Greenwich...New York

After Philadelphia on Saturday, we decided to head back to Greenwich, New York on Sunday. We had blogged about Greenwich a few weeks back after finding some amazing antique homes there. Heading back to become more familiar with the area, our best assumptions were confirmed: warm people, lovely historical homes and a gorgeous countryside.

A grand Greek Revival in the center of town

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A view of Church Street

At our favorite antique store on Main Street

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Our favorite home on Main Street is abandoned, the owner not willing to sell.

The lot size and character of the home are amazing.

And the yard seems to be well maintained.

The Value in Aging

This weekend, the proverbial hunt led us to an enchanted forrest of sorts in Philadelphia, at the The Naval Yard. The 2010 Philadelphia Antique Show took place at the Philadelphia Cruise Termimal and showcased over 50 dealers and galleries from across the country. It was a new lesson is aesthetic, quality and value.

Carved and painted wood ship figurehead from the Fulton built in 1813: $64,000

Sheet metal north wind weathervanes, French, circa 1880: $12,500

Leaping stage carousel figure attributed to Gustav Dentzel, late 19th century: $68,500

Theodore Deck ceramic charger by Ernest Carriere, circa 1880 at Lillian Nassau estimated at $3,000

Carved walnut cherub with traces of blue, red and white paint: $5,500 at Sumpter Priddy III

Early American Parcheesi Board; pine with original polychromed finish: $14,000

Metal hat with red ribbon signed M. A. Rae, 1866: $3,500

Conversational portrait, oil on canvas in original gilt frame at Joe Kindig, circa 18oo: $18,000

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Star quilt with applique work, circa 1845: $5,800 at The Herrs Antiques

Dancing man on cigar box; carved and painted wood, fabric and paper circa 1900 listed for $9,500

Horse and Jockey weathervane, attributed to J. W. Fiske, circa 1890; molded and sheet copper, cast iron and zinc with traced of gilt: $68,000

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure

We have a confession...when we're on the road, one of our favorite pastimes is to transform the rooms we stay in. Nothing major, just reaccessorizing with our proudly won "treasures." So when we came across an article about Butch Anthony in the New York Times, we were thrilled---his aesthetic is a mix between found-chic and minimalism. We've attached some shots of our visits to New England, in which we "transformed" our rooms. Though we're coming from opposite ends of the compass, both aesthetics are warm and inviting, yet elegant.

Butch Anthony [left] in his " uniform"

Butch Anthony's Doo Nanny Festival

View of the porch at an antique shop we found in New Hampshire [talk about curb appeal!]

Alabama Chanin chair with the "butch" touch

A Butch Anthony Bedroom

A galvanized bath tub we found in Maine

Our Maine B & B transformed with new art and accessories

Butch Anthony bedroom

The mantle re-accessorized with our finds

A Night At The Opera: Tosca

Peduzzi's art studio interpretation [l], Zeffirelli's [r]

The church: Peduzzi [t], Zefirelli [b]

We had the opportunity to attend Tosca at Lincoln Center last night. Replacing Franco Zeffirelli's traditional sets, Richard Peduzzi's updated vision left us a bit cold--the church in Act 1 felt stark, almost prison like and the palace in Act 2 was strangely over-worn and scaled disproportionately. Our first thought was of David Hockney's reinterpretation of traditional set designs--clearly a master artist and designer, his creations feel like pure magic.

The Rake's Progress, 1975

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David Hockney's Turandot
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Catherine Ferguson's Hockney influenced Aida for Opera Omaha

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Lucky Draw!

SculptureCenter's Lucky Draw is hands-down our favorite event of the year. The price of a ticket buys you the right to take home any piece of art in the gallery that is still hanging (or sitting on a pedestal) when your name is called.

In an effort to raise extra money during the event, the top three picks are auctioned off to the highest bidder. This year's first pick (Untitled by Wade Guyton) sold for $35,000. But we felt even luckier when we nabbed the Richard Serra below. We also took home a cast plastic sculpture by local artist Luisa Kazanas, and our friends were proud to bring Simensky, Blum and Sherrick to their respective homes.

Richard Serra Promenade Notebook Drawing for Obama, 2008

One color etching

Luisa Kazanas Untitled, 2010

Cast Plastic

Wade Guyton Untitled, 2006

Epson UltraChrome injet on linen

Peter Simensky Went Corporate, 2006

Digital inkjet print on 'Neutral Capital 202' cut sheets (collaged currencies reprinted in ink on paper)

Susan Sherrick Untitled, (Los Angeles), 2007

Gelatin-silver print

Andrea Blum Bell Jar, 2010

Computer generated image on archival paper

Acting Koi

There was nothing as relaxing as sitting beside the koi pond at the New York Botanical Garden this weekend. Luckily we had our camera in-hand, clicking as the koi cut the surface--their colors brilliant against the inky water. No one has ever captured this as well as artist Joseph Raffael, whose lithographs we've included below.

Like a knife through the water, at the New York Botanical Garden

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Joseph Raffael, Celebration, 1980

Surfacing
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Joseph Raffael, Night Sky Fish, 1978 at Leslie Hindman via Liveauctioneers

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