Gigantic, beautiful, exquisite, impressive and elite, while not elitist — in the simplest of terms, these are the sorts of words that best describe the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antiques Show. Conducted by the Palm Beach Show Group, the show opened for a gala preview party on February 17 and continued over the next four days, concluding on February 21.
More than 200 spacious and well-designed booths lined the floor of the cavernous Palm Beach County Convention Center, and the wares displayed dated from a selection of Asian antiquities from 700 BC to cutting-edge contemporary — and as the show's name implies — there was a dazzling assortment of jewelry.
This year's event took place under a reconfigured group of promoters, with Scott Diament and Rob Samuels at the helm, as Kris Charamonde returned to the show this year strictly as an exhibitor. Another change this year was the incorporation of the Hope Design Showcase, an area that featured five room settings consisting of dealer merchandise that had been removed from booths around the floor by five decorators. The items were displayed in room settings to illustrate how antiques can work in rooms suited for modern living. Audrey Gruss, founder of Hope for Depression Research Foundation, hosted the first inaugural "Hope Art-of-Design Weekend." Interior designers who created the Hope Designer Showcase included Jim Aman and John Meeks, Bruce Bierman, Geoffrey Bradfield, Campion Platt and Scott Snyder.
"All the supporters I spoke to were delighted to walk through the Hope Designer Showcase," said Gruss. "It was a wonderful way for them to see how art and antiques from the show work in today's real lifestyles; after all, the show is about creativity and beauty, and it's wonderful to see how it can enhance your life."
Further enhancing the show were daily educational lecture series that featured topics, such as "Glamorous Timepieces" by Edward Faber of Aaron Faber Gallery and "Collecting Faberge Today" by John Atzbach of John Atzbach Antiques.
The Palm Beach Group reported a turnout of more than 6,000 guests at preview on opening night, in addition to the largest gate recorded in the show's history on Presidents' Day. Good sales were recorded around the floor on opening night. "It was a really nice group of people who came out for the evening," said Tim Stevenson of Carlson & Stevenson Antiques, Manchester, Vt. The dealers reported numerous sales on opening night, including an important watercolor from 1821. Also displayed was a wonderful document box in yellow paint with bright floral decoration covering the top and around the circumference. A great pair of cast iron eagle finials was also offered. Standing more than a foot tall, they retained a nice old painted surface.
Paul Vandekar of Earle Vandekar of Knightsbridge was another to report good opening night sales, with a Chinese Export famille rose shaped tureen, cover and stand, circa 1750, among the first items to sell from his stand. The dealer also moved a Victorian bamboo table; a set of first period Worcester blue-scale broth bowls and covers, circa 1770; and a Beverly Morris painting from 1855. "The evening was packed and filled with interesting people," said Vandekar, who also noted the sale of a large set of Chinese water fish paintings and several pieces of English porcelain.
Paintings were plentiful around the floor, ranging from Old Masters to works on which the paint was barely dry.
"It's not just about what you sell, but who you meet and the connections you make," said Tom Veilleux of Tom Veilleux Gallery, Portland, Maine. Pleased on both fronts, Veilleux listed among his sales an important painting by William Glackens titled "Bouquet with Poppy." Other paintings on display included a stellar Jamie Wyeth watercolor "Silo and Angus," along with a Max Weber oil titled "Woman with Flower." Sculpture in the booth was dominated by works by Elie Nadelman, including a glazed ceramic piece titled "Two Women," circa 1930, and also a carved marble bust of a woman from 1920.
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