For the fourth year there was a full house of exhibiting dealers at the Westhampton Beach Antiques Show, a fundraising event for the village’s historical society, which took place July 18‱9. Show manager Lisa Fox had gathered dealers at Westhampton Beach High School to offer the variety necessary for success in this shore community with early furniture, art, household accessories and folk art. This area is also a market for Mid-Century and Modern merchandise, however, so Fox added many dealers who offered their later collections, giving the show even more diversity.
Just inside the door, Westfield, N.J., dealer/designer Linda Elmore displayed an assortment of furniture likely to have been from trendy designers from 1930 through 1960, including a pair of barrel back chairs, the traditional form but made from clear plastic †and not a scratch on them. The coffee table resembled an inflated triangle and aluminum posts for legs on a pair of three-drawer chests were the backdrop. For wall art and decoration, Elmore offered a grouping of ballet dancers in clay mounted on board, posters and oils, all a part of her creative décor for the new millennium.
In the next exhibit, Karin and Bill Podmore, Centerport, N.Y., showed another Mid-Century collection, but completely different. A set of metal chairs in Chippendale form, looking as though they were made from tree branches painted in Chinese red with padded seats, were placed around a glass topped table with a metal pedestal base. Another glass-topped piece was a coffee table with the lower half of a mannequin as a prop and to the rear was a pair of glass topped demilune tables with golden dolphins as the pedestals.
In the third exhibit in that row, Nicholas DiBenedetto assembled a traditional collection of antiques, including 12 Hepplewhite side chairs with padded seats and backs, an early American church bench in original paint and several early small chests of drawers. The walls of his weekend-long shop were filled with oil paintings from the last 200 years. Whenever he sold something, he was able to quickly replenish from his home shop in nearby East Quogue, N.Y.
Another dealer with the traditional look, as she called it, was Patricia Barger from Fairfield, Conn. Her collection included an assortment of early American oil on canvas paintings, tall case clocks and Georgian furniture.
Several local dealers were on hand to show their stock and support their shops in the area. Linda and Howard Stein have a shop in Bridgehampton with Mid-Century and some limited amounts of earlier period furniture. Soheil Oriental Rugs has shops in New York City and Huntington, where the firm offers a collection of antique Persian rugs. South Bay Auctions showed some items for sale at the show, but also showcased some lots that would be offered in its upcoming August 29 auction at its gallery in East Moriches. Auctioneer Henry Broggi also offered appraisals during the show.
Cottage Treasures had collections for the show that were early Twentieth Century, but there was also a catalog advertising the firm’s four shop locations in Long Valley and Chester, N.J., and Haverstraw and Troy, N.Y. Folk art was also offered here in the form of carnival wheels and caricatures. The firm’s shops have a broad mix of early and late styles, but space at the show limited the offerings.
Another exhibitor dealing primarily in folk art and fine art was George’s Antiques from Wading River, N.Y. George Vassilov had attractions that included a carousel horse and blackamoor, along with various oil on canvas paintings.
Several exhibitors were offering art as their inventory. LSD Art is Leonard Davenport’s business in Bridgehampton. His collection was Realist and Impressionist paintings from the last century. From Here to Antiquity is in Fairfield, Conn., and also Buenos Aires, Argentina, specializing in art and a limited amount of furniture and jewelry.
Nula Thanhauser was selling vintage handbags from her East Hampton stock. She collects and trades them for the vintage fashions of the Twentieth Century.
Vintage Poster Art from Monroe Township, N.J., was selling colorful examples from the United States and Europe. The posters, mounted to protect them, were in most cases made originally by listed artists as their way of earning a living. Some of the artists, such as Alphonse Mucha, also did portraits and other paintings.
The show is only once a year, but worth remembering for its diversity and selections. Lisa Fox is the primary contact and can be reached at 631-926-4936. Westhampton Beach Historical Society also has a website, www.whbhistorical.org .
