Above: Elle Shushan at the Winter Antiques Show.
Visiting with colleagues, friends, and NEHGS members -- not to mention perusing great works of art and the finest antiques, many with fascinating genealogical connections -- is one the joys of attending the annual Winter Antiques Show at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, currently underway. The show, which is carefully vetted by more than one hundred experts, is, at the New York Times puts it:
"[A] galaxy of colliding worlds. Nearly every booth provides a glimpse into some areas of visual culture, from Egyptian antiquities to American folk art to postwar Italian art glass."
One of my favorite stops at the show is at the booth of internationally renowned miniature portrait dealer, Elle Shushan (pictured here, along with some her miniatures, including three early 19th century profile portraits of members of the Bradford family of Boston).
Elle contributed a chapter -"One Moment in Time; The Family Portrait Mourning Piece, a Unique American Form" - to The Art of Family: Genealogical Artifacts in New England, a book I co-edited with Peter Benes (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002). Elle's reputation is unparalleled and I recommend taking a look at her outstanding inventory of portrait miniatures at her website: www.portrait-miniatures.com/collection/