Tour the Glass House: An Icon of Mid-Century Modern Design

The Glass House designed by Philip Johnson, New Canaan, Connecticut

“I have very expensive wallpaper,” Philip Johnson said of The Glass House, an iconic mid-century modern building he designed in New Canaan, Connecticut. Indeed, the “wallpaper” is the vast, unfolding landscape outside the clear glass walls of the house, featuring a pond, tall pines, and meandering stone walls.

The Glass House is just one of several structures Johnson designed on the site, but it’s certainly one of the most striking. Standing inside of a building with nowhere to go where you can’t be seen (except the bathroom) is both an unsettling and inspiring experience.

We visited on a lovely sunny spring day, but wondered what it might be like to shelter inside the glass house during a thunderstorm or a blizzard. Nothing but a sheet of clear glass would separate you from the drama of nature outside.

That very same glass created a puzzle when it came to lighting choices. At night, the clear glass became a mirror reflecting any indoor lights. On Philip Johnson’s first night in the house, he said, “I turned on the lights and all I see is me, me, me, me, me!” After that, outdoor lighting was installed to light the trees and surrounding area, and only a few small lights remain on the inside. High school students in New Canaan created a fascinating video of how the Glass House changes from evening into night time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOzimeZDFKo

Glass House | Sculpture Gallery | Frank Stella - Raft of the Medusa

Raft of the Medusa by Frank Stella at the Glass House Sculpture Gallery

Another favorite stop on our tour was the Sculpture Gallery, where works by Frank Stella, Robert Morris, Andrew Lord, and George Segal play with light and shadows streaming in from the greenhouse-like ceiling. The Painting Gallery just down the path displays works by Andy Warhol and Julian Schnabel on huge, rotating walls that allow you to rearrange the art however you’d like.

Read more in a New York Times article that came out soon after the house opened to the public.

The only way to truly experience the Glass House is to visit it in person, and I highly recommend that you go! The site is open during the summer from May through November, any day of the week except Tuesdays. Plan your visit on the Glass House website.

We were thrilled to have a chance to experience Johnson’s vision.

This post was co-authored by Jane Prentiss, Director of 20th Century Design, and Kathryn Gargolinski, Web Marketing Specialist at Skinner, Inc. after a visit to the Glass House and Noyes residence on a tour organized by the Boston Architectural College.

The Romance between Wedgwood and Antiquities

Decorated Greek vases and Roman oil lamps bring us back in touch with the romance of ancient history and archaeology. Wedgwood, with its many classical Roman and Greek reliefs in black basalt and jasper ware as well as encaustic decorated wares, also portrays a certain romance with ancient times. Wedgwood collectors and antiquities collectors both love this material culture, and how it is represented in the form of pots, vases, and ornamental wares. It is intriguing to see how the world of antiquities informs and inspires Wedgwood.

Greek Provincial Red Figure Pelike, likely southern Italy, 4th century B.C.E., Auctioned for $38,512.50 in 2012

Wedgwood Encaustic Decorated Black Basalt Vase, England, 19th century, Auctioned for $5,332.50 in 2010

Wedgwood artists were influenced by antiquities in the forms they chose to work with, including oil lamps, canopic jars and ruined column vases, as well as the subjects they depicted. Popular subjects include classical figures, shapes, architecture, and even the use of hieroglyphs in the Egyptian revival style.

Note the red-figured Greek provincial pelike of the 4th century and the Wedgwood encaustic decorated black basalt vase of the 19th century. Certainly the Wedgwood artist had a pelike similar to this in mind when he painted his vase.

I recently visited the San Antonio Museum of Art and noticed that they display antiquities alongside their Wedgwood counterparts; it’s amazing just how well they work together. It is my hope that some collectors of antiquities or Wedgwood will follow the museum’s lead and extend or expand their collecting to own complimenting examples of the other’s wares.

Hopefully this romance between Wedgwood and antiquities will continue and we will see more crossover between the two subjects so very different, yet with so much in common.

512px-November13-10_CanopicJarWithHumanHead_KunsthistorischesMuseum

Example of a Canopic Jar

Wedgwood Light Blue Jasper Dip Canopic Jar and Cover, England, early 19th century, Auctioned for $7,702.50 in 2010

Pair of Wedgwood Rosso Antico and Black Basalt Egyptian Sphinxes, England, late 18th century

Wedgwood Blue and White Jasper Double Ruined Column Vase, England, early 19th century

Canopic Jar Image By Captmondo [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Meet the Experts: Devon Gray, Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts, Part II

The Adventures of a Rare Book Expert

Rare Book | Edward Gordon Craig, editor. The Mask

Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1976), editor. The Mask: a Monthly Journal of the Art of the Theatre. Florence: Morandi, Tipografia Bodoniana, 1908-1912. Estimate $800-1,200.

Devon Gray is the new Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts at Skinner. Read part I, How to Fall in Love with Medieval Manuscripts, then read on for some of Devon’s favorite discoveries from her years buying and selling rare books.

What do you love most about books?

The timelessness of them. We use books exactly the way they were intended to be used, whether new or old. You pick up a manuscript from 1350, open it, and flip through the pages in exactly the same way as the first reader did several hundred years ago. Even when the spelling is different and the type face is different, you can commune with the book. You can laugh at a joke, read a recipe, learn about an autopsy from the 15th century, or follow accounts from the 1600s of people traveling to Florida. In my experience, books’ values are always indexed to their content.

Your specialty is books made before 1700. Why is that?

At my store, James & Devon Gray Booksellers in Harvard square, we specialized in books made before 1700 mostly because that’s what we liked best. A John Steinbeck first edition in the dust jacket is fairly easy to understand and to learn about. You can compare it to other examples. But an index of prohibited books from 1570 written in Latin is a mystery to most people, and it’s a mystery I want to solve. Some people think that all books dating before 1700 focus on religion, but that’s not the case. I took a whole summer of Latin to help me get started.

What’s the most interesting book discovery you ever made?

One day, someone came into my store with some books to sell, and one of them was Volume III of a three volume set of Kenneth White’s History of England. On its own, that’s not a very interesting book, especially since the person only had one volume out of three. The book did not interest me, but I opened it up, and found an inscription that read Liber Bibliothecae Harvardianae (Harvard Library) in Latin, with the year 1706.

I happened to know that the Harvard library burned to the ground in 1764. The wood frame building was built in 1672, and housed books and scientific instruments for almost 100 years. Then, during a smallpox outbreak in Boston, when the college was closed for the holidays, people came over to Cambridge to stay in the building to avoid getting the disease. Somehow, they started a fire that burned the building to the ground.

The current library has a list of the titles of the original books given by John Harvard to start the library, most of which were burnt in the fire … except for a few that were checked out at the time of the catastrophe. This book wasn’t necessarily one of those, it could easily have been sold off before 1764 by one of the Harvard college presidents.

I bought the book, and I could barely sleep that night. I ran to the University Archives the next day, and discovered that my book was indeed one of the few survivors of the Harvard library fire! This book had been somewhere in Cambridge since the 1760s, unable to be returned to the lost library.

That’s an amazing story! We’re sure you’ll keep making wonderful discoveries as Director of the Fine Books & Manuscripts department at Skinner.

I hope so! One of the habits I’ve developed is that I really love to delve into the research. When a book comes in, I want to find out what makes it important or special. That extra information adds value to the work. For example, I recently evaluated a statement of the Presbyterian church from 1809. What makes it special is that it’s printed by Jane Aiken, who’s also the first female to ever print a bible. Knowing that story makes the book more meaningful and valuable.

I hope to discover many stories and connections like this during my time at Skinner. If you have old or rare books or manuscripts and you’re wondering, “What are my books worth?” contact me at books@skinnerinc.com.

Meet the Experts: Devon Gray, Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts, Part I

How to Fall in Love with Medieval Manuscripts

Devon Gray | Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts | Skinner, Inc.

Devon Gray, Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts at Skinner, Inc.

Devon Gray joined Skinner in 2012 as Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts, after more than twenty years as the co-owner and founder of James & Devon Gray Booksellers in Harvard Square, Boston. Here is her story about how she fell in love with old, rare books and manuscripts.

When did you buy your first antique book?

When I was in college, my husband and I loved going to second-hand bookstores in Harvard Square. One day, we found a book from the 1600s. It was a Latin/Greek lexicon printed in Amsterdam, and it cost $175. With most antiques, if something is from 1850, it’s considered really old. If we had found a painting from the 1600s, it seemed to me that it would be worth a lot more than that! So we bought the book.

What happened next?

I was an undergraduate at Harvard, and I looked in the course catalogue for a class about old books. I found one about medieval manuscripts taught by Rodney Dennis, who’s since passed away. The class met at the Houghton library, which is a rare book library. In the exhibition room, a portrait of Melville hangs on the wall and the room is full of incunables, or books made before 1500. It’s such a special, magical place, and it really hooked me. For my last two years at Harvard, I took any class that met at the Houghton Library.

What was your favorite part of that first class?

For our final project, Rodney picked out a medieval manuscript for each of us, and left it in the reading room with our name on it but no information. We had to write a description of where it was made, when it was made, what the text was, what was missing, and what was peculiar about it. I found that process fascinating. Unlike modern books, manuscripts don’t have a title page, colophon, or any information explaining where and when they were written. Identifying them requires understanding the styles of handwriting and the characteristics of different time periods and countries.

How do you turn a love of medieval manuscripts into a job?

My husband and I got married after graduating from college, borrowed some money, and bought books. We started attending antiquarian book fairs, and I also made use of my skill at bookbinding. Since I could repair books, we could buy things that weren’t in the best shape.

What’s the most unique book that you own?

We have a beautifully bound book that was probably put together in the early part of the 1700s in Germany. It contains sermons and prayer cards, like they still have at Catholic churches today. The cards were printed with images of the saints, the virgin, and baby Jesus, and someone carefully cut out the clothing and put fabric behind the image. They used rough, brown fabric for St. Francis and silver lace for Jesus. It’s really special, and I’ve never seen anything else like it.

What are your plans for the Skinner Fine Books & Manuscripts Department?

I plan to hold two Boston auctions each year. Since I’m very comfortable with early material, I’m sure I’ll see more early books. But New England is also rich in histories and works pertaining to the geographic area and people who lived here, like Ralph Waldo Emerson. I’m also interested in great presidential material.

There are so many great books and documents in New England, and I want to get everyone’s attention about what’s going on at Skinner. If you’re looking for more information, you can visit the Books & Manuscripts Department page.

Meet the Experts: Judith Dowling, Director of Asian Works of Art, Part II

Expert appraisers of all manner of fine art and decorative objects work together at Skinner auction house to find, appraise, and research rare, beautiful, and historically important items. In this blog series, we will meet some of these experts and learn the stories behind their success.

Skinner recently welcomed Judith Dowling as Director of the Asian Works of Art department. Part I of the interview describes her career path and plans for the Skinner Asian Works of Art department. In this post, we’ll learn more about her favorite objects.

Discovering Antiquities and Post-war Japanese Art

Chinese Painting | Album of Paintings "Hai Pai Yi Yun"

Two leaves from an album of Chinese paintings featured in the April 20-21 Asian Works of Art auction (Lot 185, Est. $10,000-20,000)

When did you first travel to Asia?

While I was in graduate school studying Asian art, my husband had a sabbatical, and we took it in Japan. Before that, I’d visited Japan once or twice, but living there allowed me to immerse myself in the culture. I also went to China for several weeks, very soon after the country had opened up to the West. After I opened my gallery in Boston, I returned to Japan regularly looking for material.

What types of objects did you buy on these trips?

My interests have always been with traditional Japanese art, not art that was created for export from Japan. This covers a time span from prehistoric ceramics right through to the early formation of the Meiji period. At this time, a lot of artists still created traditional paintings and ceramics. After 1868, Japan opened up to the rest of the world, and I found that material after this time had too much Western style and influence for my taste. I stuck with early ceramics, Buddhist art, and paintings, as well as some folk art.

Did you keep any great finds for yourself?

I decided that it seemed counter-intuitive for me to keep my best things as I bought them over the years. If you do that, clients notice. They say, “She’s got the best things, and I want those.” To avoid this conflict of interest, I decided to collect post-war Japanese art. I’ve built up an impressive collection of post-war Japanese oil on canvas, etchings, modern etchings, and sculpture.

What made you decide to start that collection?

In the early days when I had just opened my gallery, I would go to auctions in New York, and I would see these post-war Japanese paintings. They were beautiful, and nobody was buying them. So I started buying them, and developed a whole new area of interest.

It was great fun, but I do think that out of all of the antiquities I found, I probably should have kept one or two!

Is there a particular object that you really regret selling?

Yes, it was a magnificent hand scroll by one of the great artists of the Rimpa school named Honami Kōetsu, featuring gorgeous calligraphy, paintings, and gold and silver. I wish I had kept that. But it’s very hard to keep merchandise like that and keep a business going.

When you give seminars or speak about Asian Art, what is your favorite topic?

I like to do a survey of Japanese art starting from very old prehistoric art and early ceramics through the influence of China coming in. There isn’t much exposure in the West to Asian art or culture. I’m so thrilled to have learned about these different cultures and to now have the opportunity to share my knowledge and experiences.

The next Asian Works of Art Auction will take place April 20th and 21st in Boston.

Meet the Experts: Judith Dowling, Director of Asian Works of Art, Part I

Skinner recently welcomed Judith Dowling as Director of the Asian Works of Art department. How does one go from an interest in Asian art, to owning a gallery, to running a department at Skinner Auction House? Here is her story.

The Freedom and Beauty of Japanese Art

Judith Dowling, Director of Asian Works of Art at Skinner, Inc.

How did you first become interested in Asian Art?

The love for Asian works of art has been a part of me for a long time. When I was a young teenager, I went to the museum and I saw calligraphy for the first time. I thought it was beautiful. And then when I was told that it was a written language, I was fascinated.

Later on, I worked as assistant to the registrar at the Rhode Island School of Design, and became friendly with the curator of the Asian Collection, the late Elizabeth Casey. They had a fabulous collection of Japanese No robes and woodblock prints, among other things. I followed up on that experience working for a gallery in Boston. I was very interested in Asian items at this point, trying to read on my own and conducting my own research. Finally, I decided to go back to school. I received my Masters degree in East Asian studies from Harvard University.

Do you prefer Japanese or Chinese art?

I like both Chinese and Japanese art, but after I studied the difference between the two, I decided that I probably liked Japanese art better. It appealed to me more. Japanese art was heavily influenced by China throughout its history, but it had more freedom. It wasn’t as canonized or strict.

So I studied Japanese art, and I also studied the language and the culture. However, I didn’t want to be a scholar. So I thought how can I handle these objects I love without teaching or working at a museum? I decided to open my own gallery.

What was it like starting your own business?

They say in the first five years of a business you know if you’re going to fail or succeed. You have to be persistent and know that you’re going to have failures. The only way to learn is to just make the best of it and move forward. The Judith Dowling Asian Art Gallery on Charles Street in Boston remained open for over 20 years, so I’d say it was a success.

What are your plans for the Skinner Asian department?

Ko-Imari Dish, featured in the Asian Works of Art auction on April 20-21 in Boston (Lot 59, Est. $800-1,200)

I’m terribly excited to find more Japanese and Korean material to bring into the Skinner Asian Works of Art department. It’s a great time to buy Japanese or Korean art if you know where to look and can find the best material.

Right now, the market is focused on China, and the Chinese government and upper middle class are buying art all over the world.

Skinner plays a role because of the wealth of our area, where historically, a lot of material came in from the China trade. Our recent Asian Art – Marlborough auction did so well, I think, because even though many of the items were not masterpieces, they were beautifully executed. There’s a real market for that.

I’m also looking forward to the next Asian Works of Art Auction, taking place April 20th and 21st in Boston. This lovely early enamel plate from Japan will be one of the works featured in the sale.

Continue reading about Judith Dowling’s favorite objects, from antiquities to post-war Japanese art.

Meet the Experts: Cara Elmslie, Director of Discovery Auctions

Mixing Casual Country with More Formal Styles to Create Your Own Aesthetic

Cara Elmslie, Director of Discovery Auctions

Experts work behind the scenes every day at Skinner to put together auctions full of unique, important, and beautiful fine art and antiques. Cara Elmslie joined Skinner in 2011 as head of the Discovery department, where she handles over a thousand lots of material every single month. This week the Discovery auction is featuring Country Americana and Jewelry, two of our most popular offerings.

What excites you most about the March Discovery Auction?

What I really love about this sale is the huge variety of beautiful things: from the painted pine furniture to the more formal Chippendale and Queen Anne-style pieces.

In setting up the preview, I had a good time selecting objects and arranging them in a way that really shows you don’t need to have just one single style in your home. You can choose your favorite pieces and mix them up to create your own aesthetic. Country and formal styles can and do go together.

What attracts people to Discovery auctions?

People love a treasure hunt, and that’s what you get when you come to a Skinner Discovery auction. Country Americana is highlighted in our monthly Discovery auction three times each year, and we had such a variety of great inventory waiting for this sale. Both Country Americana and Jewelry are very popular collecting areas in New England, and it’s exciting to have them both featured in a Discovery sale in the same month.

We have over 1,600 lots in this week’s sale. With such a huge stock of art and antiques to browse through, there’s definitely going to be something for everyone. I overheard one woman who was browsing the preview say, “Oh look—these are the dishes we grew up with!”

Discovery Auction | Estate of Susan Parrish | Federal Pine Dressing Table

Decorated Federal Pine Dressing Table from the Estate of Susan Parrish

Tell us a little more about the Country Americana offered in Discovery auctions.

The Country Americana style is very much a part of New England culture. This month, we’re offering more than 100 lots from the estate of Susan Parrish, a very well-respected collector and dealer in American antique furniture and textiles.

People travel here from all over the country to find good values. Obviously the New England style is more prevalent here but it is still popular elsewhere. One dealer we spoke with recently moved from Arizona, where he said the painted furniture, the “shabby-chic” look, is popular with the younger generation eager to reduce their carbon footprint by buying recycled furniture.

However, in the midwest and southwest, Country Americana is harder to come by. At Skinner, we find authentic, local antiques made in New Hampshire, Massachusetts or other parts of New England every day. If it isn’t a period piece, it’s a well-crafted, handmade reproduction in a similar style.

Discovery auction | Wool Indian Trade Blankets

Wool Indian trade blankets from the Estate of Susan Parrish

What are your favorite lots in the auction?

I have many! To start, I love the textiles from the Susan Parrish Estate, especially the wool Indian trade blankets, and the hand-stitched quilts amaze me. A beautiful example is lot 1208, an Amish piece with a subtle, hand-stitched motif. The elaborate stitching combined with simple fabric piecing and subdued color choices really epitomizes the aesthetic of the sale.

White-painted Glazed Iron Rolling Greenhouse

Several pieces of furniture demonstrate this aesthetic quite beautifully. Lot 1113, a Federal pine dressing table also from the Parrish Estate, is a feminine vanity that mixes a painted country style with graceful details. I love the simple, elegant style of Lot 1072, a pine tavern table. The table is almost modern in the way the legs taper, yet the piece clearly has age and history. On the more formal side, lot 522 is a Queen Anne cherry drop-leaf table, and I love the subtlety of the pad feet.

Then there are the unusual, wonderful things you’d have trouble finding again, like lot 886, a small rolling terrarium. You could park it in your yard or on your patio, and I’m sure it would function just like a larger greenhouse. I would love to own it.

If you can’t make it out to Marlborough, Massachusetts for the auction, you can browse the preview from home on our Facebook page, or visit the online auction catalogue to preview and bid.

Preserving the Past: What is the True Value of Silver?

Value of Silver | Reed & Barton Sterling Silver Bride's Basket

Reed & Barton Sterling Bride's Basket, late 19th/early 20th century, Lot 345 in the March 31, 2012 European Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction

It was once quite fashionable to display a silver tea and coffee service, a pair of candelabra, or a nice center bowl in your home. Just a few decades ago, fine dining was still a frequent occurrence and the appearance of a fine set of sterling flatware at the dinner table along with a set of Wedgwood china and some Baccarat stemware really set the tone of elegance, and added to the overall experience.

On today’s dinner table, more often than not we use silver plated or stainless steel flatware, and dishes and glasses compliments of Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Crate and Barrel, or Pottery Barn. Personally, I prefer stainless steel for everyday use and silver plate for more formal use. For some, daily dinnerware consists of paper plates and plastic utensils.

Yet many, many people still own sterling silver—whether it came to them through inheritance, as a personal purchase, or as a wedding gift. Many wonder about the value of silver, and what their pieces might be worth.

Today, the antiques market is flooded with people finding that their grown children don’t want or will never use their silver and other fine dinnerware. Dishwashers and microwaves are here to stay. Who has the time any more to wash dishes and crystal by hand?

While it may be challenging today to find a buyer for your grandmother’s fine china dinner service, sterling silver has never been easier to sell. The recent rise in the value of silver as a commodity has led to high melt values and thus high demand for anything made of silver.

I’m not talking about silver pieces by makers at the high end of the market, including Tiffany, Gorham, Dominick and Haff, George Jensen, and Kirk. These high end pieces still command prices much higher than their melt values. However, silver produced by more moderate manufacturers such as Towle, International, Durgin, and Whiting is seeing new interest, mainly due to the rise in spot silver prices.

My fear is that a lot of this silver will see its way to the smelter, with no merit given for its intrinsic historical or artistic value. When recognized by a silver appraiser, this additional sentimental value could attract buyers willing to pay much more than the price quoted by a smelter.

I hate to see fine silver disappear forever without any consideration for its history or quality. If we all rushed out to melt our antique silver for a sum, what would be left for future generations to appreciate?

If you’re interested in finding out more about the value of your fine silver, please send images and a description using our free online auction evaluation form. I’d be happy to take a look.

Buried Treasure: The Story of the $50,000 Kashmir Moon Shawl

(Detail) Kashmir Moon Shawl, North India, early 19th century, sold for $59,250 in Skinner's February 2012 Oriental Rugs & Carpets Auction

Next time you sort through boxes in your basement, setting aside items for a yard sale, think twice about what these items may be worth. You could be the unknowing owner of a buried treasure.

In the Skinner Oriental Rugs & Carpets auction on Saturday, February 11, 2012, An important Kashmir Moon Shawl hammered at $50,000 after intense, competitive bidding. The phone lines were all busy with bidders calling in from around the world.

The shawl was made in North India in the early 19th century. The condition of the textile along with its rare beauty, great color, and delicate embroidery attracted serious attention in the market.

Just a few months before the auction, the shawl was hiding away in the consignor’s basement, a forgotten yard sale purchase from 30 years ago. The consignor had bought the shawl because she was attracted to the lovely fabric pattern, and thought it might be a nice craft project to make a pillow from it someday.

Thankfully, the pillow never got made, and when she came across the fabric many years later, she realized that it was all hand-stitched. The quality of the craftsmanship gave her pause, and she decided not to simply put it into another yard sale. Instead, she called Skinner auction house for a professional appraiser’s opinion.

Gary Richards, director of the Oriental Rugs & Carpets department and an experienced appraiser of rugs and textiles, took a look at the piece, and instantly knew it was something special. Further research confirmed that the piece was an authentic Kashmir shawl and could be worth thousands of dollars.

Much to the delight of both the consignor and Skinner, the shawl brought $59,250 with buyer’s premium, a world record for the sale of a Kashmir Moon Shawl at auction.

The consignor said, “I was so pleased. Skinner worked together with advertising, photography, and expert opinions in order to attract bidders from all around the world. The shawl could have been destroyed or lost forever; I’m so glad that it’s now being preserved as an important historic textile.”

Skinner expert appraisers are always available to give free verbal estimates of the value of art and antiques. Call 508-970-3299 to set up an appointment. It never hurts to ask; who knows where the next buried treasure will come from?

Kashmir Moon Shawl, North India, early 19th century, sold for $59,250 in Skinner's February 2012 Oriental Rugs & Carpets Auction

Blooms for Books

Support the Boston Public Library and get a glimpse of spring in the middle of winter at the upcoming Skinner Prints and Paintings Auction

This lovely arrangement interprets an 18th/19th century portrait of a gentlewoman as Diana, Goddess of the Hunt (Lot 310 in the February 3, 2012 Paintings auction)

Several months ago, Skinner art appraiser Kathy Wong agreed to arrange all of the flowers for a friend’s wedding. I know you’re wondering what this has to do with antiques and auctions, but just stay with me for a minute. The friend happens to be a Skinner colleague, so this past fall we have all enjoyed watching the process as Kathy brought in ideas to show to the bride-to-be: designs for table arrangements, bouquets, boutonnières, and more.

It turns out that, in addition to being a great art historian, Kathy has a fantastic eye for color and design.

Now, Kathy is putting her design talents to work for the sake of art and a terrific cause. In conjunction with the February 3rd Prints and Paintings auction in Boston, Kathy will interpret several of the lots presented as flower arrangements. Have you ever seen the Museum of Fine Art’s Art in Bloom or the Worcester Art Museum’s Flora in Winter? Our presentation will be similar, but we are adding a slight twist. The arrangements will be sold during the Paintings & Prints auction to raise money for the Boston Public Library’s Fine Arts Library in the historic McKim building in Copley Square.

Attend our Fine Art Gallery walk on February 2nd to view the art-inspired bouquets.

The BPL’s Fine Arts Library is a tremendous resource open to all, and as art appraisers, we use the library constantly in our research. The librarians are extremely knowledgeable, and work under difficult conditions – anyone who has gone in there to do research on a hot July day knows exactly what I’m talking about! Given the number of books I request in the course of a single visit, I can’t imagine that they are ever thrilled to see me, and yet they are always welcoming and considerate. It is one of our favorite places to work, and yet it is a place desperate for an upgrade. We realize that the amount we raise for them will only be a drop in the bucket, but it is our very small way of saying thank you.

Plus, won’t it be nice to come to the Paintings & Prints auction preview and see all the fresh, colorful flower arrangements? There’s nothing like a little bit of spring in the middle of winter!

The preview will be open to the public on Wednesday, February 1st, 12 to 5 pm; Thursday, February 2nd, 12 to 8 pm; and Friday, February 3, 9 to 10:30 am at Skinner’s Boston auction gallery. The auction begins at noon on Friday, February 3rd. We hope to see you there!

Auction Punk!

Beats the odds and get the deal!

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