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Elmer Crowell’s black bellied plover, earning $69,000, was the highest priced item in the sale. It had split tail carving, glass bead eyes and was one of about 40 Crowell carvings in the sale. Review by Rick Russack, Photos Courtesy Guyette & Deeter LOMBARD, ILL. – Guyette and Deeter conducted its April 29-30 sale in conjunction with the North American Decoy Collectors Association Show. The association is one of the oldest decoy collectors clubs, founded in 1966, and its annual show is one of the largest. So, it’s a good place for a decoy auction. The auction, with nearly 600 lots, grossed $3.5 million, ten percent over the high estimate. The catalog for this sale had more than 300 pages, with detailed descriptions, histories of makers and collectors and numerous photos of items offered. Condition reports, which are guaranteed, were included for each lot. There have been some changes in the company, which are discussed below. This sale was slightly different from recent Guyette and Deeter auctions in that it did not include blockbuster decoys, expected to bring six-figure prices. However, nearly 100 lots brought five-figure prices, seven of which were more than $50,000. Included were a wide assortment of birds and fish by prominent makers and, by design, there were decoys from nearly all of the hunting regions: Atlantic flyway, Mississippi flyway, decoys from the Carolinas, etc. Makers included Elmer Crowell, Bert Graves, Charles Perdew, the Ward Brothers, the Mason Decoy Factory and many more. Decorative and miniatures included examples by William Gibian, Mark McNair, Jim Schmiedlin and several others. There were also a number of sporting paintings by artists that included Ripley, Rosseau, Hunt and others. Finishing at $48,000, this oil by Percival Leonard

The Philadelphia Show set up on the East Terrace of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photo by Dan Burke Photo & Video, LLC. Review and Onsite Photos by Madelia Hickman Ring PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Show has come home. For the first time since 2018, when the show has benefitted the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s division of digital resources and content strategy, it now takes place on the museum’s campus, in a large spacious white tent prominently situated on the museum’s East Terrace and at the top of the steps Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone, jogged triumphantly up in the movie Rocky. Formally known as The Philadelphia Show: Antiques, Art, Design, the event, which was open Friday-Sunday, April 29-May 1 after a preview party the night of Thursday, April 28, fielded 42 dealers, a reduced group from the 62 exhibitors that participated in 2019. Sales with Barbara Israel Garden Antiques included the small lamb partially shown on the very left side of this photo and four balls, seen center. Katonah, N.Y. “It went really well. People are pleased. Dealers are pleased,” show manager Huntley Platt told Antiques and The Arts Weekly on Friday, April 29. “When you inherit a show, there’s so much built in, so many supporters and volunteers. You’re given a lot with that inheritance so putting a new and fresh spin on it was an exciting challenge. The mood on opening night was joyous. Infectious. Everyone was having a great time. There were a lot of sales; I was thrilled to see so many red dots.” Platt said one of the biggest challenges with the new location was having to accommodate the large fountain that occupies the center of the museum’s east

This lithograph of a “Watercolor Paint Kit With Brushes” by Andy Warhol was an unsurprising top lot in the sale, realizing $13,860 ($5/8,000). Review by Z.G. Burnett, Photos Courtesy Doyle NEW YORK CITY – On April 27, Doyle Galleries conducted the sale of an estate that encapsulated far more than 15 minutes of fame. Brigid Berlin (1939-2020) was a socialite and “Warhol superstar,” and also a prolific artist in her own right. The contents of Berlin’s apartment, which sold in January for $1.17 million, demonstrate her many pursuits, not least of which was interior design. When many of her economic status spend a small fortune for someone else to decorate their homes as a matter of course, this is just one attribute that made Berlin so extraordinary. Born an heiress to the Hearst media empire, Berlin did not conform to the expectations of her blueblood upbringing. “My mother wanted me to be a slim, respectable socialite,” she said in an interview, “Instead I became an overweight troublemaker.” Distinguishing herself from the “groupies,” Berlin worked with Andy Warhol (1928-1987) as a colleague. He bequeathed the nickname “Duchess” to her, and the two remained close friends until his death. “We wanted to emphasize that Brigid made Andy as much as Andy made Brigid,” said Peter Constanzo, senior vice president and director of rare books, autographs and photographs at Doyle. Known for her proto “selfies” and Polaroid photography of celebrities that frequented Warhol’s Factory, this trio is attributed to either Berlin or Warhol and sold for $5,985 ($3/5,000). Forever maintaining a glamorous way of life, Berlin’s inherent conservatism contrasted with her raucous past. Many listings were made by Berlin’s own hand, or other body part. These ranged from a

The ding heard ‘round the world — this Chinese bronze vessel surprised all, reaching $128,000 against its $500-$1,000 valuation. Review by W.A. Demers, Photos Courtesy Nadeau’s Auction WINDSOR, CONN. – Ed Nadeau always packs his spring auction with items representing a broad swath of collecting sensibilities, and his April 30 sale was no exception, offering American antiques, Chinese and continental treasures. And, typically, there is always at least one surprise lot that elicits bidding fervor. For this sale, it was a Chinese bronze ding, a four-footed rectangular ritual vessel with opposing loop handles and its exterior decorated with a Taotie mask. Inside the 10¼-inch vessel was an archaic grass writing inscription. The vessel easily smoked its $500-$1,000 estimate, finishing at $128,000. The overall sale grossed more than $1,176,000, a result of more than 600 lots of fine and decorative art, furniture, jewelry and more crossing the auction block, antiques sourced from prominent East Coast families and estates. Sell-through was 94 percent, with strong results across all categories. Fetching $8,960 against a $1/2,000 estimate were female tomb dancer figures from the Tang dynasty. The ding may have provided the fireworks, but the rest of the sale provided the high-quality diversity for which Nadeau’s is known, A Rolex Submariner 18K gold wristwatch was one such example. Having a Jubilee band along with original 1980 warranty paper, the 40 millimeter wrist candy, serial #5860623, came with a brown leather Rolex box. Estimated $10/14,000, it did better, realizing $35,840. A Nadeau’s staple lot in the form of a Chippendale walnut highboy in two parts brought an exceptional $22,140 against a $3/5,000 valuation. From the Cheshire, Conn., estate of Florence Yannios, it featured an upper section with bonnet top over three

The fairest lot in the sale was this 6-foot diameter Regency parcel ebonized carved circular giltwood mirror, early Nineteenth Century, that achieved $12,500 from a buyer on the East Coast ($6/8,000). Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Andrew Jones Auctions LOS ANGELES – For the fourth time in as many sales, Andrew Jones Auctions has achieved “white glove” results for lots sold from the collection of the Los Angeles-based but internationally known antiques dealer John Nelson. All of the previous auctions have offered furniture, Asian works of art, lighting, decorative works in a variety of media, and fine art, as did the one the firm conducted on May 1, but at 336 lots, it was slightly larger than the previous auctions, which were between 271 and 278 lots. The sale achieved a total of approximately $750,000. “I’m extremely pleased,” Andrew Jones said. “I was on the rostrum for seven hours. The sale doubled the low estimate and we’ve spoken with John Nelson’s people and his family; everyone is very happy.” Depicting classical figures within shaped paneling and gilt accents, this set of six early Twentieth Century Italian Neoclassical-style doors, 90 inches tall, sold to a Florida decorator for $8,750, nearly six times its high estimate ($1/1,500). Leading the sale at $12,500 was a monumental 6-foot-wide Regency parcel ebonized and carved circular giltwood mirror that dated to the early Nineteenth Century and sold to a buyer on the East Coast. The mirror’s original convex mirror plate had been replaced with a later one but that did not deter bidders, who quickly pushed it past its $6/8,000 estimate. It is interesting to note that it was the second time the mirror had been offered at Andrew Jones

After a lengthy search for an assistant curator, Historic New England appointed Dr Erica Lome to the position last March. Lome has not stopped working since her graduation from the Bard Graduate Center in 2015, then moving on to the University of Delaware and earning her doctoral degree in 2020. She represents a new generation of professional scholars, slowly but surely filling the ranks in the world of antiques and the arts. Before Historic New England, Lome was instrumental in the reinstallation of the new permanent galleries at the Concord Museum, presenting hundreds of objects that witnessed the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the “Shot Heard Round The World” exhibit. She also curated the museum’s current exhibition, “Alive With Birds: William Brewster In Concord.” Lome also specializes in Colonial Revival furniture, with particular focus on immigrant and African American craftspeople. In April, Lome visited Kentucky in search of Colonial Revival furniture by master African American craftsman Milton Paul (1921-88). Just a few days after, she was marching with Minutemen at the Patriots’ Day reenactment. We asked about her experiences, favorite furniture and what’s next for Historic New England. Congratulations on your new associate curator position with Historic New England! Could you favor our readers with some highlights from your background? Thank you! I am thrilled to join Historic New England and work with colleagues I’ve long admired. I came to Historic New England after two years at the Concord Museum, where I served as the Peggy N. Gerry curatorial associate, a position sponsored by the Decorative Arts Trust. Before that, I obtained my PhD through the American Civilization Program at the University of Delaware, during which I completed graduate fellowships at Winterthur Museum, Nemours Estate and the Boston Furniture Archive. I have a master of arts degree in

NEW YORK CITY — Thomas Sully’s (American, 1783-1872) 1839 portrait of Commodore James Biddle, sold as part of the Christine Biddle Wainwright Collection that was offered during Doyle’s May 3-4 sales of American silver, Pacific Trade, American paintings, furniture and decorative arts, was the top lot and achieved $94,500. It had, in the words of American furniture and decorative arts department director Chris Barber, for whom the event was his inaugural sale with Doyle, “everything that people want a Sully to have.” By that, he meant exceptional provenance, an extensive publication and exhibition history, and an attractive and historically important sitter. It was one of many highlights sold over the course of two days that achieved more than $1.9 million in sales and saw 92 percent of lots sold by lot. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium; a more extensive sale recap will follow in a future issue.