“Everyone grips the stems of champagne flutes as tightly as the arms of their art advisors.”
Intrepid reporter JANET MERCEL braves a blizzard to report on the social storm at The Winter Show on Park Avenue.
The Governor warned us about “the coldest winter storm we’ve seen in years.” But the 72nd Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory forged on to headline Antiques Week in Manhattan. Perhaps Kathy Hochul was unaware that it would take more than “brutal, bone chilling and dangerous” weather to keep away New Yorkers on the hunt for their next acquisition.
600 people turn up while the storm is in its full throes. There were 3,000 visitors the day before. The fair runs through February 1. Helen Allen, the show’s executive director, points out that their largest sales have happened during winter storms.
75 exhibitors stock their lush, upholstered booths with 5,000 years’ worth of art, antiques and design, the proceeds directly supporting the East Side House Settlement, as they have for all 72 years of the show.
“Guests pile black caviar onto handfuls of potato chips, while a vintage flywheel churns out melting-thin slices of prosciutto.”
Guests pile black caviar onto handfuls of potato chips, while a vintage flywheel churns out melting-thin slices of prosciutto. Everyone grips the stems of champagne flutes as tightly as the arms of their art advisors. New York’s A-List is here: Peter Marino, Jamie Drake, Christine Gachot, Michael Diaz-Griffith, Tom Delavan, Tori Mellot, Jacqueline Terrebonne, Lucinda B. May, Wendy and Tonne Goodman and Jill Kargman, to name a few.
Antique dealer Ben L. Miller is part of “Study of a Young Collector,” one of the night’s biggest draws. A luxe little booth evokes the private study of an imaginary emerging client – the debut showcase was hand-curated by art advisor and writer Patrick Monahan with Helen Allen. Miller, host of Antiques magazine’s wildly popular podcast Curious Objects and founder of his eponymous gallery, is hoping to make a mark among the stalwarts. “Even as a relatively unknown business there’s a certain level of seriousness in conversations beyond what I’m used to,” Miller confesses. “Customers know where the buck stops and ultimately, it’s with the owner. Now the potential stakes are all on me. Still, if I went through the whole fair without selling, it’s worth it. This is essentially my coming out party.”
And that dream of the elusive young collector? “It’s an older collector here,” Miller says. “But there are people under 45 who buy things. Dealers like to be cynical and skeptical. There’s the old joke about ‘the young and the checkless,’ which was chuckle-worthy the first hundred times I heard it. We all know that young people have less to spend, but you can open the door and invite them in and make it exciting.”
The next morning, panic is brewing about the upcoming storm. At the Design Luncheon, I run into Daniel Diaz, executive director of East Side House. “In my 21 years doing the Winter Show, I think we’ve only had to close once because of the weather in 2016,” he tells me. “We’re New Yorkers, we know how to get rid of snow. They’ll move it somewhere else.”
“They assure me it doesn’t look too Nancy Reagan. ‘But we love Nancy!’ someone exclaims. ‘She was an actress before she was First Lady.'”
At James Robinson, the vintage jewelry dealer, guests are invited to select pieces to wear to the luncheon. “I believe you know my toddler, Sloane,” I say to Robinson, by way of introduction. Our 3-year-old is often in tow with my husband on his visits to the Park Avenue store. Which brooch to accent my vintage Adolfo boucle jacket, emblazoned with international flag passementerie? I land on a gold basketweave brooch (unsigned, $7500). They assure me it doesn’t look too Nancy Reagan. “But we love Nancy!” someone exclaims. “She was an actress before she was First Lady.” Joan Boening nods her approval. “I think people don’t often get the chance to try things,” she says of the high-ticket loans. “Meeting new, younger people who haven’t been exposed to something like this before is great, too.”
In the Board of Officers Room, tables are dressed in print linens from Cara Cara’s resort collection. I see interior designer Darren Henault and Cara Cara’s Sasha Martin. I table-hop to Starrett Ringborn’s table, sandwiched between Cabana editor Kate Berry and Christian Leone, just in time for the panel discussion.
Borrowed gold brooches, caviar on potato chips and the storm warning of the decade? Just another week at the Winter Show.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BFA
