Events | September 1, 2011

SF Fall Antiques Show - Treasure Tales

San Francisco, CA - September 1, 2011 - From October 27 - 30, The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, presents TREASURE TALES - a six-part lecture series.  The theme of this year’s show, Hidden Treasures, is inspired by the pearl, the treasure hidden within an oyster shell that is the traditional 30th anniversary gift.  The lecture series will explore a range of treasures with renowned experts in their fields, including: Archduke Dr. Géza von Habsburg, who will discuss princely treasures from Kunstkammern, and former FBI Agent Robert Wittman, who will share tales of art heists and masterpieces that remain hidden.  Designer Saturday will focus on ‘30s movie set design and contemporary interior design.  All lectures take place at the Festival Pavilion of Fort Mason Center.

 
TREASURE TALES
The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show 2011 Lecture Series
Presenting Sponsor: Sotheby’s
 
Thursday, October 27, 11:00 a.m.
Born to be Beautiful: Pearls and the Celebrated Women Who Wore Them
Ruth Peltason, Author, Editor, and Lecturer, New York
Like the finest strand of pearls, celebrated women are innately connected by the excellence of their jewelry.  Diamonds may sparkle, and the jeweler’s trinity of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds may add color, but pearls are unique in gifting every woman with classic style.  Society swans Grace Kelly, Babe Paley, Florence Gould, the Duchess of Windsor, Doris Duke, Chanel, Marjorie Merriweather Post, Barbara Hutton, Diana Vreeland, the Maharani of Baroda, and Elizabeth Taylor and their signature pearl necklaces, tiaras, rings, bracelets, and earrings made by the great jewelry houses will be showcased by Peltason, author of Living Jewels: Masterpieces from Nature: Coral, Pearls, Horn, Shell, Wood & Other Exotica (Vendome Press, 2010).
Book-signing to follow.
Presented in collaboration with the Museum of Craft and Folk Art.

Thursday, October 27, 2:30 p.m.   
Collecting Opportunities: The Rise of the Asian Art Markets
Henry Howard-SneydRebecca,, Vice Chairman of Asian Art, Sotheby’s, New York
In recent years, Asia has become a leading center of the international art market, with many newsworthy auctions of historic treasures and contemporary finds, such as the sales of the Meiyintang collection of Chinese ceramics and the Ullens collection of Chinese contemporary art.  Howard-Sneyd, who has been the Sotheby’s auctioneer for many record prices in Asian art, will compare and contrast Chinese and Indian collecting and collectors. He also will analyze the boom and opportunities in the contemporary Asian paintings market.
 
Friday, October 28, 11:00 a.m.
Princely Treasures
Archduke Dr. Géza von Habsburg, Fabergé Guest Curator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Lecturer, and Author, New York??Beginning in the late 16th century, Kunstkammern (literally “art chambers,” also referred to as “cabinets of curiosities”) were formed by princes for their own personal pleasure to share but with a select few. These predecessors of museums also served didactic purposes. They often contained some of the most valuable unalienable heirlooms of a family. Illuminating the hidden collections of the Ambras Castle of Archduke Ferdinand II; the Hradshin in Prague of Emperor Rudolf II; and the Munich Residenz of the Wittelsbach dukes, von Habsburg will acquaint us with the passion with which royalty obtained and vied with each other over their treasures.
Book-signing to follow.
Presented in collaboration with the French Heritage Society, The Royal Oak Foundation, and Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation.

 
Friday, October 28, 2:30 p.m. 
U.S. vs. Art Thieves: Tales From the FBI's Real Indiana Jones
Robert Wittman, Former Special Agent and Founder of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Art Crime Team, and Author, Pennsylvania
Dubbed as “the FBI’s real Indiana Jones” and "the most famous art detective in the world," Wittman spent 20 years recovering more than $300 million of stolen art and cultural property.  Sharing some of the tales in his bestseller, Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures (Crown, June, 2010), he will recount notorious heists and daring recoveries of priceless antiquities; paintings by Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso; and artifacts such as a rare Civil War battle flag.  He also will report on attempts to find masterpieces that are still at large, such as the $500-million theft in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
Book-signing reception to follow.
Supporting Sponsor: Waterworks
 
DESIGNER SATURDAY
Presented in collaboration with The Northern California Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art and the San Francisco Design Center.
 
Saturday, October 29, 11:00 a.m.
Designing Hollywood’s Golden Age: Art Direction from Films of the 1920’s and 30’s
Cathy Whitlock, Interior Designer and Author, Nashville
From the stylish, white-on-white, glossy interiors in Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger’s musical classic “Top Hat,” to the dramatic Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired architecture featured in Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead,” Art Deco and Modernism reigned supreme during Hollywood’s Golden Age of cinema.  Using archival photographs and original renderings, Whitlock, author of Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction (Harper Collins, 2010), will illustrate memorable sets of the twenties and thirties and discuss the role of design in creating the transportive world of the “silver screen.”   
Book-signing to follow.
Presented in collaboration with the Art Deco Society of California.
 
Saturday, October 29, 2:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion:
The Curated Home: Designing Today with Art and Antiques
Thomas Jayne, David Kleinberg, and Suzanne Lovell, Interior Designers and Authors;
Suzanne Tucker, Moderator
In honor of the show’s 30th anniversary, celebrated interior designers will offer their trade secrets and professional advice on integrating fine and decorative arts with diverse architecture, textiles, finishes, and client sensibilities.  These experts from across the country will share images and ideas from their new publications: Thomas Jayne on The Finest Rooms in America: 50 Influential Interiors from the 18th Century to the Present (The Monacelli Press, 2010), ranging from historic Monticello to contemporary Manhattan; Traditional Now: Interiors by David Kleinberg(The Monacelli Press, 2011), whose work updates the influence of his early career at the New York City firm of Parish-Hadley; Artistic Interiors: Designing with Fine Art Collections (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2011), showcasing Chicagoan Suzanne Lovell’s unique approach to designing custom environments; and insights from San Francisco’s own tastemaker, Suzanne Tucker.
Book-signing reception to follow. ??Supporting Sponsor: California Homes
 
 
2011 FALL ANTIQUES SHOW DATES AND HOURS
Preview Party: Wednesday, October 26, 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Show: Thursday, October 27-Saturday, October 29, 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.;
Sunday, October 30, noon to 5:00 p.m.
 
LOCATION
Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion, Marina Boulevard at Buchanan Street, San Francisco, CA
 
TICKETS
PREVIEW PARTY BENEFIT GALA
Supporter (7 p.m. admission for 1)                                        $250
Enthusiasts (6 p.m. admission for 2)                                      $600
Aficionados (5 p.m. admission for 2)                                     $1000
Collectors Circle (4 p.m. admission for 2)                               $2750
Connoisseurs Circle (4 p.m. admission for 2)                         $5000
 
SHOW
General Admission - includes catalogue                                  $15     
 
LECTURES                                                                                                                                       
In advance - not including General Admission                       $15
Onsite - not including General Admission                             $18
Lecture Series                                                                       $115
(6 lectures, includes General Admission)
Lunch and Lecture Package                                                   $50
 
 
EXHIBITORS
The SFFAS features 65 leading decorative and fine arts galleries from across the United States and Europe, including new dealers Antoine Cheneviére Fine Arts from London, Galerie Lefebvre from Paris, and Spencer Marks from Massachusetts, along with returning exhibitors Beauvais Carpets and Kentshire from New York, Susan Ollemans Oriental Art from London, Steinitz from Paris, American Garage and Therien from Los Angeles, epoca and Hackett/Mill from San Francisco, and many others.
 
SPONSORS
Corporate sponsorship for the show is provided by U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management as Premier Sponsor, along with generous support from The ACE Group, P. A. Bet Architectural Casework and Millwork, Blackbird Vineyards, Bonhams & Butterfields, 1stdibs, Fort Point Insurance Services, Gump’s, Korbel California Champagne,Lawrence Fine Art Services, Mandarin Oriental, Neiman Marcus, One Kings Lane, Paige Glass Company, Peninsula Custom Homes, Willem Racké Studio, Rose Tarlow Melrose House, Andrew Skurman Architects, Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s International Realty, andTuron Travel.  Media sponsors include artnet, Apollo, California Home + Design, California Homes, Luxe Interiors + Design, The Magazine Antiques, Nob Hill Gazette, Veranda, and 7x7.
 
ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO FALL ANTIQUES SHOW
The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show Benefiting Enterprise for High School Students is the oldest and most prestigious international antiques fair on the West Coast. Each year, the fair features an extraordinary range of fine and decorative arts, representing all styles and periods including American, English, Continental, and Asian furniture, silver, ceramics, glass, jewelry, rugs, textiles, paintings, prints, and photographs.  The 30th annual Show will be held Thursday, October 27-Saturday, October 29, 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Sunday, October 30, noon to 5:00 p.m.  For more information, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.sffas.org.
 
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