Showing posts with label Barbara Israel Garden Antiques. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbara Israel Garden Antiques. Show all posts

Friday, May 4, 2018

Garden Art & Antiques Fair VIP Preview at The New York Botanical Garden



                                         
Last evening was the annual Garden Art & Antiques Fair at The New York Botanical Garden VIP Preview Party, Collectors’ Plant Sale, and Silent Auction.



There are 30 exhibitors offering one-of-a-kind, unique garden ornaments and furniture.

The Fair is tucked into a tent opposite the Enid A Haupt Conservatory; the walk in between was filled with soft jazz music serenading arriving guests and the rare and beautifully grown garden plants hand-selected by NYBG’s horticultural team.

Expectations were high. Last year, one of my favorite garden design client’s purchased - dare I say, snagged -- the most charming statues on pedestals of the Four Seasons - rendered as children; purchased from Milne’s At Home Antiques. Milne offers extraordinary quality and value for their wares - many of them sourced from Kent and Essex in England.

My plus-one was celebrated photo essayist and storyteller Angie Lambert (be sure to check out her cover on Bella Grace magazine, available June 1). 
Photo narrator Angie Lambert chatting with fellow Ohian / antique dealer 

In years past, the tent was cool inside yet warmed by garden bonhomie, refreshments, and “fevered” purchasing.

This year was no different except that it was very, very hot - given the soaring mercury the last few days here in Gotham. Later, when a flash storm swooshed down there was plenty of drama to match the stars inside.

This event always attracts the hoi polloi of hort and last night was no exception.

Bunny Williams, who the NY Times referred to as “The doyenne of cozy chic,” is the Chair of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House (since 2012) was there. I love her designs - and her Kips Bay “Gilded Knot” room at Kips Bay.

How she manages to attend and support all the benefits is inspired passion…

Barbara Frelinghuysen Israel, Barbara Israel Garden Antiques, is surely the quintessential doyenne and leading authority on period ornaments from around globe. I always ask her what the trends are that she’s seeing. This year she explained modernist pieces are increasingly popular while she pointed to seating she recently acquired for sale. I agree. Especially as I’m enjoying creating a mid-century garden design for a client. So many cool looks.



Likewise, Barbara continued, pieces with graphics are trending and American items - fueled in part by David and Peggy Rockefeller’s estate sale at Christie’s. She added that of course the classic ornaments are always popular.
Barbara is always a lot of fun, as well. I enjoy talking to her and, ahem, sharing champagne!

My friend John Danzer, Munder Skiles, exterior designer and restoration guru, was there too, having donated some of his impeccable garden furniture for the Preview’s Silent Auction. John shared some wonderful news about upcoming opportunities - then promptly asked that I not report on it until all the ink is dry on this and that. Pshaw. John is such a tease! But it’s all good. Stay tuned.



And it’s always a joy to see Melissa Ozawa, features editor at Martha Stewart Living.



For the first time, there were five book signings and a floral demo by author Cathy Graham for her book, Second Bloom: Cathy Graham’s Art of the Table by Graham and Alexis Clark.




Martha Stewart and Kevin Sharkey were front and center autographing their new book, Martha’s Flowers: A Practical Guide to Growing, Gathering, and Enjoying.

And we so enjoyed chatting it up with both authors while they signed our multiple copies of the book. They are so nice and engaging. With ever the eye for detail, Kevin asked about the jade buttons on my radish dress (so apropos for a garden event, no?!) which in turn led to another conversation where Martha decried a recent fashion faux pas where online audiences were throwing shade at a young women’s style that was similar to the dress I was wearing. This “shade” is not of the garden growing intent...

                                       

About the book: If you don’t already own it as part of your library - you need to get this tome.

It’s a useful guide, brimming with surefire tips from these two masters of all things flower - and lots of gorgeous photos. So it’s also a coffee table book, sure to spark garden chats. I especially like the tablescape and serving suggestions - they are presented as what I can only describe as still life art. Can’t wait to really “dig in” to this pretty and practical book.

I had the chance to spend a few minutes with garden friend, Barbara Paul Robinson, who while an attorney by profession, is also a garden historian and author. Her book, Heroes of Horticulture, Americans Who Transformed the Landscape, looks like it’s going to be a joy to read after Barbara gave us a sneak peek about the featured heroes included in the book, such as my former “boss,” Betty Scholtz! I love that woman.

Thank you, Barbara - we need this book - it should be required reading - especially for the next generation of Horticulture enthusiasts.



I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see nor talk to garden associate and rather prolific garden writer and author, Jane Garmey. Her newest book is City Green: Public Gardens of New York.




Author Thomas Jayne was on hand, signing copies of his book, Classic Principles for Modern Design: Lessons from Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman’s The Decoration of Houses. Whew - that’s a long title!

However, the Garden Art and Antiques Fair will not be around for long. It’s as ephemeral as today’s cherry blossoms.

So it’s imperative that you hop up to the Garden for this weekend-long celebration

featuring the choicest plants, antiques, and art. As the Garden notes, “You can explore a wide range of decorative art and classic furniture of the finest quality—some with a modern twist, both elegant and fanciful—for the home and garden from nearly 30 leading dealers. New for 2018, experts take the stage for engaging and informative sessions on topics from interior to floral design. Guests can meet and mingle with prominent designers who will share their expertise by offering advice on how to incorporate items purchased at the Fair into their own homes and gardens.”

Friday through Sunday brings a newly expanded specialty plant sale at NYBG Shop featuring trees, shrubs, vines, hard-to-find perennials, herbs, and annuals from some of horticulture’s finest growers.

NYBG Shop’s expert staff will be on hand to help you make the perfect selections.

On Saturday, after exploring the Fair, watch artists create masterful works as more than 20 established plein-air artists spread out across the grounds during the Garden’s Third Annual Plein-Air Invitational. Finished art will be available for purchase.

Expert-led guided tours of NYBG’s renowned gardens and collections and live music round out this perfect spring weekend.”

The Garden Art & Antiques Fair takes place in the Conservatory Tent with The New York Botanical Garden’s landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory as its magnificent backdrop. It is the ideal venue for learning about garden antiques and building personal collections. Admission to the Fair on Friday through Sunday, May 4 through 6, is included with the All-Garden Pass, which also provides access to the Botanical Garden grounds, seasonal gardens, attractions such as the Haupt Conservatory, and Tram Tour.







Don’t miss the glory of the fleeting spring garden art…

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Don’t be a Fool! The Antique Dealers’ Association Online Show Debuts April 1st



My garden art accessory friend and designer, Barbara Israel, let me know that her Garden Antiques and Replicas will participate in the Antique Dealers’ Association (ADA) first-ever online antiques show, premiering on the auspicious April 1st.

Mark your calendars, alert your Twitter, and get your tablet, computer or mobile smartphones ready.
You can also be notified by Facebook, Twitter or email when you request the calendar tickle at the ADA web page.

Home décor enthusiasts won’t want to miss the front row seat to better preview and buy the great finds from a very diverse list of top-tier dealers.

No lines, no waiting, no parking, and no fooling with Mother Nature…

The show will run “around the clock” (pre-digital time "talk!") from Tuesday, April 1st at 10 am to Thursday, April 3 at 10:00 pm
Then – just like Cinderella – the show page will disappear. Poof.  A dream…

The ADA asked its dealers to hold back items for this show as they do for any other show – so they are forecasting you will see the best in American antiques and fine art, folk art, Americana, Native American, and other decorative arts. 

Plus, every item is sold with a guarantee of authenticity.  
Despite the calendar date, you can’t get fooled: a written guarantee of the age, origin, condition and restoration, if any is provided with every sale.
So you can rest easy.  After all, there is a lot of pedigree on the line – in every sense.

Easy To Purchase
It’s also practically guaranteed you will find something you want to buy. 

With full access -- dealers and the general public access the show at the same time so no First Dibs issue here – you are sure to fall in love with an object of your desire that may have been out of reach in any other context.

All you need to do is contact the seller directly from the show page/site. 
Recommended best times to purchase is 9 am to 9 pm EST.
An email link and the phone number of the ADA dealer representing the item will be listed with each object, according to ADA.

Don’t like it once you get the piece is delivered to your home?  No problem, they say.  You have three days to let the seller know you want to return it. Easy as Amazon…

Garden Art
Preshow, I suggest you check out Barbara Israel’s garden ornament offerings. 

You will not only enjoy a much-needed jump-on-the-season garden “tour” but you can also get your creative garden design senses stimulated. 

Too much time gazing at snow this winter may have dulled your green garden aesthetic!
You – and your garden designer – can prepare a list of the garden art that will enhance and accessorize your garden rooms and exterior designs.


There are fountains, birdbaths, urns, sundials, furniture, wellheads, cisterns, and architectural miscellany.  




I wrote about Barbara’s collections previously for the New York Winter Antiques Show: http://gardenglamour-duchessdesigns.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-york-winter-antiques-show-features.html


For direct information to the ADA online show premiere:

Good luck.  Let me know what you fall in love with at the first-ever, ADA Show.



Friday, January 25, 2013

New York Winter Antiques Show Features Rare Garden Antiques from Barbara Israel Garden Ornament Collections





Tomorrow is the first day of the 59th New York Winter Antiques Show.
The annual show at the Park Avenue Amory in New York City is the
“Most prestigious antiques show, providing museums, collectors, dealers, design professionals, and first- time buyers with opportunities to see and purchase exceptional pieces showcased by 73 renowned experts in American, English, European, and Asian fine and decorative arts.
Every object exhibited at the Show is vetted for quality and authenticity. All net proceeds support East Side House Settlement a non-profit institution in the South Bronx that provides social services to community.
The Winter Antiques Show’s 2013 loan exhibition celebrates The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island. 
Newport: The Glamour of Ornament showcases fine and decorative art from eight of the historic Newport Mansions.
Newport and glamour works for this Garden Glamour blogger: my husband and I honeymooned in Newport and well; glamour is a fundamental design element... 
Garden Design
Garden Design Antiques are front and center and represented by a premiere garden historian, expert and author, Barbara Israel.
Today being a crazy, day-before the show schedule, Barbara was kind enough to provide an interview. 
I know Barbara from my career at The New York Botanical Garden.
And from the research I do for my garden design clients. 
Her contributions to the three area-antiques shows she showcases her art at are memorable. 
Her knowledge and her collections are extraordinary.
She is an acknowledged expert and has written two books on garden antiques.
Here is an excerpt from the Q&A in advance of the 2013 Winter Antiques Show:
Q.  How did you get started collecting garden antiques?  Being a Garden State Frelinghuysen, I assume you grew up surrounded by such art…
A.  I grew up going to both of my grandmother’s gardens— one in Far Hills, New Jersey (Mrs. Frelinghuysen).  The other in Islip, Long Island (Mrs. Lawrance).  My grandmother Frelinghuysen lived near the Louis XIII style mansion in Peapack, NJ called Blairsden. 




Garden Glamour knows this Garden State property well. 
An early-in-my-garden-design career, fellow enthusiast, Barry Thompson, would take the time to share his garden and estate home history knowledge and pre-internet network connections to other passionate garden enthusiasts for my burgeoning garden history curiosity and writing. I cherished his keen research and undying devotion to grand estates and historical landscape architecture.

Thompson wrote the acclaimed book on the stunning Blairsden estate that so beguiled and influenced Barbara: New Jersey Country Houses - The Somerset Hills   

Back to Barbara:
As a girl I would sneak onto this property with my siblings and was in awe of the ornament there— including 12 monumental busts of Roman emperors that lined the driveway.  These excursions peaked my interest early on.  
Also, my grandmother Lawrance took me to visit the Gould estate in Lakewood, NJ called Georgian Court (now a college campus).  There I saw opulent marble fountains and urns.

Q. Why exhibit at the Winter Antiques Show?

A.  The Winter Antiques Show is really the best showcase in the country for art and antiques of the finest quality— you’ll find the rarest, most coveted objects here.  
We are the only garden ornament dealer at the Winter Show.  
The Delaware Antiques Show in November, a benefit for Winterthur, (www.winterthur.org) is another great show on our schedule (though smaller, more regional), but the Winter Antiques Show is sort of the grand dame of antiques shows.  
And, one of our favorite events of the year is the art and antiques show at the New York Botanical Garden (www.nybg.org) in April— where all the dealers are garden dealers.  That’s a gorgeous show, just in terms of aesthetics.   

Q.  How do you determine what you will show at the Winter Antiques Show – given the size of the garden art, how many pieces can you get to a show, plus the cost…?

A. We set aside objects all year for the Winter Antiques Show.  
This is the venue where we show our rarest acquisitions, our finest pieces.  Connoisseurs come from all over the country looking for the best, so we make sure to put together a really fine collection for this show.  



We like to have objects marked by rare makers, or statues of particularly fine quality, pieces with an unusual and desirable provenance, objects of grand proportions, for large estate gardens.  
We also try to have a range of pieces and a range of price points.  

We also like to bring pieces that make sense with each other— we sometimes have a theme, like a woodland, where we’d bring mostly animals, etc.


We generally bring anywhere from 20-36 pieces to a show.  
Some of these pieces will not be on view right away but instead in “vetted storage,” meaning they’ve been approved by the Vettors, or experts, but are being held back to be put in when something else sells.  
This year, we are bringing pieces of such monumental size that the number of objects was a bit lower than usual.
Yes, it is expensive to move these pieces, but luckily we have a very experienced and knowledgeable team.

Q.  Do you promote or advertise or alert the show attendees prior to the show so that the audience comes knowing what you will offer. Or do you unveil and surprise with your offerings?

A. We do a fair amount of advertising and promotion. Generally a couple of ads in antiques magazines and/or newspapers.  
We send out a postcard to people on our mailing list.  
We send out an e-blast to our email mailing list.  
We send a select number of photographs via email to particular clients who might collect this or that.  
We have clients who like to know in advance so that they can make plans to be there early on opening night.  That said, we don’t let everything out of the bag— there have to be surprises in the booth.

Q. Do the customers come pre-disposed to your collections or do you meet new fans all the time?

A. Many of our clients are long-term clients whose taste we know and understand and of course we have them in mind when we acquire pieces.  
But we also meet new people all the time— every year brings new clients and new enthusiasm for antique garden ornament.  
Working with clients to find the perfect piece for their garden is one of the best parts of the business.

Q. How have tastes changed over the last 10 years?

A.  Tastes have certainly changed a bit through the years.  
We are seeing more people responding to modern pieces now, or pieces that are rustic enough to be at home in a spare modern landscape.  
But there will always be clients for classical, traditional ornament.  

Q. What are trends? What’s “new” in garden antiques?

A.   Classical garden ornament mostly defies trends— the desire for exceptional examples of classical ornament remains steadfast. Sometimes we have a flurry of requests for armillary spheres, or a wave of interest in simple stone benches, but generally I wouldn’t even define these as trends.  
Fairly recently, many clients were interested in a more rustic look, but this is not across the board. 


Q.  Where do you source from and does that impact “style?”

A. We do most of our overseas buying in England— with occasional pieces coming from the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, or France.  
We have favorite sources that we are in contact with in those countries.  
We also do a lot of buying here in this country— we receive photos every week from people looking to sell beautiful things.  
It’s hard to say how it impacts styles.  So many of our pieces can fit well into a traditional English garden or an Italianate one.  
We usually advocate working with the architecture of the home— finding ornaments that work with the style of the client’s house.

Q. What’s the future of garden antiques – in pieces and interest?

A. We see interest growing in garden antiques.  
And just when we wonder whether we’ll be able to continue finding great pieces, something truly magnificent comes along.  
Also we’re just getting going on our research— even after writing the book and the guidebook, there are still so many new discoveries to be had.  
This makes it all a great deal of fun.

Q.  Who is your “typical” customer?  Young/older? Do people buy garden antiques as gifts?

A. Our typical client is probably 35-65, but really a vast range of people. Yes, people do buy garden ornaments as gifts!

What the recent buying interest, especially given the recent financial downturn that we now emerging from?

A. The last four years were certainly difficult for everyone and we definitely felt the downturn.  However we have started to see the market pick up tremendously.  
We were aware that garden ornaments were bound to be one of the last areas to recover— since people tend to focus more on the interior of their homes when times are uncertain.  But we have turned the corner.

Q.  Tell us about your books – are they still in print and continue to sell?

A. We are still selling the 1999 book.  It is out of print, but we buy them up where we can and you can find it on Amazon.  
And with a Forward by the legendary Mark Hampton makes this book a favorite in my Garden Glamour design library.  
Hampton’s daughter Alexa has picked up the family’s design magic wand to much success. 
Don’t miss out.

The guidebook, A Guide to Buying Antique Garden Ornament, is self-published (2012) and there has been a lot of interest.  I’d like to think it’s required reading— I hope designers would agree!

Q.  Where can the public see some of your garden antique art?

A. Clients who would like to visit our Katonah, NY location can make an appointment by calling 212.744.6281 or emailing Eva Schwartz at eva@bi-gardenantiques.com.

Q. What category of garden antiques are your best sellers or most popular?

A. Probably the hardest to keep in stock, as good antique ones are so rare, are armillary spheres.  

Exemplary figural statues and benches are probably the things we are asked about the most.


Q. What is your favorite piece or category?

A. I would say that the pieces I get most excited about are the really good figural statues.  They are so easy to connect with, there is usually a fabulous story to tell, whether it’s a mythological figure or historical...the faces tell the best stories, too.  Over the years, I have owned some truly exceptional figures.  

Having a great Winter Antiques Show sets the tone for the whole year.  We look forward to this year’s show being truly stellar!


Thank you, Barbara.  

What better way to spend a cold, cold winter weekend in New York? 
Inside, at the Amory, with antiques that are sure to warm your heart…


Barbara Israel Garden Antiques:

The Winter Antiques Show:

 Do you have a garden antique or vintage story to share?