brimful of Brimfield

Brimfield Massachusetts Antique Show

Three times a year, 21 fields, more than 5000 dealers.

plenty of whimsy

vintage pottery

big green cupboard, old map, and night crawlers sign 

(I'm moving in)

plenty of painted, chippy, shabby, cottage, garden

sweet white and green tete a tete chair

duck hunting boat

best industrial fan

so many great old windows

plenty of reproduction signs, but I think this is the real deal

one more look at the perfect hybrids of cottage charm and industrial salvage

Based on one visit, I think the best way to approach Brimfield is like an anthropological expedition, or perhaps a carnival---fun, weird, and try not to spend all your money on ring toss hoping for the life size teddy bear. There is high end, low end and everything between. Worlds collide--mint julep v budweiser, hot dog v. lobster roll, Neiman Marcus v Old Navy...

 It's fun to just wander. Fields I'd been told were the best were kinda disappointing. Fields I'd never heard of were interesting. There were nice dealers and snooty ones. Prices seemed generally fair--not bargains, but not outrageous. Beware of reproductions. Wear comfortable shoes.

upcycled potting bench

Nice surprises: Good industrial and architectural salvage at reasonable prices. Well done upcycled furniture. Prices on old painted cabinets, pie safes (especially at the end of the week). Kicking myself for passing up the big wideboard cabinet in old pink paint for $200...

I'll show you what I did buy in my next post.

windows

                                                                                                                      Woman at the Window by Caspar David Friedrich, 1822

I love windows. And I'm sure I'll be writing more about that on other days. But today I'd like to be in Manhattan at the show that just opened at the Met: “Rooms With a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century”.  It's a small show, exploring " the open window as a favored motif of certain Romantic painters — mostly German, Scandinavian or French". (All quotes from the New York Times review by Roberta Smith.)

I especially love that all the windows are open.

                                                                                                                             Woman Embroidering by Georg Friedrich Kersting, 1811

The show is small--31 paintings and 22 works on paper. Several are artists in their studios.

                                                                                                                                     The Painter Friedrich Mathai in his Studio, Kersting 1812

"As seen here, the window often is the focal point for a certain poignant, implicitly Romantic yearning, functioning as an interface between near and far, known and mysterious, private and public, art and nature." 

You can see more pictures from the show here. 

Enjoy your day--

Jen