Gary Sullivan's Antique Clocks and Furniture Blog

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Antique Clocks and Furniture


The Metropolitan Show NYC
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I am happy to share with my readers the news that we are signed up for the new Metropolitan Show in New York this January 2011. You are the first to know! The show replaces The American Antiques Show (TAAS) which has been held the last ten years at The metropolitan Pavilion in January. Just as previous shows have been for the benefit of The Folk Art Museum, the preview party for the new Metro Show will benefit the Museum as well.

The new promoter of the show is The Art Fair Company Inc. They are recognized for their very upscale art shows such as the highly regarded SOFA Shows in Chicago, New York and Santa Fe. Along with the fresh new face of the show, their goal is to preserve the core appeal of the TAAS Show, but to add some more contemporary art to the mix. I look forward to seeing some dealers in new categories such as outsider art and photography. I think this will be an excellent addition.
We want to encourage the collectors of folk art and American antiques who have historically attended the show to return in January, but we would like to see some younger faces as well. By adding some contemporary art to the show, I look forward to attracting more 30 and 40 somethings, who may just find that they like these old things that we call “antiques”.

I’ll have to stop calling this an “antiques show”. I certainly don’t want to frighten off any of my loyal collectors of antiques who would be disinclined to attend something called a “fair”. The fact is, younger collectors of art call these events “fairs”, and they would be disinclined to attend something called an “antiques show”. We all need to get together and enjoy the mix of fine art and antiques. So if you are one of my clients, who has never been to a “fair”, please be sure to visit us in January. No matter what they call the event, you can rest assured that you’ll always find some terrific objects in my booth! You’ll not be disappointed!


The Keno Brothers new show
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Leigh and Leslie, the keno Brothers of Antiques Roadshow fame have a new show on Fox. It is called “Buried Treasure”. The new show is similar to, but different than their old PBS show which was called Find!. As with the old show, they travel the country visiting people who have objects that may have significant value. What sets Buried Treasure apart from the old show is the personal component. Leigh told me that they are looking for situations where the value of the objects can potentially make a significant difference in the lives of the owners. The problem with this scenario is that it eliminates a great number of the possible guests and makes it much more difficult to find good houses to visit. I don’t know how they accomplish what they do. The twins are just a few months older than I am, but I wouldn’t dream of trying to fit what they do into a day. I’m tired just thinking about it. In addition to filming the show this summer, Leigh has his auction coming up later this month and Leslie has a sale at Sotheby’s. Good luck with the new show guys.


Fancy diamonds a hot commodity
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I just came across this story about two extraordinary, multimillion dollar yellow diamonds which are about to be sold. We keep hearing about the hot markets for certain art commodities, particularly those that are of interest to wealthy Asian buyers. They certainly seem like better investments than the stock market right now. Just ask my 401K! We have some pretty good commodities right here, in the form of rare and beautiful clocks and furniture. Hey Asian buyers, take a look, you might like what you see! Here is the article from ARTFIXdailey....


Willard Clock Museum news
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The Willard House and Clock Museum in North Grafton, MA. boasts the largest collection of Willard clocks in the world. The extraordinary clock collection, along with many rooms of period furniture and decorations are housed in the 1718 Willard Homestead, the 1766 Benjamin Willard clock shop and in two modern galleries. The Willards were the most influential family of clockmakers in early America. With over 90 Willard clocks dating from the 18th and early 19th centuries on display, this museum is a must see for clock enthusiasts. The work of Benjamin, Aaron, Simon and Ephraim (among others) can all be found here. Perhaps this is a shameless plug, as I’m a trustee of the museum, but I encourage folks who are visiting the area to stop by. It is just minutes off the Mass. Turnpike and a short trip from Skinner’s Marlboro location.

The Museum has some news, which is that we are welcoming Patrick Keenan, former Museum Assistant as our new Director and are confident that he will excel in his new role. We wish our capable former Director, Cynthia Dias-Reid good luck in her new pursuits in Connecticut. The website for the museum is http://www.willardhouse.org