup of coffee for a booth visitor, and then

asked, "You've been talking all morning, would you like a cup of coffee?"

One of Richard's favorite charities was the American Indian Friends Coalition,

5 Bliss Road, Dartmouth, Mass. 02748.

Bert Rosengarten of Antiques on Cambridge Street in Cambridge, Mass. was

highly enthusiastic about the show. He offered, "We've done very well. It's

one of my favorite shows. It attracts a fabulous clientele that buys

aggressively. I think it's the prettiest show in Massachusetts. There's some

gutsy merchandise here offered by full-time dealers."

Mr Rosengarten continued, "People want a decorative quality. I brought the

best I could find. The most powerful merchandise at this show could do well in

New York and Paris. There's also some great Americana and some maritime items

of local interest. I sold a fabulous set of eight Louis XVI chairs, a

wonderful pair of sconces, a pair of candelabra, and some early maps."

Sippican was an earlier name for Marion. Each year, the Sippican Historical

Society designates a project that will receive the proceeds from the antiques

show. This year the project was the restoration of the Old Pharmacy building

at 148 Front Street. Coincidentally, the architect for that project is Will

Saltonstall, the same architect who designed the Fish Center at which the

antique show was housed.