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Chandelier by Edwin Hild

Finer Things

What Not To Miss At The Winter Show

From Prince Charles’s artwork to a Le Petit Prince transcript, highlights of this year’s Park Avenue Armory fine and decorative arts fest.

Distilling The Winter Show into a handful of highlights is no easy feat. With over 70 exhibitors this year—more than Frieze NY—this beloved fine and decorative arts fair, the oldest in America and a benefit to boot, transforms the Park Avenue Armory into a hub of art, design, and antiques for 10 days each January. As one first-timer exclaimed ecstatically while making the rounds last year, “It’s like going to a museum—but with prices!”

This year’s edition makes a striking first impression: in the entryway, a Salvador Dalí skull painting (alas, already sold) and Alice Neel’s portrait of Lilly Brody (asking: $1.85M at Jonathan Boos) set the tone for treasures to follow.

One such treasure is a sweet sailboat, drawn in ink and colored crayons by a nine-year-old Prince Charles. Signed “P. Charles” in the bottom right and created during his prep school days, it was a gift to Stella Jack, the school’s Head Matron, known to students as “the Dragon.” Fittingly, the sailboat depicted is a Dragon Class keelboat—the very one gifted to Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh as a wedding present. The piece comes directly from Jack’s family to Robert Young Antiques (asking: $16,000).

Sailboat painting by Kings Charles III signed P. Charles
Sailboat drawing in ink and colored crayons signed “P. Charles,” painted by nine-year-old Prince—now King—Charles. Photo courtesy of Robert Young Antiques
Horse and Jockey painting by Edgar Degas
Jockey au Petit Galop by Edgar Degas, circa 1881. Photo courtesy of Red Fox Fine Art

Nearby, Didier’s booth dazzles with Alexander Calder’s architectural jewelry, including a hammered silver-wire tiara (c. 1942–1943) designed for the wife of French artist André Masson. Equally captivating is his bold breastplate necklace (c. 1928), featuring spirals of copper and galvanized steel. The piece, gifted to Margarett Sergeant McKean, exudes avant-garde energy that feels way ahead of its time. Rumor has it Calder and McKean were dance partners—and possibly more.

Cylindrical vase with alternating amber, white and blue squares
Ercole Barovier and Toso Pezzato vase, circa 1950. Photo courtesy Glass Past New York
Painting of Peregrin eFalcon on blue background
Peregrine Falcon—Blue, 2023 by Tim Hayward. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Cooper

For rare book enthusiasts, Peter Harrington’s booth offers its own kind of spectacle. Among the highlights: a mint set of John Gould folios, priced at $2.5M (Gould, often called “The Bird Man,” was Britain’s answer to Audubon). Even more extraordinary is a corrected carbon typescript of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince (1942), thought to be one of only three in existence. This rare artifact includes what may be the first appearance of the book’s most famous line—“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye”—handwritten in French on page 57 (asking: $1.25M).

 

Namban folding lacquered dais table
Namban folding lacquered dais table, circa late-16th century. Black lacquered wood, decorated with gold and inlaid with mother-of-pearl; gilt copper mounts. Photo courtesy of São Roque
Silver and mixed metal coffee pot, circa 1878
American Japanesque silver and mixed-metal Tiffany & Co. coffee pot, circa 1878. Photo courtesy of Shrubsole

Between it all, you’ll spot tapestries, including a rare Chagall; silver galore; three stunning Viennese chandeliers that survived both wars intact; and much, much more. Should you feel overwhelmed by the sheer array of wonders in display, just head to the whiskey-tasting bar in the back. Recharge with a quick nip, then dive back in.

Pine Tree in the Snow by Yamamoto Shunkyo
Pine Tree in the Snow by Yamamoto Shunkyo, circa 1924-1933, Japan hanging scroll; ink and mineral pigments on silk. Photo courtesy of Thomsen Gallery, New York
Red Persian carpet
Fine Ziegler Sultanabad Carpet, Persia, circa 1880. Photo courtesy of Keshishian Antique Carpets, Tapestries & Aubussons

The Winter Show runs from Friday, January 24 to Sunday, February 2 at the Park Avenue Armory, at 643 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065.

Every ticket purchase supports East Side House Settlement, a community-based organization headquartered in the South Bronx.

Hero photo of chandelier courtesy of Edwin by Hild

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