Tornek-Rayville TR-900 Dive Watch, serial number 0270

As a teenager in the 1980s, wristwatches, especially Swatches, were what got me and a lot of my friends into wearing timepieces. I recall owning Swatches, Seikos, and a few Victorinox “tool” watches. I remember receiving a small diameter, 34mm I think, white or ivory dial Seiko with simple stick hands and indices for my 8th-grade graduation. I loved it, but years passed and like many things it found its way to the back of a drawer (my dad found it back there—he wore it for decades, and my mother still wears it today, with an olive green leather Hirsch strap).… Read More

Building a wine collection from scratch can be a daunting undertaking, which is why Skinner is introducing ‘Starter Cellars,’ giving bidders the resources to build an impressive wine list from the ground up.

Starter cellars are designed to fit within your interests and your cellar and are curated to allow for exploration, education and growth. The collections vary in bottle size, regions and vintages, giving you the flexibility to decide what type of collection you would like to build and the advantage of having bottles already aged ready to open and others to lie down and appreciate in value and drinkability.… Read More

Talk by Collector Shirley M. Mueller, MD | Friday, October 11

Dr. Shirley Mueller will be speaking about her book, Inside the Head of a Collector: Neuropsychological Forces at Play. Join us in the Boston Gallery for the reception starting at 5:30PM, followed by the talk at 6PM.

This event is held in conjunction with the October 12 European Furniture & Decorative Arts auction.

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Shirley M. Mueller, MD is an internationally known collector and scholar of Chinese export porcelain, as well as a physician board-certified in Neurology and Psychiatry.… Read More

Joel and Sharon Schwartz began collecting together just prior to their marriage. Having purchased a Georgian brick home in Newton, MA, they felt the need to fill it with wonderful objects that were both fun and consistent with the character of the house. A wicker cart with “more panache than utility” as Joel puts it, was their very first purchase. This cart can be found as Lot 1800, the first lot of their collection offered for in our current Discovery – Interiors online auction.… Read More

Richard Kenworthy, Former Professor of Architecture at Auburn University in Alabama and Asian Art expert discusses collecting with Melanie Mitcheson, Skinner’s Auction Coordinator.

What are the Asian countries represented in the current auction?

Primarily China and Japan. We do have a very unusual piece from India:  a dark wooden valuables chest with decorative straps around it—in the right space, it would be very dramatic (Lot 1520).… Read More

Across the Chasm of Foreignness: Art from the Russian and Soviet Empires in the West

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25  |  RECEPTION 5:30PM  |  LECTURE 6PM

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Anna Winestein, a historian of Russian visual culture, will speak about the international reception of art and artists from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union in the last 150 years. The lecture will be illustrated with select artworks from Skinner’s January 27 Fine Paintings and Sculpture auction, supplemented with images of artworks in American and European collections.… Read More

Funky, quirky, out of sight, wild! Such words are heard repeatedly as people come upon the eclectic Elaine Rush collection in Skinner’s Marlborough gallery as it awaits the online auction that will run from November 30 to December 16.

It’s tempting to call the furniture, accessories, architectural elements, found art and decorative pieces a “cool-ection,”, because cool is the word most often uttered by passers-by.

The auction is presented by the 20th Century Design Department, but like the collector herself, the collection defies boundaries.… Read More

The objects of everyday life, folk art, are the carved and decorated objects (weathervanes, whirligigs, and paintings) often made outside of urban areas by itinerant or self-taught artists and craftspeople. These naive and sometimes primitive objects are often colorful, highly individual and whimsical interpretations of utilitarian or decorative forms. A simple box can be transformed by colorful paint or wind-driven whirligigs can be fashioned in endless variation.… Read More

I get asked this question more than any other.  The short answer:  Everyone.

A single word isn’t much of a blog post, so let me give you the longer version. Skinner auctions are public auctions.  Absolutely anybody who loves art or antiques is welcome to attend. The previews are a time for potential bidders to come into the gallery and view lots first-hand; to examine the condition of a Wayne Thiebaud woodcut, or the construction of a card table or to feel the heft of a piece of Wedgwood.… Read More