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Antiques and The Arts Weekly — April 27, 2012
Taking A New Leap Into
The Twentieth Century
BY MERNA POPPER
OWNER OF ANDES ANTIQUES & ART
Midcentury? And which century might that be? The term midcentury
is bandied about as if the entire universe knows and understands the
excitement spinning around the great artists and designers who produced
home and office furniture and arts during the center cut of the
Twentieth Century. Depending on who tells it, Mid-Twentieth Century
can be 1916–1950, or 1930–1960, but regardless of dates, it’s all about
clean lines and basic design elements suited for life in modern times.
To some, the Modernist period began at the start of the Twentieth
Century, blossoming around 1916, reaching its full swing with the
clean designs and lines of the Bauhaus, which changed the definition of
art and design forever. To others, Twentieth Century design is embodied
by the pared-down sleek lines from Scandinavia, Sweden and Denmark
during the 1950s and 1960s. However you look at it, the bold
movements of the mid-Twentieth Century liberated architecture as well
as home and office furnishings from the history of serious-looking,
ornate tastes culminating in the heavy and elaborate look of the Victorian
era.
Twentieth Century home arts and furnishings have survived at least
three quarters of a century, bursting forth again with a surge of collecting
madness. Buyers have rediscovered the period with gusto, taking a
fresh look at designs from both European and American visionaries.
Like all quality collectibles, great Twentieth Century is scarce and
when it shows up on the marketplace, it gets snapped up quickly,
prized for its continued modern shock value even after all these years.
Many of the early designs are still avant garde and seem new and unfamiliar
to all but the initiated who recognize its sophistication. After all,
Modernism was once the domain of artsy intellectuals, and it takes
time for advanced trends to catch on and become widely accepted. One
thing is certain, in 2012, midcentury and Modernist designs are definitely
H-O-T.
The buzz among collectors, antique dealers and auctioneers is midcentury,
and the craze is escalating at a frenetic pace. “Brown furniture” —
even prized-quality furniture of yesteryear — is out of fashion, having
been replaced by a new insatiable thirst for Modernism.
When my own parents “went modern” and tossed out their leathertop
dark English furniture to make way for low, sleek designs with
bright, new vitality and a life of their own, they were part of the leap
into the new and modern age. The artistic realism of the Industrial
Revolution — representation of things as they had always been recognized
— was being replaced by impressions, the spirit of an object
rather than literal reproductions.
Remarkably, mid-Twentieth Century designs are as fresh and exciting
as they were the day they first appeared. Abstract art, sleek low lines in
home design, horizontal and vertical planes thrown together in a style
of visual music, define the Twentieth Century.
The rush is on. As lasting and viable as Chippendale was in its day,
collectors of midcentury are looking for value and beauty to occupy a
permanent place in the art and antique marketplace as well as an
inspired environment in which to live.
Andes Antiques & Art is located at 173 Main Street, Andes NY 13731.
The gallery will open “Art and Design of the 20th Century,” on May 26.
For information, 845-676-3420.
Lacquered cabinet by Robert Slezak.
THE GALLERY — 15
ANNOUNCING…
the launching of our new web page
devoted to vintage…
ARTS & CRAFTS ARTWORK
ARTHUR WESLEY DOW, “Sunset, Ipswich Meadows,”
watercolor, c. 1890, 9 ¾ x 12 ½” (sight).
One of the largest selections of period Arts & Crafts artwork anywhere!
Over 100 beautifully-framed items including works by
Margaret Jordan Patterson, Oscar Droege, Arthur Wesley Dow,
Gustave Baumann, Englebert Lap, Jane Berry Judson, George
Senseney, Tod Lindemuth… known and unknown artists in all price
ranges…
OSCAR DROEGE,
“Spring in the
Mountains,”
color woodcut,
c. 1925-30,
14 1/8 x 9 3/8.”
Also on our
website,
see our other
offerings under
“Fine Prints”
(nearly 400 American
& European fine prints
from c. 1880-1950’s,)
and
“Paintings.”
Sign up for our yearly catalog of all new offerings
on our website or by calling or emailing us.
We are also actively buying Arts & Crafts artwork by the artists
we list (Gustave Baumann, Arthur Wesley Dow, Margaret
Patterson, etc. etc.) as well as other known and even unknown
artists that are of the period and exhibit that Arts & Crafts “look.”
Please request our free 4 page illustrated want list or check our
website “Buying” pages for more details on what we’re looking
to purchase in all mediums.
STEVEN THOMAS, INC.
Fine Arts & Antiques
BOX 41, WOODSTOCK, VT 05091
Phone / Fax 1-800-781-8028
www.woodblock-prints.com