An Antiques Appraisal Day, featuring expert appraisers from nationally acclaimed Skinner, Inc., of Boston, who are frequently featured on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, will be held on Saturday, August 12 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Saint Peter’s Center, East and Cottage Streets, Great Barrington, MA.
The event is presented by Saint Peter’s Church, Great Barrington. Appraisals cost $10 per item or $25 for three. Free coffee will be served to customers and baked goods, cold drinks and sandwiches will be for sale. For additional information call 413-528-1157.
St Peter’s and Skinner encourage individuals and families to locate antiques, collectibles and other treasure from their homes. The public can bring items from virtually all collecting areas – jewelry, porcelain, pottery, art glass, bottles, toys, dolls, silver, paintings, prints, ephemera, books and manuscripts, furniture and decorative arts, rugs, Judaica, scientific artifacts, Native American objects, etc. Coins, stamps and musical instruments are excluded and are not eligible for appraisals. The appraisers will meet one on one to evaluate and offer verbal value ranges for the objects. Clear photographs may be substituted for large or fragile items and single pieces may represent sets of china or collections.
Open to the general public, appraisals will be done on a first-come, first-served basis.
Saint Peter’s Center has served the south Berkshire Community for over four decades. In addition to classroom and meeting space for church activities, the Center is home to the People’s Pantry that provides groceries for hundreds of needy families every year. Every Thursday, the Breaking Bread Kitchen uses the kitchen and auditorium to serve 50 to 75 suppers to local residents who need a meal and some friendship. The Red Cross uses the Center several times a year for blood drives and various groups, including Rotary, Barrington Stage, the Girl Scouts, the InterFaith Committee and the Unitarian Universalist Society, use the facilities for classes, meetings and meals.
Three experts from Skinner will be participating at the St. Peter’s event. Stuart Whitehurst, Vice President, European Furniture and Decorative Arts and Director of Rare Books and Manuscripts, has over 20 years of experience in the business of fine and decorative arts appraising and auctioneering. Whitehurst is a renowned and knowledgeable generalist appraiser with expertise in a broad number of areas including English, Continental and American furniture and related decorative works of art and paintings from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries; and prints and manuscripts. He is a favorite on the PBS series, The Antiques Roadshow, and has appeared on the PBS series The History Detective, HGTV’s At the Auction, and National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition.
James Callahan, Director of Asian Works of Art, joined Skinner in 1997 after nearly three decades as a private dealer. He specializes in all aspects of Asian art, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Khmer, Thai, Burmese, Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, Arabic, Persian and Indian objects. He is a foremost expert on Asian art, culture and customs and is a frequently sought after resource of Asian art expertise by museums.
Sheila Barron is an appraiser in the Fine Jewelry department. She is a Fellow of the Gemological Association of Great Britain and in 2005 was awarded the Christie’s Prize for Gemology. In addition to her specialty in jewelry, Ms. Barron is also a general appraiser, having completed instruction in American furniture, painting, decorative arts and jewelry at Sotheby’s Institute in New York.
Customers are ushered into the appraisal area, a private setting for the evaluation. All appraisals are given verbally. The majority of Skinner appraisers are generalists, with many years of practical experience, resulting in their ability to evaluate objects from all major collecting areas. The appraiser will discuss the issues of age and condition, and provide an estimated value based on current market prices for a similar example. If customers are interested in selling items, Skinner accepts consignments for sale of merchandise at auction.
Most appraisers agree that one of the secrets to developing keen appraisal skills is a good memory – the ability to recall what similar examples of an item have sold for. An art history background is a plus, but it’s the hands-on training acquired from working with antiques and fine art consistently that builds knowledge.
Appraisal Days attract a large, curious audience bringing in a wide range of objects, and occasionally a treasure is discovered. In one instance, a local appraisal day to benefit a community hospital unearthed a luminous harbor view by Fitz Hugh Lane. After 62 years in a private New England collection, the painting, “Gloucester Harbor, 1858†brought over $500,000 at a Skinner auction.
Appraisal Days have become a very popular way for people to find out the value of their art, antiques and undiscovered treasures. Skinner has been conducting appraisal days for over 25 years – most of which are staffed by the very same appraisers regularly seen on the PBS series, the Antiques Roadshow. The majority of Skinner’s appraisal days are fundraiser's for museums, historical societies, museums, schools, churches and other non-profit organizations, and many are open to the general public.
Saint Peter’s Center is located on East and Cottage Streets, Great Barrington, MA. Signs will be posted at the junction of East Street and Route 7, Cottage and Main Streets (Route 7) and Bridge and Main Streets. Saint Peter’s church, which recently celebrated the centennial year of its sanctuary on Main Street, ministers to the Catholic Community of South Berkshire. The parish is part of the Diocese of Springfield.
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant
Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu.
A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building.
White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.
He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns.
Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot.
A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use.
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