Macklowe at Modernism + Art 20

For those of you looking to gauge the current state of the market in fine and decorative arts, look no further than Macklowe Gallery's participation in "Modernism: A Century of Style and Design" which took place last week at New York's 7th Regiment Armory.

After skipping one year, we decided to return to Sandy Smith's Modernism+Art20 show, and we are certainly glad we did. The show boasted a very nice mix of dealers specializing in everything from English Arts and Crafts (circa 1880) to contemporary studio ceramics. We were especially heartened by the strong opening night Gala benefiting The Brooklyn Museum and Planned Parenthood, at which Barrie and Deedee Wigmore were given the "Distinguished Collector Award", an honor for their fine contributions to the field of Decorative Arts. The evening was very well attended, and sales were brisk.

As the show went on through the weekend we sold a fine mix of jewelry, art glass and sculpture, culminating in the sale of a Tiffany Studios "chain mail" chandelier that we had saved for the show. Despite the show's title, we found takers for a pair of early Victorian onyx, gold and seed pearl bangle bracelets circa 1860, an Etruscan Revival pendant by Castellani, circa 1880, as well as several pieces of Art Nouveau jewelry, circa 1900. We also had quite a bit of interest in the lithographs of Alphonse Mucha, and logged a sale at the Gallery to a new collector who found us at the show.

The renewed vogue for Art Nouveau furniture was also in evidence as we sold a pair of chairs by Louis Majorelle and a table by Emile Galle. We also showed for the first time a remarkable dining table and 6 chairs by Jacques Gruber that had previously been owned by Rod Stewart. Macklowe Gallery bought the set from Rod Stewart and sold it many years ago to one of our private clients. After enjoying it for over 20 years, she recently decided to part with it and we were only too happy to buy it back. Although the table has not yet found a new caretaker, we have it in the Gallery and encourage all our collectors to come and have a look.

In general we were more than satisfied by the Modernism show. We made great sales to our cherished clients, and met and sold to many new customers. Appreciation of the beauty of the past seems safe to survive and even thrive as we move into the future.