Charleston Antiques Symposium Brief History

1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002

1998: March 6, 1998, – March 8, 1998

In its first year, the Charleston Antiques Symposium’s schedule included scholarly presentations as well as private viewings with dealers. The event concluded with a private tour of historic homes. The Keynote Speaker was J. Thomas Savage, Jr., Curator and Director of the Museum Division of the Historic Charleston Foundation. The full schedule was as follows:

• Florence Fahrbach and Robert Shelton – Panel discussion: “Faux Finishes”

• J. Thomas Savage, Jr., Curator and Director of the Museum Division of the Historic Charleston Foundation – Keynote Address: “New Discoveries in Charleston Decorative Arts”

• Jean Dunbar, author and expert on historic interiors – “The Classical House and the Picturesque Interior: Greek Revival Interiors, 1820 – 1860”

• Robert M. Hicklin, a leading dealer in art that relates to the American South – “King of the Road: Of Canvases and Collectors in the Old South”

• J. Thomas Savage, Jr., Curator and Director of the Museum Division of the Historic Charleston Foundation – “Continuing Discussions About New Discoveries in Charleston Decorative Arts”

• Florence Fahrbach and Robert Shelton - Focused-study Session: “The Use of Faux Finishes in Historic Homes”

• Chris Loeblein, Curator of History at the Charleston Museum – Focused-Study Session: “Antique Wine Serving Pieces / Wine Tasting”

• Jean Dunbar, author and expert on historic interiors – Focused-Study Session: “Authentic Floor Coverings for Historic Houses”

• Robert M. Hicklin, a leading dealer in art that relates to the American South – Focused-Study Session: “Continued Discussions on Antique Southern Painting”

• Larry Sirolli, Senior Vice President and Director of the English Furniture Department for Sotheby’s – Focused-Study Session: “Collecting Points for English Furniture”

• Virginia Groves Beach, International Representative for Sotheby’s – Focused Study-Session: “How to Buy at Auction”

• House Tours and Private Sessions with dealers

1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002

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1999: March 4, 1999, – March 7, 1999

Keynote Speaker John Bivins focused on the subject of furniture carvers and Charleston furniture discovered since 1955. The full schedule was as follows:

• Jim Pratt and George Williams of Estates Antiques – “The Rivers Collection of Southern Furniture”

• W. L. Tony Whitwell, former Art History Professor at Hollins College – “The Fourteen Points of Connoisseurship”

• Jan Kiester and Martha Zierden, Curators at the Charleston Museum – “Collections in the Charleston Museum”

• Susan Sully, author – “Charleston Style: Past and Present”

• Anne McPherson, Independent Scholar – “Exchanged for a Better: The Patrons and Products of the Shop of Thomas Elfe”

• Robert Shelton, artist – “Revival, Restoration, and Reference: Recreating Historical Decorative Paintings in a Charleston Home”

• John Bivins, noted expert on architectural ornamentation and furniture – Keynote Address: “Discoveries in Charleston Furniture since 1955”

• Jonathan Poston, Director of Preservation at the Historic Charleston Foundation – “New Discoveries in Charleston Architecture”

• John Bivins, noted expert on architectural ornamentation and furniture – “Carving in all its Branches: Charleston House and Furniture Carvers”

• Jonathan Poston, Director of Preservation at the Historic Charleston Foundation – “The Evolution of an Eighteenth Century Charleston House”

• Mark Gray, Collector – Focused-Study Session: “Antique Porcelains from “Rail and Steamship Lines"

• Karl B. Smith, Artist – Focused-Study Session: “Decorative Painting: An Artist’s Perspective”

• John Nye, Cataloguer at the American Furniture Department in Sotheby’s – Focused Study-Session: “The Principles of Collecting”

• Alice Patrick, Appraiser – Focused-Study Session: “Porcelain Collecting as a Hobby”

• Sunday House Tours and Private Dealer Sessions

1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002

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2000: March 2, 2000, – March 5, 2000

The third annual Charleston Antiques Symposium featured classroom lectures and focused study sessions. A highlight of the Symposium was a tour of Pompion Hill and Middleburg Plantation led by Robert Russell, Addlestone Professor of Architectural History at the College of Charleston. The Symposium featured Keynote Speaker Bradford Rauschenberg, Director of Research at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), who spoke about furniture in Charleston before 1820. The full schedule was as follows:

• Chris Loeblein, Curator of History at the Charleston Museum – “How to Determine Fakes”

• Robert Leath, Associate Curator of Historic Interiors with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation – “Beautiful Specimens, Elegant Patterns: Deming and Bulkley’s New York Furniture for the Charleston Market, 1820-1940”

• Robert Leath, Associate Curator of Historic Interiors with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation – “Asian Influence on the Southern Decorative Arts, 1607-1800” (Session was offered at two times.)

• Ted Landsmark, President and C.E.O. of the Boston Architectural Center – “The Ambiguities of African American Craftsmanship in the Antebellum South” (Session was offered at two times.)

• Angela Mack, Curator of Collections at the Gibbes Museum of Art – “Getting a Likeness: the Miniature Portrait in Charleston”

• Bradford Rauschenberg, Director of Research at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts – Keynote Address: “Furniture in Charleston Before 1920: The Documentary Evidence”

• Virginia Groves Beach, International Representative for Sotheby’s – “Elegant Estates Inside and Out”

• Bradford Rauschenberg, Director of Research at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts – “Lowcountry versus Upcountry Furniture Before 1820”

• Raymond White, Collector – Focused-Study Session: “Collecting in a Small Way”

• Russell Buskirk, Antiques Restorer – Focused-Study Session: “The Reconstruction of Missing Elements” and “Making Charleston Floral Inlay”

• Bart Mullins, Assistant to Curator of Material History at the Charleston Museum / Appraiser – Focused-Study Session: “Appraising the Home: Elements of Assessing Furniture and Decorative Arts”

• Roberta Ketchin, Interior Designer – Focused-Study Session: “Interior Design with Antiques”

• Robert Russell, Addlestone Professor of Architectural History at the College of Charleston – “A Life of Ease and Refinement: Plantation Life in Colonial South Carolina” and Tour of Pompion Hill Chapel and Middleburg Plantation

1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002

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2001: March 1, 2001, – March 4, 2001

The sessions of 2001 took place in classrooms, at historic sites, and in private homes and studios, focusing on the theme of “Preservation and Restoration.” The Keynote Speaker was Robert A. Leath, Associate Curator of Historic Interiors with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, whose lecture dealt with restoring historic houses. The full schedule was as follows:

• Martha Zierden – “The Role of Archaeology in the Preservation and Interpretation of Historic Houses”

• Frances MacDougall, Senior Editor of Southern Accents Magazine – “Living with Antiques”

• Martha Ann McDonald, Estate Planning Advisor for Wachovia’s Wealth Management Group – “Estate Planning and the Decorative Arts”

• Jean Dunbar, author and expert on historic interiors – “A Practical Approach to Period Interiors” (Session was offered at two times.)

• Chris Ohrstrom, expert on American historic interiors – “Pattern and Colour: 100 Years of Wallpaper in America 1760-1860” (Session was offered at two times.)

• Ronald Hurst, Chief Curator at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation – ‘Well Furnished, Convenient, & in Good Repair: The Peyton Randolph House Restored and Refurnished”

• Robert Leath, Associate Curator of Historic Interiors with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation –Keynote Address: “Restoring Historic Houses: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”

• Jean Dunbar, Chris Ohrstrom, George Williams, and Ralph Muldrow – Panel: The Period Interior

• Robert Leath, Associate Curator of Historic Interiors with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation – “Conspicuous Consumption: Ceramics and Silver in the Lowcountry, 1700 – 1820”

• Russell Buskirk, a Charleston cabinet maker and restorer of antiques – Focused-Study Sessions: “Making and Restoring Inlays”

• Miles Whitfield – Focused-Study Sessions: “Historic Architecture”

• Lee Winborne, author and collector – Focused-Study Sessions: “History of Lighting”

• Thomas A. Palmer – Focused-Study Sessions: “Audubons in the College of Charleston Library”

• Nick Malherbe – Focused-Study Sessions: “South African Antiques”

• Karen Prewitt of Quattro Canti Interiors – Focused-Study Sessions: “Period Upholstery”

• Tour of the Robert William Roper House and Private Reception

1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002

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2002: March 14, 2002, – March 17, 2002

The 2002 Symposium focused on American furniture and design traditions outside Charleston. The Keynote Speaker was Jack L. Lindsey, Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, who led a lecture entitled “Discoveries and Surprises: Recent Acquisitions and New Research in the Decorative Arts of Early Philadelphia.” Additionally, an extra day of programming was offered as a Satellite Event in Kiawah Island. The full schedule was as follows:

Kiawah Events:

• Russell Buskirk, a Charleston cabinet maker and restorer of antiques – “What You Don’t See at the Antiques Roadshow: A Case Study in Art Appraisal”

• George Williams from Estate Antiques, Inc. – “An Introduction to Decorative Arts in Charleston”

• Allison Gregory, Estate Planning Advisor for Wachovia’s Wealth Management Group – “Antiques and Estate Planning” (Session was offered at Kiawah and Downtown.)

Downtown Events:

• Joanne Barry, Conservator – “The Secret Language of Conservation: How to Talk to Your Conservator”

• Dale Couch, Senior Archivist at the Georgia Department of Archives and History – “The Development of Early Georgian Decorative Arts: Historical Demographics as a Basis of Style”

• Diane Chalmers Johnson, member of the College of Charleston’s Art History Department’s Faculty – “Considering a Private Collection of 19th Century American Paintings”

• Alexandra Kirtley, Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art – “‘From 1770 it took a Spring’ The Furniture Tradition of Late 18th and Early 19th Century Baltimore”

• Ralph Muldrow and students (Diane Jones Miller and Kelly Clark) from the School of the Arts’ Historic Preservation and Community Planning Program – “Studies in Lowcountry Architecture”

• Jack L. Lindsey, Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art – Keynote Address: “Discoveries and Surprises: Recent Acquisitions and New Research in the Decorative Arts of Early Philadelphia”

• H. Parrott Bacot, Jr., Professor of the History of Art at Louisiana State University – “Early Louisiana Furniture: The Acculturation Process, 1735 – 1935”

• Gregory J. Landrey, Director of Conservation and Senior Conservator at the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum – “Treatment of Historic Furniture: Philosophy and Technique”

• Olivia Alison, Director of Major Gifts for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation – “High Style in the Low Country: Classical Savannah 1800 – 1840”

• Susan Sully, author – “Savannah Style: Elegance, Eclecticism, and Eccentricity”

• Mary Edna Sullivan, curator for the Middleton Place Foundation – “Middleton Place: A Low Country Family’s Legacy, 1791 – Present” and Tour of Middleton Place

1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002

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