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Innovations At Annual Boston Antiques Show

By Bob Jackman

BOSTON, MASS. -- Innovation was the operative word at the Nineteenth Annual

Boston Antiques Show held from March 4 to 7. One dramatic innovation was a

move to the Boston Center for the Arts that provided a striking setting for

the 360 dealer show. The show's established audience followed it to the new

location, producing both good attendance and sales.

Jacqueline Sideli founded the Annual Boston Antiques Show in 1981, and she has

continued promoting ever since it. This year she formed a partnership with

Fusco and Four. The past two years this promotional team had presented the

International Boston Art Show, and the team worked smoothly once again in

March.

This year's show continued a tradition of presenting outstanding painting and

art dealers. Ten prominent art dealers exhibited works within their

specialized fields, and they reported good sales. There was a rumor on the

floor that one dealer had sold a painting for over $50,000.

Al Walker of Alfred Walker Fine Art of Boston commented, "We've sold a very

nice Frank Millet. We are very happy with the show and often we have good

follow-up sales from this show."

Another happy art exhibitor was Peter Clarke, of Richardson-Clarke Gallery,

who stated, "We sold a Jane Peterson and three other works. Also as a result

of the show, we sent out a Severin Roesen still life on approval. The

attendance was good for the whole weekend."

Jeff Brown of Brown-Corbin Fine Art was delighted with the new setting. "The

show is going well. It's a lovely location, bright and airy."

He then turned to a painting and added, "This Harriet Randall Lumis

[1870-1953] painting has a story. She moved to Springfield in 1892 and married

an architect. Her home and studio was at 28 Bedford Road in Springfield, and

she became a mainstay of the Springfield art community.

"The painting captures her home with the gardens in full bloom," the dealer

continued. "Curiously the work descended in the family of her gardener.

Perhaps she was so elated with the garden, she painted it and gave the

painting to her gardener."

Roy Mennell of The Bradford Trust reported strong sales. "Our show started

when the Show Section advertising the show came out," he stated. "We got four

emails and five phone calls on the three paintings illustrated in the section.

The Walter Lansil sold from the ad. Some of those callers have visited the

show.

"We sold two paintings on preview night, one Friday, and three today. The

artists include William Hart, Ralph Blakeblock, Harold Dunbar, and Robert

Emmett Owen."

Another art dealer who liked the new location was Susanna Fichera who

volunteered, "I love this location and this building. I've sold three

paintings and another is going out for a test drive. It's been a nice, steady

crowd."

As with other Sideli shows in Boston during the past several years, the

preview party was capped off with a Post Preview Party at Skinner's Boston

gallery. The highlight of that event was a talk by Wall Street Journal

antiques editor Alexandra Peers. She addressed recent changes in the shifting

antiques market. Her talk was well received by the 200 people who attended

that party.

A major innovation in this year's show was the presentation of nine Twentieth

Century exhibitors. The largest subgroup in that field was in the Arts and

Crafts area, with three exhibitors.

JMW Gallery of Boston mounted a major exhibition of furniture and art pottery.

Mike Witt commented, "It's been a good show with good sales. We've met people

I would not have met in the store. Probably the weather kept the crowd down

some on Sunday, but there was a steady stream of people. The promoters had the

area well plowed and shoveled so there were no problems packing out at the end

of the show."

Another prominent Arts and Crafts exhibitor was David Rudd of Dalton's

American Decorative Arts. His booth included a rare L & JG Stickley

trapezoidal corner cabinet. Rudd observed, "The show's gone pretty good. I've

had some decent sales. I tell everybody who comes in, `I'm interested in

buying.' I have a couple of possibilities."

Savoy Antiques of Lenox, Mass., featured English and French furniture that

spanned the Victorian, Arts and Crafts and Art Deco periods. Savoy reported,

"I could not be happier. My stuff is a city type of thing."

Another area of concentration was Twentieth Century designer costume jewelry.

Rover and Lorber of New York City presented a large jewelry booth. Adrienne

Lorber stated, "I've been pleasantly surprised. Something good always comes

out of presenting your merchandise. We're doing okay. People are not familiar

with our stuff. A lot of times we have follow-ups from shows."

Another dealer exhibiting in the same field was Lorial Davidson of Premier

Designs. She commented, "I've done very well. Estate jewelry is selling well,

but the designer costume is slower. I do mostly Modernism shows. I'm doing a

general antique for the first time."

Twentieth Century Scandinavian pottery sold well at the Antik booth. Kim

Hostler confided, "We're doing well. Our pottery is selling steadily, and we

might have a piece of furniture sold. We sold at the preview and we have

continued selling."

Another innovation was a change in the charity sponsor. For the past 16 years

the sponsor had been the Boys and Girls Club of Boston. This year the club ran

its own show and the promoters found a new preview sponsor in The New England

Baptist Hospital.

The hospital is a leading provider of musculoskeletal, sports medicine and

cardiovascular care. It has consistently received high marks from patients and

regulatory organizations. Each year since 1994 Baptists has scored in the top

one percent for patient satisfaction in a survey of patients at 500 hospitals.

The Baptist enjoys a rich history of delivering compassionate patient care and

advancing orthopedic medicine. The hospital ranks among the nation's foremost

providers of hip and knee replacement, and continues to pioneer new methods of

diagnosis and treatment. A recent patient was Florida golfer Jack Nicklaus who

underwent left hip replacement at the New England Baptist Bone and Joint

Institute.

It is fitting that New England Baptist became associated with the Boston

Antiques Show. Numerous donors have added to the hospital's decor by

generously bestowing many fine antiques and paintings. Mr and Mrs Thomas

Nicholson, Dr and Mrs Peter Anas, and many other hospital staff members are

antiques enthusiasts. They thoroughly enjoyed the show, meeting exhibitors,

and discussing the works on display.

Of the Nineteenth Century dealers who have done the show for years, Marie

Miller of Marie Miller Quilts was most enthused. She volunteered, "It has

already been as fine a Boston show as we have every had. I have no doubt that

it will be our best ever.

"We've sold quilts and five pieces of furniture. We are selling to the same

people we sold to in the other location," she continued. "We are also drawing

from the local residential neighborhood. They buy a piece of furniture, and

then carry it three blocks home."

Another longtime exhibitor who did great was Jeff Merida of Lanham and Merida.

"I've done well again. She had a great crowd today. I've sold mostly

furniture. Boston is a great market for me. They really like my taste here."

At the booth of Orkney and Yost, Neil Orkney reported, "We're having another

excellent show. We've sold six pieces of French furniture, all of our

lighting, and a lot of jewelry. This is the only New England show we do, and

it's a strong show for us."

One of the exciting Nineteenth Century dealers added to the show was

Renaissance Antiques of Portland, Me. They displayed a number of exciting

items including a circa 1890 great folk dresser from western Maine with hearts

and tramp art decoration. Richard Smith enthused, "We're having a terrific

show. It's our first time here, and people really like our prices. It's a new

crowd for us."

Bob Frishman of Bell-time Clocks summarized, "It's been a good show. Several

clocks have found new homes. I do Marty Silverman's New Year's Show in this

building, and the South End likes my clocks. So I decided to do this show."

The show was enhanced by several special exhibitions. Along a 50-foot wall,

renowned folk art dealers John Sideli and Melissa Greene of Sheffield, Mass.

hung an alluring display of Nineteenth Century American signs.

The exhibit featured both three-dimensional and flat works. The pieces

originally identified such diverse businesses as dry goods stores, stagecoach

houses, fraternal organizations and pharmacists. All signs had period surfaces

and were in fine condition, and all were for sale.

A second exhibition featured 20 pieces of furniture created by students in the

highly regarded furniture program at North Bennett Street School. A similar

number of works from the school was on exhibition at Ted Lansdown's Boston

Architectural Center on Newbury Street. Works included both traditional and

contemporary designs. This was a very popular exhibit among showgoers. These

works were not for sale.

The third exhibition was "En Mer," a single painting by Max Bohm (American,

1868-1923) that hung over the reception desk. As visitors walked up the entry,

the massive 84 by 96-inch oil on canvas enclosed by a suitably massive frame

towered before them. It depicted three sailors straining to reduce sail in

gale force winds.

The work was recognized as one of Bohm's masterpieces in 1898 when it won the

Gold Medal at the Paris Salon. Owner Al Walker confided, "It's a great

location for a work like that. There has been interest from several parties.

Expensive works like that usually require some consideration and arrangements.

It might sell after the show."