Author: Michael Chappell

This week’s ‘attic’ sale at Chatsworth naturally enough puts me in mind of the phenomenon of the country house sale. I’ve been lucky enough to attend some fascinating sales over the last 15 years or so, and it might be as much for the opportunity to look within some extraordinary houses as to have the chance to acquire the contents. Prominent among these are Hackwood Park, with its exterior designed by John Vardy and its interior replete with surviving Vardy designed furniture, Adam designed Dumfries House, with its welter of Chippendale furniture, hardly moved since it was installed in the 1750’s, and Easton Neston, the seat of the Lords Hesketh, one of the most exquisite of all late baroque houses.

Dumfries, of course, was one of the most famous sales that never happened, with the Prince of Wales swooping in at the last moment to save both the house and its contents for the nation.  Given my vocation, one might ask what treasures we were able to acquire from any of the other house sales. The short answer is, not a stick. The why of this isn’t too hard to divine, either, as the notion of buying something exquisite from a country house always brings out all of the county set, all with the same objective. Consequently, whatever sells, sells well. Interestingly, the Hackwood Park sale in 1998 was right in the midst of a raging bull market- and, pardon the cliché, at the height of the dot.com boom- and attracted London city types hell bent on making a purchase. Well, that doesn’t include me, who has to make acquisitions at a price that allows me to sell at sufficient profit to allow the occasional purchase of groceries.

It was at the Hackwood sale I first noticed, with the bursting of the dot.com bubble, how much of the material purchased that came back on the market, selling at prices significantly below those achieved for the same items at the original auction. Presumably some of the dot.com/City types needed to buy groceries, too. As much as anything, this kind of phenomenon should serve to demonstrate that the more prominent and inviting the sale, the greater the buying frenzy, and consequently, the less likely one is to acquire something at a fair, much less a bargain, price. That is probably understated- for anything of any quality, the buyer will doubtless pay through the nose.

The forthcoming Chatsworth ‘attic’ sale brings front and centre the work done by François Hervé. One of a legion of émigré craftsman working in London, surprisingly little is known about Hervé, all the more surprising given his illustrious clientele. Besides the fifth Duke of Devonshire on commissions for both Devonshire House and the surviving Chatsworth, Hervé is known to have worked for the Spencer family at Althorp, and for the Prince of Wales at Carlton House, under the aegis of the prince’s favored architect, Henry Holland.

With all that, our own knowledge of Hervé remains sufficiently limited such that our gallery tags show only ‘flourished 1781-1796’ reflecting the dates of his known commissions. Considerable linkages exist between these, as well, both familial and political. The wife of the fifth Duke of Devonshire was the famed Georgiana, the sister of Earl Spencer of Althorp. And, both families shared with the Prince of Wales an affiliation with the reform minded Whig party. Interesting to speculate on what Herve’s pattern of patronage might mean, and if his work- some much of it in gilt in a clearly recognizable French style- might betoken a political and social liberalism on the part of his clients. Or, more probably, was a fashion statement shared by select members of the quality.

Hardly just a wide spot in the road, Fresno, my hometown, is the centre of a metropolitan area containing nearly one million well differentiated souls, but now finding common cause in umbrage. The why of this? Meg Whitman’s characterization of Fresno as ‘awful’. So she is quoted, further comparing Fresno to Detroit, the poster child for urban blight.

As I have been asked this question countless times, let me say, yes, Fresno is still hot in the summer, and yes, Fresno can be damp and foggy in winter. But Fresno, my own family’s home for nearly 150 years remains beautifully sited amidst vineyards and orchards, with the Sierra Nevada range as a backdrop. The setting is remarkable and although the weather can be oppressive, for most of the year, it is enjoyable. Sadly, though, despite over a half century of effort to stem the tide, much of Fresno’s downtown and older residential and commercial areas seem victims of what I would term slash and burn development, with the newer areas at ever increasing remove always, however briefly, the most desirable.

Well, some say so, anyway. Fresno’s downtown, though no longer the city’s retail heart, nevertheless retains a welter of substantial and architecturally significant buildings from early last century, testimony to Fresno’s agricultural hegemony. The city’s first suburban commercial development, the Tower District, so named for the Tower Theatre, an art moderne marvel that survives from the 1930’s, is itself a beautiful, albeit under appreciated, cluster of mid-century architecture.  Our own home in the Fig Garden neighborhood, a leafy enclave in the middle of town, was a joy, designed by Academy Award winning set designer Hilyard Brown.

My Fresno encomium and yet my gallery sited in San Francisco may beg some question, but, frankly, despite years there, we have found that Fresnans who would never consider trading with us locally gleefully seek us out in San Francisco. The ‘if it comes from somewhere else it has to be better’ phenomenon, while not unique to Fresno, exists there in spades. I suppose decades of jokes about Fresno on the Tonight Show have done their damage, with Fresnans consequently not having a very good conceit of their community. Or its appearance, at any rate.

Now Meg has caught them out. Sad, because Fresno remains in most ways a delightful place full of good things, including good people, fewer of whom, I’d venture, will now be supporters of Meg Whitman.

The third opus for SF20 has come and now gone. Some good sales, of course there could have been more, but that’s the show dealer’s lament even in the best of times. With all that, attendance, according to Gordon Merkle of show organizer Dolphin Promotions was up 50% over last year. With our return to the show yesterday mid afternoon, and to see it abuzz with activity, I am strongly inclined to believe him. Traditionally, a good attendance at a preview party- and this year’s party as a benefit for SFMOMA was very lively- does not necessarily translate into a successful show, as the preview party is, well, a party, and not everyone is intent on buying. The last couple of years, though, with the art economy sharing space with all the rest in the doldrums,  attendance during the run of most shows has been poor, with dealers who did not do business at the preview basically out of luck.

It was good to see, then, business done and attendance steady and improving all through the weekend. We spoke to a number of veteran dealers who did not actually sell, but had, in their words, ‘important conversations’, by which they mean they confidently expect follow up, post-show business.

Always important at a decorative arts fair, the support of the design community- shopping with clients or individually- gives the fair legitimacy and certainly lifts the dealers’’ spirits. AD100  designer and fair stalwart Douglas Durkin has done phenomenal work in this regard. In print and in person, Douglas has done yeoman work to raise the profile of SF20. On preview night and even late yesterday afternoon, Douglas was on the show floor, engaging with dealers, clients and friends. Were I wearing a hat, it would be most prominently tipped in his direction.

Times being the way they are (I’m tired of saying that, but times obstinately remain the way they are) it is encouraging to find SF20, arguably the West Coast’s premier modern design fair, previewing last night and open to the public through Sunday, going from strength to strength. In its third year under the management of Dolphin Promotions, Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion has rarely looked so, well, sexy, and, no, it wasn’t my four vodkas on the rocks, refreshing though they were. Our friends at Hedge as usual installed a stunning display.

As impressed as I was with their install last year, I have to say the continuing efforts of Roth Martin and designer/partner Steven Volpe continue to astound.

That said, there was plenty else around to delight, including the offerings from our Los Angeles friends Dragonette and first time exhibitor but modernist stalwart, New York based Todd Merrill Antiques. Speaking of delights- Rachel Prater, you never looked lovelier! Always where the design action is, Rachel’s Danish Silver USA  will be an exhibitor in just a few weeks time at the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show.

SF20 will run through Sunday at the Festival Pavilion at San Francisco’s Fort Mason.