It took the tapping of several stemmed glasses with spoons to quiet the crowd that had gathered in the large tent adjoining the Navy Yard Terminal for the annual ADA Award of Merit presentation and dinner on April 18. The stilled room gave Ed Hild, ADA vice president, an opportunity to welcome everyone who came to honor this year’s recipient, Philip Zea of Historic Deerfield. He wasted no time with words, running quickly through the list of past winners and then inviting all to the buffet tables.
Prior to dessert, Ed returned to the podium and introduced the master of ceremonies, John Keith Russell, ADA president, who came from behind the curtain in the garb of a Nineteenth Century Shaker Brother. “I went straight to the Hancock Shaker Village for this outfit,” John confided, “and when Arthur Liverant sees me, hopefully I will never be asked to do this again.”
Apparently Philip Zea likes to dress the part for several occasions at Deerfield, “So I did this out of respect for him,” John noted. “Phil has built a career between two worlds, objects and people, and has gained the respect and admiration from all those around him,” John said.
“Phil loves clocks, that’s what makes him tick, and all are well regulated,” Jane Nylander, president emerita of Historic New England, said as she took the podium to say a few words about the honoree. She spoke highly of the dedication Phil has shown to the various organizations he has worked for and with over the past 36 years, from his participation in the Winterthur Fellow program to his present job as president of Historic Deerfield. She concluded by saying that “he has devoted his life to people and things and is cherished by his staff and trustees.”
Luke Beckerdite, editor, Annual Journal of American Furniture, also spoke, sharing some stories about his longtime friend and showing pictures of Phil’s journey through the museum world. He took those present from Phil’s time at Wesleyan, on to Winterthur, Old Sturbridge Village, the New Hampshire Historical Society, SPNEA (now Historic New England) and Historic Deerfield. Luke spoke of the busy and rewarding career Phil has lived and noted he still found time to author four books and countless articles for publications and catalogs.
After accepting the ADA award from John Keith Russell, Philip Zea said, “I have come with three trays of slides and there does not seem to be a projector here.” But he kept the evening alive with a good joke (ask him to tell you about Enoc sometime), a bit of family history, including his wife Betsy, two children and parents Howard and Connie, his travels through the world of museums, from his first job at Old Sturbridge Village in 1974 to his return to Historic Deerfield to serve as its president in 2003. “All roads led back to Historic Deerfield,” he said, “where there is a strong passion for preservation and documentation.”
He stressed the importance of our country needing memories of its past, of preservation and the need for research support. “We are the keepers of the cultural flame and of other people’s recreation,” he said in closing.
Philip Zea was the eighth person to be given the Award of Merit by the Antiques Dealers’ Association of America and the first person from the museum field. The award is presented annually during the run of The Philadelphia Antiques Show.
