CultBytes
Art Market
Antiques Are In as The Winter Show’s Benefit Garners Resplendent Support
Carson Wos
January 30, 2024
With much aplomb and quiet fanfare, The Winter Show celebrated its 70th edition to record-breaking success during its Young Collectors Night this past Thursday. Subtle specialty signage made these indications of its anniversary hard to spot, though the historical resonance of the event was captured wisely through the effervescent rush of philanthropic support pouring into the benefit’s fund: supporting East Side House Settlement’s critical community-based programming in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. This year’s theme, The Green Vault, laid the foundation for its greatest treasure: record-breaking philanthropic support.
It’s a unique interrelationship as East Side House Settlement is the founding entity that organizes the fair’s production annually. Laura Day Webb, a Co-Chair of the proceedings, was deeply moved to share “that the education programs for East Side House are why we are all here because supporting educational opportunities and increasing graduation rates is one of the most important contributions a person can make to any community.” Day Webb reminded us that: “changing even one person’s trajectory in life via education, has ripple effects that cannot be overstated, and makes this all worthwhile.”
The shout-out for longevity goes to Ralph M. Chait Galleries (New York, NY) as the event’s longest-standing participant, which is one year shy of having participated in every edition of The Winter Show. Though just under a quarter of this year’s participating galleries have continuously presented booths for thirty years or more. An impressive track record of continuity for the country’s longest-running art, antiques, and design fair focused on showcasing rigorously vetted historical objets d’arts, antiques, old masters, jewelry, and manuscripts across a wide range of price points, to accommodate both established and emerging collectors alike.
Over 700 attendees included interior designers, textile specialists, gallery owners, museum trustees, artists, entrepreneurs, writers, celebrity stylists, and independent filmmakers—a cross-section of whom are also avid collectors—filed into the Park Avenue Armory for the soirée. With the additional support of the evening’s honorees Paul Arnhold, Brooklyn-based blown-glass artisan, and Wes Gordon, Creative Director of Carolina Herrera New York, certainly encouraged participation from those in the world of haute interiors and fashion design. Such robust attendance points towards a sustainable future for the antiques market amongst the next generation, despite the contested choice of dropping the very word from the nomenclature of the show. It seems the pendulum has swung from fears of a dwindling collector base, towards an upsurge in historical material brought back into pop culture through numerous period-film-style streaming series such as Bridgerton, The Gilded Age, The Empress, Belgravia, The Great, and so forth. Equally capturing the imagination, cases of the Atocha Collection’s restored shipwreck treasures lined the foyer’s central promenade highlighting gemstone specialist MUZO Emerald Colombia as a key partner of the fair. Full-length gowns and an arsenal of lapels donned eye-catching brooches as the favored attire for the evening’s jewel box dress code. Specialty cocktails like NightOwl espresso martinis and margaritas circulated highlighting sponsors Harridan Vodka, Tepozán tequila, William Grant & Sons scotch, and gin, alongside the classic mainstay of champagne flutes.
With much aplomb and quiet fanfare, The Winter Show celebrated its 70th edition to record-breaking success during its Young Collectors Night this past Thursday. Subtle specialty signage made these indications of its anniversary hard to spot, though the historical resonance of the event was captured wisely through the effervescent rush of philanthropic support pouring into the benefit’s fund: supporting East Side House Settlement’s critical community-based programming in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. This year’s theme, The Green Vault, laid the foundation for its greatest treasure: record-breaking philanthropic support.
It’s a unique interrelationship as East Side House Settlement is the founding entity that organizes the fair’s production annually. Laura Day Webb, a Co-Chair of the proceedings, was deeply moved to share “that the education programs for East Side House are why we are all here because supporting educational opportunities and increasing graduation rates is one of the most important contributions a person can make to any community.” Day Webb reminded us that: “changing even one person’s trajectory in life via education, has ripple effects that cannot be overstated, and makes this all worthwhile.”
The shout-out for longevity goes to Ralph M. Chait Galleries (New York, NY) as the event’s longest-standing participant, which is one year shy of having participated in every edition of The Winter Show. Though just under a quarter of this year’s participating galleries have continuously presented booths for thirty years or more. An impressive track record of continuity for the country’s longest-running art, antiques, and design fair focused on showcasing rigorously vetted historical objets d’arts, antiques, old masters, jewelry, and manuscripts across a wide range of price points, to accommodate both established and emerging collectors alike.
Over 700 attendees included interior designers, textile specialists, gallery owners, museum trustees, artists, entrepreneurs, writers, celebrity stylists, and independent filmmakers—a cross-section of whom are also avid collectors—filed into the Park Avenue Armory for the soirée. With the additional support of the evening’s honorees Paul Arnhold, Brooklyn-based blown-glass artisan, and Wes Gordon, Creative Director of Carolina Herrera New York, certainly encouraged participation from those in the world of haute interiors and fashion design. Such robust attendance points towards a sustainable future for the antiques market amongst the next generation, despite the contested choice of dropping the very word from the nomenclature of the show. It seems the pendulum has swung from fears of a dwindling collector base, towards an upsurge in historical material brought back into pop culture through numerous period-film-style streaming series such as Bridgerton, The Gilded Age, The Empress, Belgravia, The Great, and so forth. Equally capturing the imagination, cases of the Atocha Collection’s restored shipwreck treasures lined the foyer’s central promenade highlighting gemstone specialist MUZO Emerald Colombia as a key partner of the fair. Full-length gowns and an arsenal of lapels donned eye-catching brooches as the favored attire for the evening’s jewel box dress code. Specialty cocktails like NightOwl espresso martinis and margaritas circulated highlighting sponsors Harridan Vodka, Tepozán tequila, William Grant & Sons scotch, and gin, alongside the classic mainstay of champagne flutes.
Amongst this re-energized segment of the art market, a few attendees share their favorite pieces at The Winter Show. Cole Harrell, a specialist in the Arts of Africa and Oceania and supporter of the neighboring museum The Frick Collection, noted his support for Tambaran Gallery’s program presenting a plethora of material culture from these regions. Chelsea Miller of the Design Leadership Network highlighted “Boccara’s booth they have these pieces which look like paintings, but they are woven textile pieces that are stunning.”
Alex Christian Maccaro, Assistant Curator at the Nassau County Museum of Art, noted that Robert Henri’s 1924 portrait Dorita “utilizes striking red pigments to emphasize the lovely beauty of the painting’s sitter, which fits very well inside the installation overall” at Debra Force Fine Art’s booth. Nathan Shults, founding owner of Hampton de Ville Gallery in Dallas, Texas, loves Spencer Marks (Southampton, MA) as experts showcasing exceptional American silver, in addition to Cove Landing where he purchased “a French study of a man, which had a spectacular frame and [he] immediately fell in love.”
It is important to convey that there are many beautiful objects full of historical character priced in a range for a collector just beginning their journey into acquisitions. Especially when considering the contemporary art market benchmark of affordability as under $10,000—I have listed a selection of fair highlights that I hope might whet your appetite for collecting or further research....
Contemporary work at Joan B. Mirviss creates a conversation with ceramicists and techniques of the past. A sculpture juxtaposing textures and materials within a restricted palette, its geometric planes become a dialogue of both mesmerizing, yet confounding surfaces. Fuzing traditional techniques with marbleized patterns and KondÅ Takahiro’s own patented gintekisai “silver mist” overglaze invention, this piece pushes forward the field of Japanese contemporary design. With a distinctly urban feel, this piece may complement many different styles of interior from Art Deco to marble-laden minimalism.
For lifelong learners with an appreciation of expert craftsmanship and a desire to steward objects for future generations to enjoy and reconsider, the benchmark of participating in the antiques trade may not be as steep as we might assume. Within an art and design market experiencing reduced liquidity, all sales are good sales so do not underestimate your purchasing power in this buyer’s market. That is the foundation for sustaining the longevity of events like this into the future as they continue to strengthen resources for local communities in our outer boroughs, as well as ensuring the profitability for these small businesses, furthering scholarship and preservation of historical objects for the next generation.
Visit The Winter Show to plan your attendance next year.
