Marty Shapiro and Kaye Gregg.

Over the past few years, the Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) has increased its focus on design—a shift that culminated with the organization’s decision to forego its annual summer antiques show for a more interior design-driven event in 2016. While an exciting change for the NHA, many were not ready to say goodbye to the Nantucket Summer Antiques Show, which has become something of an institution on and off the island. The Antiques Council, which has managed the event for the past twenty-five years, has stepped in, assuming complete control of the show.

Eugene Sevellec (1897-1971) Breton Fisherman. Watercolor. Courtesy of Fletcher/Copenhaver Fine Art.

According to Marty Shapiro, President of the Antiques Council, “We couldn’t let a much-loved antiques show that has been a tradition on the island for thirty-six years simply just disappear! The show was something that people looked forward to every year and came from both on and off the island to attend. It had a prestigious reputation that reached well beyond Nantucket to collectors and enthusiasts nationwide.” Kaye Gregg, the Antiques Council’s Director of Shows, adds, “We are aware that there is still a market for fine antiques on Nantucket and that dealers and the people on the island would be sorry to see the show go. The decision to sponsor the show wasn't difficult at all—we knew that we would have to put in a lot of work, but we were really comfortable going forward with it.”

An American folk art paint-decorated cupboard, North Carolina, circa 1920. Offered by Sylvia Antiques.

This year’s Nantucket Summer Antiques Show will take place August 12-15 at the Boys & Girls Club of Nantucket—a new venue that is close to downtown Nantucket and easy for visitors to access. The show will feature thirty-three exhibitors, including Dawn Hill Antiques, Fletcher/Copenhaver Fine Art, Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques, Rehs Galleries, The Cooley Gallery, and Yew Tree House Antiques. While there will be many familiar faces, the show will also feature several first-time exhibitors such as A La Vieille Russie, who will bring antique Faberge and Czarist masterpieces as well as antique jewelry, S.J. Shrubsole, specialists in antique silver, and Paul Madden, who will be exhibiting a selection of Americana, antique Nantucket baskets, and scrimshaw.  

One of the defining features of this year’s show is the spectacular array of works being offered. Gregg says, “There will be a wider range of items and specialities than has been seen in the past. It’s clearly an antiques show, but there will also be antiquities, medieval manuscripts, Asian art, one-of-a-kind jewelry, mid-century modern furniture, and contemporary art. You have 2,000 years of cutting-edge design all housed under one roof.”

A pair of pave diamond and caliber earrings in the form of French boaters hats. Courtesy of A La Vieille Russie.

Among the myriad treasures at the 2016 Nantucket Summer Antiques Show will be a pair of pave diamond and caliber earrings from A La Vieille Russie, an exquisite, paint-decorated folk art cupboard from Sylvia Antiques, a charming marine scene by the French artist Eugene Sevellec from Fletcher/Copenhaver Fine Art, and a pair of bold, mid-century Murano lamps from Bea Hive Antiques.      

The 2016 Nantucket Summer Antiques Show will benefit the Nantucket Preservation Trust through the Mary Helen and Michael Fabacher Scholarship and the Community Foundations Nantucket Fund. Click here for more information.