Maine Antique Digest May 2015

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34-A Maine Antique Digest, May 2015
- SHOW -
After asking for and receiving input
from his 2014 exhibitors, pro-
ducer Kim Martindale tweaked
the 31st annual Marin Show: Art of the
Americas, held February 20-22 in San
Rafael, California, to include some new
ideas. The hours were shorter for the pre-
view (5-7 p.m.; next year the preview
party will be 6-8 p.m.) and on Sunday (11
a.m.-4 p.m.; next year 10 a.m.-4 p.m.).
The attendance was “fantastic,” Mar-
tindale said, “up twenty percent overall,”
with Saturday the busiest day. But foot
traffic doesn’t always translate to sales.
Martindale said sales in the “historic
section” (the main room) were equal to
last year, but sales of the contemporary
material (a one-minute walk across a
footbridge to the Embassy Suites exhibit
area) were down from 2014. Combining
the shows is reconsidered annually.
Teaming up—in a way—with Caskey
Lees’ San Francisco Tribal and Textiles
Arts Show is another possibility Martin-
dale is considering. The two Bay Area
shows are traditionally two weeks apart
in February, a little too long for most
dealers to stay away from home to do
both shows. Several dealers schedule
an annual vacation for the week-plus
in between. In Martindale’s vision, the
shows would be held at the same time on
adjoining piers at the Fort Mason Center
in San Francisco. Stay tuned.
For the first time, auction houses were
not invited to exhibit (a policy that is
under review, with certain caveats). Mar-
tindale said he is “not anti-auction (I
spent $70,000 at the last Bonhams auc-
tion). I’ve thought of doing auctions. But
if they want to be part of the show, they
need to give back to the industry.”
He said he would “love to have a vetted
show” but spoke of the difficulty of find-
ing vettors. “If anyone is willing, please
talk to me. I do some vetting myself, and
I believe vetting is crucial to our indus-
try. The most knowledgeable people are
out there on the floor—I believe dealers
are better than museum people at rec-
ognizing fakes because they have to put
their own money on the line.”
Martindale produces and coproduces
shows in Santa Fe and Los Angeles and
was headed for one of his shows in Palm
Beach the day after talking to M.A.D.
from his headquarters in Venice, Cali-
fornia. “All the shows, all the travel,” he
said with a sigh. If art shows were a stock,
would he buy, sell, or hold? “Buy,” he
replied. “I still believe in them strongly.
People get emotional when they see a
piece in person. At shows, people meet
people with similar interests. They build
bonds that build an industry. Shows
create excitement and enthusiasm that
helps to bring in new people.”
Yesterday and Today, an “amazing,”
said Martindale, exhibit of antique and
contemporary Indian baskets from
northern California, was very popu-
lar with dealers and collectors. Hav-
ing not-for-sale exhibits at his shows
is “a tradition I hope to continue.”
This exhibit will travel to museums.
Future Martindale exhibit subjects
include Chilkat blankets.
If you have a Chilkat blanket
to lend to the exhibit or if you are
a volunteer vettor and/or for more
information about the Marin Show: Art
of the Americas, K.R. Martindale Show
Management, and the 2016 show, con-
tact Kim Martindale at (310) 822-
9145, >
or ).
The attendance
was “fantastic,”
Martindale said,
“up twenty percent
overall.”
Marin Show: Art of the Americas, San Rafael, California
Art of the Americas
by Alice Kaufman
Santa Fe, New Mexico, dealer Jan Duggan was asking $20,000
for this pre-1900 Zuni frog pot. She said that sales were “great”
and that she’d sold beadwork, a specialty that “had been slow
but was definitely coming back.” She added, “Saturday’s
attendance was up from last year.”
South Pasadena, California-based Roadside America’s
1880 Sioux beaded buffalo hide moccasins were deco-
rated with horsehair “noise makers” and were priced
at $3750. Ted Birbilis was lamenting that he didn’t
bring any jewelry, a lesson he will not forget, as South-
west jewelry is always a tremendous draw for Marin
showgoers. When the show opens, many attendees
head straight to the booths with jewelry. Instead, Bir-
bilis said, the show was a buying opportunity. “We are
building inventory for August” when at least six shows
in Albuquerque and Santa Fe attract dealers and col-
lectors, many of whom were at the Marin show. Birbi-
lis added that most of Roadside America’s business is
online, and he’d sold a painting to a collector in Texas
from his San Rafael hotel room that morning.
Susan Swift of Santa Fe,
New Mexico, was asking
$55,000 for this “most
likely Hopi” natural
brown and indigo dia-
mond twilled Pueblo
manta, 1870-80. Swift
said the show had
been “great fun,
with a great clien-
tele” and that the
Pueblo manta
pictured here
sold. “People
here have great
taste.”
Santa Fe, New Mexico, dealer/show production specialist/artist
Victoria Roberts was asking $1400 for this 1890s Santee Sioux vest
with quillwork designs. She said she’d sold “a lot of jewelry.”
Transitional Arts, Prescott, Arizona, priced this set of
large (13" long x 2" wide) “rare” Pomo wooden dice with
the design burned in at $1200. Robert Seng said he had
sold “low-to-medium-priced baskets” and, as always,
Navajo jewelry. “I’m pleased with the results.”
New York City dealer Ross Traut was asking $5500
for the Navajo landscape double saddle blanket,
1900-20. This was Traut’s “first time in a bigger
booth.” How did that work out? “This was my best
Marin show ever.”
Berkeley, California, dealer Frank
Kinsel was asking $2400 for this
1920s-30s silver and turquoise
box-and-bow-style double-strand
squash blossom necklace. He’d
sold jewelry, baskets, and a paint-
ing and called his experience
“somewhat tentative—there are
still three hours to go—but good.”