Join us for First Tuesday online!

AUCTION EVALUATION DAY | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1

See what hidden treasures our experts may be able to reveal

We invite you to join us online for our Virtual First Tuesday on December 1. Submit your items anytime before the 1st and Skinner specialists from all departments will be on hand on Tuesday to evaluate items and respond by email.

Let’s get started: 

Step 1: Gather information and images for up to three items of fine & decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, silver, watches & coins and much more.… Read More

Join us for First Tuesday online!

AUCTION EVALUATION DAY | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3

See what hidden treasures our experts may be able to reveal

We invite you to join us online for our Virtual First Tuesday on November 3. Submit your items anytime before the 3rd and Skinner specialists from all departments will be on hand on Tuesday to evaluate items and respond by email.

Let’s get started: 

Step 1: Gather information and images for up to three items of fine & decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, silver, watches & coins and much more.… Read More

Join us for First Tuesday online!

AUCTION EVALUATION DAY | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6

See what hidden treasures our experts may be able to reveal

We invite you to join us online for our Virtual First Tuesday on October 6. Skinner specialists from all departments will be on hand to evaluate items via email.

Let’s get started: 

Step 1: Gather information and images for up to three items of fine & decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, silver, watches & coins and much more.… Read More

Talking Auctions with Karen Keane and Steve Fletcher

ONLINE EVENT | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH AT 4PM

Join us for a casual, free-flowing conversation with Karen Keane and Steve Fletcher  — get their inside view. The discussion will touch on the current market for antiques & fine arts, and delve into the fascinating stories behind some recent auction highlights, from the consignor with a great eye, who purchased a group of furnishings a half-century ago from legendary dealers of the day; to a carved model of a figurehead, donated to Goodwill, purchased on eBay, and sold at Skinner. 

Please register at the button below.… Read More

Join us for First Tuesday online!

AUCTION EVALUATION DAY | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

See what hidden treasures our experts may be able to reveal

We invite you to join us online for our Virtual First Tuesday on September 1. Skinner specialists from all departments will be on hand to evaluate items via email.

Let’s get started: 

Step 1: Gather information and images for up to three items of fine & decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, silver, watches & coins and much more.… Read More

A woman came into Skinner with a collection of family silver that she no longer wanted. She’d already been to a smelter, who offered her $800 to melt the silver down for scrap. It was tempting to take the money, but she felt bad about the decision and decided to come to Skinner auction house first. Clearly, she was uncomfortable with the idea of scrapping something with family history and artistic value.

With its plain form and prominent monogram, this small Tiffany & Co.

… Read More

Known as “The City Beautiful,” Coral Gables “stands out as a rare pearl in South Florida.” Founded in 1899 by George Merrick, a Massachusetts native, Coral Gables exhibits the design aesthetics of enlightened urban planning from the turn of the last century.  Wide, palm-lined avenues, beautiful public green spaces, and monumental buildings combine with the Mediterranean Revival style inspired by cities like Seville and Cartagena. The result is a simply beautiful setting in the sun, urban and urbane, with a grand, yet human, sense of scale.… Read More

This autumn season is turning out to be about all things Russian. In September, Skinner auctioned The Robert Bunting Dance Collection, which included period artifacts from the golden age of the Ballet Russes. A costume design by Léon Bakst for the marchioness in The Sleeping Beauty sold for $66,000 and Pavel Tchelitchew’s Group of Dancers in a Scene from L’Errante brought $26,400.

As Russian culture was being celebrated at Skinner, I was honored when Kent dur Russell, director of the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, invited me to attend the Salomé Ball in Boston on November 16, 2013.… Read More

As a student of American furniture, I was taught early on about the distinct regional styles that developed during our country’s history. Objects made in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York each spoke from their own individual locales. Having lived in Massachusetts for my entire adult life and raised a family here, the unique material culture of this region appeals to me personally. The grace, femininity, and economy of movement in Massachusetts furniture evoke traditional Yankee thrift as well as the modern notion that less is more.… Read More

Guest post by John T. Kirk © 2013. The John T. Kirk Collection will be offered in the American Furniture & Decorative Arts auction on August 11, 2013 in Marlborough.

I grew up twenty miles west of Philadelphia in what was, in the 1930s and ’40s, a rural landscape. Kirks had been in the Philadelphia area since the 18th century and it was logical that my parents had some early furniture. As was natural at that time I happily refinished an array of pine pieces I purchased.… Read More