Collection: Everything Else

The great chalices of the mid 1960's fairly consistently had decoration based on Biblical stories, albeit ones abstractly represented and imaginatively told. This work is unusual and possibly unique in that its decorative imagery is related to the Surrealist inspired automatic drawing that is seen a decade earlier on bowls made by Mary and with surface treatment designed and executed by Edwin. As in those earlier works, this piece, signed "Scheier" and dated 66 (1966), appears at first to be entirely abstract in drawing and then, upon careful observation, reveals facial profiles and hands.
The chalice is primarily covered in a matte brown volcanic glaze with areas of bronze and copper color. The central band which holds the decorative frieze is inscribed with off- white drawing. The different glazes transition beautifully into each other. Inside the piece is deep brown except for an area near the rim which is blue-grey in color.
20 inches high and with a maximum diameter of 7 inches.

Perfection of form, decorative complexity in surface treatment, paired with subtle coloration of clay body: within the category of abstract drawing reflecting Surrealist influence, as well as here Picasso-esque primitivism, that appears in the Scheier New Hampshire work by 1950, this piece stands out for its mastery. Its drawing and glazing and technical expertise are not surpassed within the category. It reflects the finest level achieved within this group which as a whole is regarded as one of their most important . Additionally, its coloration is unusual with the group- here a palette of grey with black incised drawing lines, the norm being a deep brown with tan/ivory drawing.

From the collection of Marion Wood, Durham, NH, supporters and patrons of the Scheiers in mid 20th century New Hampshire. 12 1/8 inches wide and 6 3/8 inches high.

The decorative treatment of this tan matte glazed plate is abstract in the fashion of works by Matisse. What is interesting about Edwin Scheier's decorative drawing is that it is contemporaneous with abstract works that could be seen in New York. Unusual is the fact that he applied his drawing to ceramic works, not to paintings and drawings. Certainly other artists, most notably Picasso, also did ceramic work with abstracted drawing, but the Scheiers worked in rural New Hampshire at this time and had limited exposure to cutting-edge work seen in New York, then the center of the art world.
Here, a woman's face is portrayed with simple but elegant lines, asymmetric, fluidly drawn, and bordered by repetitive patterns and freely drawn lines and curves.
11 1/8 inches wide and 1 inch high. The use of red clay dates this work before 1957. New Hampshire.

A small deep bowl with straight sides, glazed in a very flat brown grainy surface on the outside, and with a smooth brown surface inside. On this piece, the figures used in Edwin's Jonah and the Whale imagery are placed in a band that alternates standing figures and fish but without the usual merging of the two. The deep brown color brightly contrasts with a white (not the more typical tan) inscribed design, creating a dramatic visual effect on this small work.
New Hampshire, circa 1950. 5 inches high and 5 7/8 inches wide at rim.

In the 40's the Scheiers experimanted with drawing that was figural and abstract in the manner of childrens' drawings. Over time the abstraction became more sophisticated, as it is here in the profile drawings of the faces of the man and woman. Also, the human and animal figures form here a closer composition than that seen in earlier work, and it becomes harder to separate each into its component parts. This quality will, later in Edwin's decoration, reach a stage where they merge and overlap into even more abstract images.
The figures- man, woman, bird, cat, and horse- are scrafitto drawn and inside decorated with "hatching", short parallel lines which fill in an area. Outside the figures, a more complex linear patterning fills in the background space. Concentric lines form a border pattern.

Red clay, glazed in tan/gray on the outside and in matte brown on the inside. 15 5/8 inches in diameter and 1 inch high. NH circa 1950.

A woman and child are at an open window watching a parade on the street below. In this work of great emotional power and affect, people wave and cry out from their windows. An American flag and one celebrating the NYV69 flies for the 69th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army. It is better known as the "Fighting Sixty-Ninth", or its nick name the "Fighting Irish'. The regiment was immortalized in Joyce Kilmer's poem, " When the 69th Comes Home". The work is signed Paul Schnitzler and dated 1868. Its intense color, high action level, and densely drawn detail contibute to its sense of melodrama and bereavement, personified by a tearful woman and her child at a window.

The "credits" of this work include multiple museum exhibiitions in which it has been displayed: the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1968, a gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, and the Brandywine River Museum the same year; the American Federation of Arts in 1970; and the Museum of the Borough of Brooklyn in 1986.

Watercolor on paper, original or period frame, 18 1/2 x 22 inches maximum frame dimension. Probably New York City. Central image cut from its background and remounted. Artist's signature and the date are on the edge of the oval which contains the image area.

This example of Noguchi's work, one of the classic forms of mid twentieth century furniture, widely recognized as a powerful and expressive piece of modern sculpture, was created for G. Conger Goodyear, the then President of MOMA in 1939. Two examples of this table were put into the design collection of the museum, one in birch and the other in ebonized birch.

Multiples of this unique design were first reproduced by Herman Miller in 1947. This firm was recognized for its early role in promoting personal and industrial modern furniture design. They produced the table briefly in birch, cherry, and walnut. Birch and cherry now very rare and highly sought by collectors. Noguchi's signature was reproduced on the polished edge of the glass of the table's top and under a medalllion with his signature under it which was placed beneath its famous base, which is often described as an example of "subversive design", for being a three-legged table with only 2 legs.
These early tables were 15 inches tall, and their glass tops measured 36 x 50 inches. The glass itself was 7/8 " thick, and many people prefer the next iteration of the table which had a 3/4 " thick glass tops, which are much easier to handle. The two pieces of curved biomorphic wood that formed the base are interlocked and form a self-stabilizing unit.

In 1965 Herman Miller, which had briefly stopped producing the table re-entered it in its line of manufacture with a height of 15 3/4 inches, a design modification suggested by the artist.

The table continues to be made by Herman Miller and many other firms. These later examples incorporate more design changes. The artist's signature diappears in 1965, the glass gets thinner, and the wooden legs are often pieced when made by some of the later companies who enter the table in their design repertoire, as opposed to being made each from a single piece of wood. If one buys one of these tables, changed to cheapen their manufacturing cost and made with changes not introduced by the artist, they are buying the table for its attractive design and not its existance as an example of this early masterpiece. Generally, this loss of stature results in a cheaper price, and the work is then referred to as in the style of Isamu Noguchi, or, a t least, it should be so described.

British architect (1879-19 76) developed her personal style based on Art Deco and a machine Aesthetic. This Eileen
Gray-style side table has a chromed steel tubular adjustable shaft and its frame holds a clear circular glass' top. Its height is now 26 1/4" and its top has a diameter of 20''.

It was designed to have its adjustable height range from 23 1/4”to 38 1/8” and its top has its original diameter of diameter is 20''. Originally the top made with smoked glass. Design date for the table was 1927, and this example is from the 1970’s.

Fada "Streamliner" Bakelite Radios, were one of the first consumer goods to be made in plastic. Fada was one of over 600 manufacturers of radios in the 1930s through the late 1950s. Major industrial designers were hired to design these popular products, and most Americans owned multiple radios. Fada Radios were some of the most desireable examples to have when collecting radios became popular decades later. This example was one of the most popular. It was made in the 1940s and butterscotch was a very poular color.

This is another example of a Fada Radio. It was made in 1946, and it is another model popular with Bakelite radio collectors.

With raised geometric forms painted in yellow, green, and red applied to the top which is supported on canted Y-shaped legs. Clearly hand-made and rough in finish and unsophisticated in concept.55 3/4 x 31" top, and 22 1/2 "high. USA

A circular mirror mounted on a round flat base within circular arms which pivot and which seem to hold or present itself to be used. This mirror, produced by Pedersen and Hansen, Denmark, from a 1960s design, is made of Teak and glass, no. 905, in their broad catalogue of shapes, sizes, znd designs of dressing mirrors, and it pivots on u-shaped holders attached to the circular base. Marked on base.
29 3/8 high and25 1/4 inches wide. The same style mirror is still being produced by P and H today, and it may be presumed to be a somewhat later work than its original design date, probably from the 1970s.

A rare form in Scandinavian chairs, its seat height only 12 inches at its highest point. The lounge chair is a more popular form in this period. This chair is teak and stylistically it dates from the 1960s. Both its slatted back and coated spring wires are cushion covered. This piece is probably the work of Scandinavian artist Jacob Kjaer(1896-1957) whose works are in many museum decorative arts collections.

Both a decoy and a piece of sculpture. Swan decoys as a category have a dynamic presense because of their size and the long slow curves of their form . This piece, made by JP Hand in Cape May Court House, New Jersey, where his family has lived for over 250 years, was hand carved from white cedar. It is in fine condition other than repaint on the swan's head. It is a product of the late 20th century and has the carver's stamp on its underside with his name and the place where he made this work. Dimensions are 41 inches long and 21 inches high.

This work, signed and dated, which in itself is rare in a theorem, also carries forward into a later decade many of the design features of the DB signed theorem from the Little collection, an earlier work on velvet and the model for a school of works with similar design elements and a mysterious background.

This work is signed "Mary Jane Cate" and dated "July 24, 1846". Its container is basket shaped and drawn in an abstract manner. It has no basket weave elements to its form or shape, other than having a rim, body and foot. The recognition of what these elements visually stand for is almost lost. Lines drawn in red and borders filled with stars and dots of blue function as a material form. A cyma curved form, also composed of lines and stars, serves as its handle. Its foot is adorned with the artist's inscription that is noted above.

Fine condition. Painted on paper and in an old frame, repainted to a dark green over red. Framed it is 15 1/4 by 17 1/4inches. Circa 1835. Gouache (opaque water color,with white added). Probably New England.

One of the original group of three stone drawn lithographs of Ithaca, New York, drawn by Henry Walton. Hand-colored and in period frames under Museum glass, that is non-reflective, and mounted with acid-free materials. The first image of the group was made in September of 1837 and is a View from East Hill. Cornell University is built on East Hill , and the view is into the downtown of Ithaca from a position on Eddy Street.
Restoration and stabilization of the images; washing, de-acidifying and flattening, were done by Alan Firkser of Paper Conservation Studios in New York City. The images are remarkably detailed and the settings are renouned for their historic accuracy and beauty.

The case of this credenza is of solid walnut, and its drawers and door have brushed stainless steel u-shaped horizontal pulls. There is cabinet space behind the door which, in addition to the drawers, are faced with walnut. Drawers ride on exposed steel runners. The piece is 54 "wide and 20" deep. The case height is 26 1/2" or 20 " plus the height of its round steel legs which measure 6 1/2 ' and are footed with screw- in leveling devices. Interior spaces are divided with shelves and drawer dividers. A drawer in the center unit bears a maker's paper label which says R (large sized) Jens Risom (1916-2016) Design, Inc.

Risom was born in Copenhagen but worked in the US. His major interest was in modern furniture manufacture. He met Hans Knoll in 1942 and went into business with him, creating the Knoll firm's first line of furniture, Jens working for Hans on a free-lance basis. In 1946 he established his own firm where he could control both design and manufacture of his product and get the quality he wanted.
This piece was bought by Peter Eaton in the 1980's, and it was them considered used, having an age of about twenty years.