Winter Show Going Viral

NEW YORK, NY  – New York's longest-running art, antiques and design fair is going viral this year.

The Winter Show 2021 takes place on an immersive online platform, on view from January 22-31, with VIP preview access now through January 21. 

Featuring 60 exhibitors, the virtual fair brings together a dynamic group of leading international dealers that represent a diverse and global mix of fine and decorative arts from ancient times to the present day. The Show was established in 1954 by East Side House Settlement to benefit the community-based organization’s critical mission serving the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. All net proceeds from The Winter Show’s VIP Preview Access and any additional donations directly benefit East Side House and contribute substantially to the organization’s life-changing work.

The Winter Show’s new online platform allows exhibitors to present works in a variety of formats including a three-dimensional virtual gallery exhibition, featuring up to twenty artworks and objects at a time. Visitors are able to take in the digital presentations as a whole and view close-up, detailed views of the range of works displayed. The new platform also provides a space for discussion and engagement, offering virtual “office hours” for visitors to connect with dealers directly by phone, text, or video chat via Zoom. In keeping with the Show’s commitment to presenting an unparalleled and high-quality selection of works in the fine and decorative arts, objects in the online fair have been reviewed by photographs and documentation for authenticity, date, and condition by a committee of experts from the United States and Europe.

"We’re thrilled to share the first online edition of The Winter Show,” said Helen Allen, executive director. “We are grateful to our exhibitors, partners, and the institutions and leading voices in art, antiques, and design who have adapted to our current times and brought together incredible presentations and engaging programming for digital audiences this year. It’s a tremendous opportunity to be able to support the mission of East Side House and expand awareness of the organization’s critical work.”

The 2021 online edition offers collectors and connoisseurs the opportunity to acquire and encounter an extensive range of works including paintings, photography, sculpture, tapestry, prints, ceramics, jewelry, arms and armor, antique furniture, and contemporary design. Dealers from around the world present exclusive art and objects, highlighting historically significant pieces by leading designers, artists, and makers in their respective fields. 

Friday, January 22, 4 pm EST: "Tradition and Imagination: Winterthur’s Chandler Farm." Carol Cadou, the Charles F. Montgomery Director and CEO of the Winterthur Museum, and award-winning interior designer Thomas Jayne will discuss the recent redecoration of historic Chandler Farm, long the home of the museum’s directors. Both Cadou and Jayne are graduates of Winterthur’s Program in American Material Culture. 

Monday, January 25, 1 pm EST: "Historic Gardens: Three New York Treasures." Barbara Israel, Howard Zar (Director, Lyndhurst), Stephen Byrns (President, Untermyer Gardens Conservancy) and Lorraine Gilligan (Director of Preservation, Old Westbury Gardens) will discuss some of the Northeast region's most notable historic gardens and grounds. During the pandemic, public gardens have become doubly valued as safe havens and their popularity has soared. Join the panel discussion for a glimpse into the histories of these three outstanding gardens and explore their influences and stylistic differences.

Monday, January 25, 5 pm EST: The Magazine ANTIQUES presents: "Evolving Narratives in the 21st Century Museum." The questions of whose history and culture American museums represent and who these institutions are speaking to will be addressed. Elizabeth Pochoda, advisory editor of ANTIQUES, and a panel of distinguished curators and museum directors will  discuss the ways in which museums are engaging previously underrepresented artists, subject matter, and audiences. The panelists will speak about their past and current efforts towards change, and their specific approaches to audience engagement.

Tuesday, January 26, 5 pm EST: "Blended Spirits: A Curious Objects Cocktail Hour at The Winter Show." A live Winter Show event with Curious Objects, the podcast from The Magazine ANTIQUES. Winter Show exhibitors Daniel Crouch (Daniel Crouch Rare Books), Carrie Imberman (Kentshire), and Keegan Goepfert (Les Enluminures) join host Ben Miller for a cocktail hour Zoom chat about alcohol-friendly antiques. From a medieval illustration of beer-quaffing Trappist monks to a goat-head silver drinking cup, you'll hear about wacky objects and the wild stories behind them from some of the show's most irreverent dealers. 

Wednesday, January 27, 1 pm EST: "The Bennett Collection: A Passion for Collecting." Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt have spent years amassing an impressive collection dedicated exclusively to figurative realist paintings of women by women. The Collection’s aim – to elevate women painters (who have not received the same degree of acceptance as their male counterparts) and to ignite enthusiasm and dialogue about figurative realism, a style which, over the past half century, has fallen out of favor. The Collection includes work by historical trailblazing women painters such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassatt, and Elisabetta Sirani alongside some of the most exciting women painters currently working: Julie Bell, Margaret Bowland, Aleah Chapin, Aneka Ingold, and dozens of others.

Wednesday, January 27, 5 pm EST: "Garden Delights: Bringing the Outdoors Inside." New York Cottages & Gardens Editor Kendell Cronstrom, interior designer Matthew Patrick Smyth, and Winter Show dealers Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz and Benoist Drut of Maison Gerard will lead the discussion.

Thursday, January 28, 5 pm EST: "Craft: An American History." The United States has always been a nation of makers. From initial settlement through successive waves of immigration, craft has been crucial to America’s economy and its identity, appealing to deeply held ideas of individuality and self-sufficiency. In his new book, historian and curator Glenn Adamson argues that crafted objects have played another, under-recognized role in our history, as symbols in the fight for social progress and as ethical guideposts, pointing firmly toward the future. Following his reading, he will be joined by Ethan Lasser, curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for a discussion of the book and its subject. 

To purchase tickets for The Winter Show VIP Preview now through Jan. 21, call (718) 292-7392 or visit thewintershow.org.

To see the full list of events and register in advance for live conversations, visit thewintershow.org/events.