Precautions due to the pandemic have created more online opportunities for collectors worldwide to browse the events of Antiques Week, also known as Americana Week, in Manhattan this January. Some Antiques Week events have been moved online entirely while others present in a hybrid of in-person and online viewing, beginning this week. 

An Athenaeum portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart is among 23 exciting discoveries that Keno Auctions is offering in its January 23 Americana and Estates sale. Purchased in 1817 by Israel Kinsman, a Philadelphia merchant, and hung in his residence at 359 Arch Street, Philadelphia, the painting remained in the Kinsman family for 100 years. Another important offering is a Diana bronze by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

The Winter Show can be enjoyed virtually, with VIP access from January 19 to 21, showcasing some 60 exhibitors. The inaugural online edition, January 22–31, will be presented on an immersive platform that allows exhibitors to show a gallery exhibition in a three-dimensional virtual space. Exhibitors will curate their selections, featuring up to twenty artworks and objects at a time. The Winter Show will also provide a space for discussion and engagement, offering virtual “office hours” for visitors to connect with dealers directly. An array of virtual events range from a Craft: In America talk with Glenn Adamson to an inside look at the figurative art collection by women painters amassed by Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt with a discussion led by the Texas-based collectors.

Dealers Bernard and S. Dean Levy will host an in-person exhibition (following health mandates) from January 19-21. Several "out-of-town" Americana dealers will show highlights at Levy Galleries, including Nathan Liverant and Son, Red Fox Fine Art, Kelly Kinzle, David Schorsch and Eileen Smiles, Taylor Thistlethwaite and Elle Shushan. An appointment is recommended, 11 am - 5 pm; view the website for contact info.

The Outsider Art Fair launches its first-ever citywide edition of the fair, taking place January 28 to February 7, featuring 7 curated exhibitions across 5 locations around Manhattan, in addition to a robust lineup of online viewing rooms powered by Artlogic, showcasing 43 exhibitors from 28 cities representing 9 countries. Following the success of OAF’s sister Paris fair this past October, which presented its first hybrid online and in person edition, the 29th Outsider Art Fair New York will expand on this model, adopting a gallery-share system in addition to a robust Online Viewing Room.

“Our online platform is beautiful but we also recognize there is a ravenous appetite for seeing art in the flesh again. We intend to deliver,” said fair owner, Andrew Edlin. 

Across the city, host galleries Hirschl & Adler, Salon 94 Freemans, Shin Gallery and Andrew Edlin Gallery, will source work from a large swath of OAF dealers, while the highly regarded OAF Curated Space will take place at Electric Lady Studios with a solo presentation of drawings by the late renowned musician Daniel Johnston (1961-2019).

Dealers Steven S. Powers and Ricco/Maresca Gallery will present Explanatory Marks: The Mystical Drawings of George M. Silsbee. This collection of nine large-scale drawings, created in 1891, examine Freemasonry, Mysticism and the Occult. The exhibit will be held at Ricco / Maresca Gallery and opens January 28 and runs until March 13, 2021.

From January 29 to 31, antiques lovers worldwide will be able to browse and shop the inaugural New York Antiques Show online at the virtual show platform developed by Getmansvirtual.com. Customers will be able to view and purchase the wares of more than 100 dealers from 22 states plus two Canadian provinces by going to NYAntiqueShow.com.

For more auctions, museum exhibitions, fairs, gallery shows and special events, see Antiques & the Arts for listings.