Rago Auctions Open House Features a Talk on Contemporary Craft by Doyenne Helen Drutt on June 10.

Lambertville, NJ:  The Rago Arts and Auction Center hosts an open house on Tuesday, June 10 that features Helen Drutt, a leading authority on contemporary craft, speaking as "A Passionate Observer” at 6 pm. The talk takes place during the preview week for Rago's 20th C. Decorative Arts and Design Auctions.

Helen Drutt is a gallerist, author, lecturer, curatorial consultant and collector, acknowledged for introducing American contemporary craft internationally and for bringing contemporary European and Australian craft to Philadelphia. Her involvement in the field began in the mid-1950s as a collector. She was appointed a Cultural Ambassador for the City of Philadelphia by the Office of Arts and Culture in 1965, and, in 1967, became a founding member and Executive Director of the Philadelphia Council of Professional Craftsmen. She established her gallery, Helen Drutt: Philadelphia in 1973, devoting it to the furtherance of the contemporary crafts and makers she esteemed. Ms. Drutt’s lecture, “A Passionate Observer,” hopes to bring insight into the changes in college curricula wrought by the G.I. Bill and its effect on the art and craft of post-World War II America.

The auction house opens on Tuesday, June 10 at noon. A reception begins at 5 p.m. Ms. Drutt will speak at 6 p.m.

RSVP to 609.397.9374 ext. 119 or raac@ragoarts.com. If you unable to RSVP in advance, please join us if you can; all are welcome.

TO THE EDITOR

High-resolution image available on request.

About Rago Arts and Auction Center

Rago is a leading U.S. auction house with $30 million in sales in 2013. We serve thousands of sellers and buyers internationally with a singular blend of global reach and personal service. Rago holds auctions of 20th/21st c. design, fine art, decorative arts, furnishings, jewelry, militaria, coins and currency, Asian, historic ephemera, and ethnographic property.  A world-class venue through which to buy and sell, it offers valuations for personal property (from a single piece to collections and estates), appraisals, estate services, exhibitions and lectures in house and online. Rago is based in New Jersey, midway between Philadelphia and New York City.

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