Gary Sullivan's Antique Clocks and Furniture Blog

Rarely seen objects from the White House Collection to be on view at The Smithsonian

On July 25, 2011 in General by Gary Sullivan

Back in 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had the vision and sense of culture to begin forming a collection of American decorative arts at the white house. What she started 40 years ago has grown into an extraordinary repository for some of the finest examples of Early American furniture and decorative objects. It's a show place, where foreign dignitaries as well as Americans can get a sense of the craftsmanship that defined early America. A number of the pieces from that collection will be on view at the Smithsonian Museum starting this fall. I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten any phone calls from the president lately, inviting me to stop by and check out all the cool old stuff in his house. This could be our opportunity. Click to read more of the story at ARTFIXdailey.

The amazing truth about hoarders

August 26, 2011 The popular new television shows on extreme hoarding have recently made more people aware of the problem. Because of this awareness, I’ve begun to hear comments such as, ”can you imagine seeing a place like that?” or “have you ever seen one of those houses?” The sad fact is, I have. Many times. It’s a lot more common than you might think. Between my work for various Boston area auctioneers in my youth and the years that I spent as an estate liquidator, I estimate that I’ve been involved in the dismantling of between 15 and 20 extreme hoarder’s homes. The difference is, I was usually dealing with the homes of hoarders who had either died or had gone to a nursing home. It would be unusual for a hoarder to part with their possessions, so antiques dealers are rarely called until after the occupant is gone. I used to attempt to explain the conditions of these houses, describing rooms piled with debris, sometimes up to the ceiling and only isles to walk through. Now people can see these ...
Noteworthy objects from Skinner sale

August 15, 2011 The Skinner Americana sale took place over the weekend and two of the objects caught my eye. First was the Vermont four drawer federal chest. It's a relatively simple country form that was constructed of remarkable figured wood. Kudos to the photographer, who made the figured maple look absolutely electric on the front cover of the catalog. The early 19th century Rutland Vermont cabinetmaker must have saved his best tiger and bird's-eye maple and used it all on this one special piece. With the exception of the mahogany banding around the drawers, the exceptional woods were all native; Tiger maple, bird's-eye maple and flame birch. I'm a wood freak, so exceptional wood like this really impresses me. This stuff was not easy for the maker to get hold of. Anyway, it sold for $65,175., which translates to about a two thousand dollar chest, with sixty thousand dollars worth of figured maple! I actually expected it to bring a little more, but I think the few imperfections that it had kept the price from reaching its full potential. It had ...
First new American art museum in half a century

November 14, 2011 Here is a story from Antiques and the Arts Weekly. I find it to be encouraging. First Major Museum For American Art Established In Almost A Half Century Opens By Stephen May If you are a fan of adventurous museum buildings and great American art, you are going to love the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and its world-class collection. Marking a significant development on the US cultural scene, the institution, the brainchild of Alice B. Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, opened to the public on November 11. It is the first major museum devoted to American art established in almost a half century. Housed in an innovative building designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the museum is located in a 120-acre forest that used to form the backyard of the Walton family home. Crystal Bridges draws its name from a nearby natural spring, which flows beneath the graceful pavilions. In keeping with his commitment to attune his buildings to their internal purposes and natural surroundings, Safdie nestled the 200,000-square-foot museum within a ravine, flanked by two wooded hillsides, surrounding ...
Unearthing artifacts from a revolting repository

November 25, 2011 As a 12 year old interested in all things historic, I devoted a great deal of time to searching for the objects of my passion, antique bottles. I would scour antiques and junk shops and occasionally buy the interesting ones that I could afford. Those being under about two dollars. Being on a limited budget as I was, I preferred the free ones. Free because I would dig them at dump sites. Not the nasty land-fill kind of dump sites we have today, but abandoned 19th and early 20th century trash piles. They were a lot easier to find in the late 1960s than they are today, but they’re still out there. In times past, people often disposed of their trash on their own land. The rear corner of an old property, where two stone walls converge was an out of the way location that often became a dump site. Spending portions of my summers in Maine, I found several old dump sites by following stone walls through the woods in rural areas. The tell-tale shards of broken glass and ...
Gary interviewed by V & M [Vintage and Modern] at 2013 Metro Show

May 1, 2013 Click here to Follow the link to watch a series of video interviews from this year's Metro Show in New York City. The interview was done by V&M (Vintage and Modern). V & M is the leading online source for unique vintage furniture, antiques, art, jewelry, fashion and design from around the world. They have done a nice job, the filming and production is pretty good and it has a very upbeat feel. It gives a good sense of the energy on the floor at this show.
Gary interviewed by syndicated columnist in a series estate antiques. #3 available

March 28, 2013 Gary has been interviewed by syndicated columnist Marni Jameson for an ongoing series on evaluating and managing Estate antiques. Marni has connected with Gary via his appraisal work on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow. Gary offered Marni practical advice, that only an experienced antique expert knows, as she handled her parents estate. Follow each installment here on our blog by clicking each of these links. Third Article: March 22nd, 2013. Second Article: March 16th, 2013. First article: March 9, 2013. Marni Jameson is a nationally syndicated home design columnist, and author of the best-selling The House Always Wins. Marni’s hugely popular syndicated column, “At Home With Marni Jameson,” appears in more than 30 newspapers throughout the United States and Canada reaching 7 million readers each week. Marni's column offers advice and guidance filtered through her personal experiences.