Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors: The Liberty Boys & The History of Tattooing in Boston (available at www.rakehouse.com)

VIRTUAL BOOK SIGNING | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 AT 5PM

Join us for a virtual book signing and conversation live on Zoom with Derin Bray and Margaret Hodges, authors of Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors: The Liberty Boys & The History of Tattooing in Boston (www.rakehouse.com). The discussion hosted by Skinner’s Steve Fletcher will touch on the rich tradition of tattooing and tattoo folk art as featured in their book.… Read More

Virtual Americana Trivia Game

Created by Chris Barber, Deputy Director of American Furniture & Decorative Arts

Test your knowledge of all things Skinner Americana (specifically, this November’s sale offerings) in this virtual game of as-competitive-as-you-want-to-make-it trivia and fun! You’ll venture through topics ranging from ceramics, glass, and metalware to furniture and folk art. Play at home with family or over a video conference with friends near and far!… Read More

August Americana showcased fresh-to-the-market property owned by a variety of consignors who trusted Skinner to handle their collections with the care, honesty, and expertise for which Skinner has developed a reputation over their decades in business.

Property of Various Owners

A legendary, but long-dormant connoisseurs collection purchased quietly from many of the best dealers of the late 1960s and early 1970s produced some of the best prices and most competitive bidding.… Read More

Folk art can appeal in different and often unexpected ways, and I think that surprise element is what draws me to it most. That we don’t often know a lot about its imaginative makers adds to the intrigue.

Folk Art Fish Weathervane, America, mid-20th century (Lot 2514, Estimate: $300-500)

A 20th century figure of a fish made from a bowling pin is a great example of the unexpected nature of folk art. The pin, which has clearly been used, shows the wear from the heavy contact it received from bowling balls over its years in its first life, has been altered to look like a fish, in much the way that a 19th century folk artist saw a tree root and fashioned a snake.… Read More

Welcome to August Americana at Skinner! Our three online sales offer all that you’ve come to expect this time of year, and more. We’ve showcased some highlights in the flyer, and explore the rest online.

The Kolar Collection online

AUGUST 3–12

Skinner is honored to be offering the Kolar Collection as the centerpiece of our annual August Auction. Carefully assembled over decades by collector, scholar, and author John Kolar, the collection is an impressive grouping of painted furniture, Windsor chairs, folk art, pottery, and weathervanes from 18th and 19th century America.… Read More

Virtual auction “rooms” packed with bidders competing from the safety and comfort of their homes on a few early New England spring days drove a $1.28M result for two highly successful online auctions of American Furniture and Decorative Arts which closed on www.skinnerinc.com on April 13th and 15th. Overall, bidders embraced the online platform and operated with a familiar competitive vigor, often causing the bidding on a lot to extend far beyond its prescribed closing time.… Read More

Talk by Scholar and Curator Trevor Fairbrother

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8

Skinner is delighted to offer two works by John Singer Sargent that have been with a local family for over ninety years. Scholar and Curator Trevor Fairbrother will give a breezy overview of the artist’s work as a watercolorist and take a close look at these splendid Italian images – Bologna Fountain and Olive Grove.

RECEPTION 5:30PM, TALK 6PM

REGISTER HERE

Trevor Fairbrother earned both his B.A.… Read More

George Washington is one of the most recognizable figures in American history. Revered as the father of our country, America’s first Commander in Chief led the struggle for independence and served as the nation’s first president. His legacy remains a vivid part of our daily lives. There are countless counties across the United States named in his honor, a state, and the nation’s capital. We see his image nearly every day on the quarter and one dollar bill, and around the President’s Day holiday in February through a dazzling array of television and print advertisements for automobiles, furniture, and a vast sea of consumer goods specially priced in celebration of the holiday.… Read More

BOSTON, MA – August 23, 2018 – On Friday, September 21, Skinner presents an outstanding two-session auction of Prints, Multiples & Photographs and Paintings & Sculpture with over 350 lots spanning Old Masters through contemporary offerings. Robin S. R. Starr, Vice President and Director of American & European Works of Art, notes, “We’re excited about the depth and breadth of the works in the September auction, from a rediscovered Gérôme masterpiece to a considerable number of fresh to the market works from private collections, including of the composer, lyricist, author, playwright, recording artist, and performer, Dory Previn.” 

Paintings & Sculpture

The marquee lot of the sale is by Jean-Léon G érôme.… Read More

A legacy of beauty, ingenuity, and craftsmanship in Skinner’s August Americana auctions

Skinner’s tradition of notable Americana sales continues with auctions on August 12 & 13 and an online auction August 6-14.  The two-day and online sales comprise nearly 1500 lots of fine American folk art, furniture, ceramics, and maritime antiques.  Day 1 kicks off the auction with two outstanding collections, the Collection of Gail and Don Piatt and the Arthur & Sybil Kern Collection of American Folk Art, Part I.  The Piatt collection features a delightful array of fine country antiques with an emphasis on early New Hampshire painted furniture, samplers, lighting, decorative arts, and painted miniature smalls.  Highlights include:

• Rare cupboard/watch hutch (Lot 28, Estimate $4,000-$6,000)
• Needlework Sampler “Ruhamah Dearborn,” Portsmouth, New Hamphsire (Lot 68, Estimate $2,000-$3,000)

The Kern collection is encyclopedic in its representation of New England folk art.… Read More