The Antiques, Furnishings + Decorative Arts Specialty Tour

Maureen Winer, ISA CAPP

While so many of you were making plans for the Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day, I was finalizing my travel plans to Pasadena, California, for March 9-12, where I will be joining my friends and colleagues for ISA’s annual Assets conference, which promises to be its own super event this year! If you haven’t already signed up, be sure to register today.

I'm looking forward to our sold-out Antiques, Furnishings + Decorative Arts Specialty Tour, which has two phenomenal visits scheduled at the Huntington and the Gamble House, with both promising something for everyone.

The Huntington is a Beaux-Arts mansion which was built by Henry E. Huntington in the early 1900s and houses fine and decorative art collections, a library and research center, and botanical gardens. After a short introduction, we will split up into small groups, which will enable everyone to explore the collections with experienced and knowledgeable guides.

The Huntington

The galleries at the Huntington hold an exceptional collection of French furniture and decorative objects; American decorative arts and furniture from the Arts and Crafts Movement, including silver, ceramics, metal, needlework; and much more. The collection includes works by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, George Washington Maher, and the Roycrofters, Steuben glass, silver by Paul Revere and Allan Adler, and ceramics by Glen Lukens and many others.

Chair by Arthur Heygate
Mackmurdo, c. 1883

In addition to prints and photographs, the Huntington library houses over 7 million letters and manuscripts including those by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln; 430,000 rare books, and 275,000 reference books. You can spend days exploring the Huntington’s extensive gardens; so you may choose to extend your stay in Pasadena if you feel the need to see more than our morning tour offers.

ISA Fine Art and AF+DA tour members will join together for lunch at The Raymond, a Craftsman-style restaurant with 4-star Zagat rated cuisine. Thanks to fellow ISA appraiser Wendy Gerdau, ISA CAPP, we will have the exclusive use of the restaurant during our meal.

Not to be outdone by the morning’s tour, we spend our afternoon at the Gamble House, aka Doc Brown’s mansion from the movie Back to the Future. It is an outstanding example of American Arts and Crafts style architecture. Designed by Charles and Henry Greene in 1908 for David and Mary Gamble (Procter & Gamble Company), they also designed the furnishings. AF+DA members will experience a “Behind the Velvet Ropes” tour; one and a half hours with experienced and passionate docents.

Dining Room at the Gamble House

The Gamble House sports three sections; the main hall features examples of their designs for furniture and decorative arts; the second section is a reassembled stairway from the 1905 Arthur A. Libby house; and the third part is a re-creation of the dining room of the Henry M. Robinson House, designed and built in Pasadena between 1905 and 1907. A quick note – wear comfortable shoes, no heels and no flash photography allowed.

The AF+DA Specialty tour is currently sold out. To be added to the wait list, please contact ISA Headquarters. For more information on the many other events happening at Assets, see what we have planned for social events and check out the full conference program.

- Maureen Winer, ISA CAPP, is chair of the Antiques, Furnishings, + Decorative Arts Committee and Vice President of PWP Appraisers - Parting with Possessions, Inc.