Page 186 - September 23 to 24 Important Chinese Art Christie's NYC

FRIDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2021
8.30 AM (LOTS 901–1055)

Property from the Springfield Museums

Sold to Support Art Acquisitions and Collections Care

(Lots 901–977)

It is purported that Smith’s collecting began with the purchase
of an 18th-century cloisonné enamel vase in the 1850s from
an unnamed New York dealer. ‘He saw the vase, and was
immediately attracted by it. After an examination he bought it.’
In the late 19th century, numerous exhibitions were held that
brought Chinese and Japanese decorative arts to the mesmerized
audiences of the West. Exhibitions such as the International
Exhibitions in London (1862), Paris (1869) and Chicago (1893)
introduced ‘exotic’ and novel pieces to the public, and inspired
the collecting imaginations of fashionable elites.

The Smiths purchased voraciously through well-known dealers
in New York as well as Europe, especially London and Italy,
when on their Grand Tour from 1882 to 1887. The Springfield
Republican stated in 1899, ‘Mr. Smith never goes to New York
without registering a vow that he will not be tempted to buy
anything more, and yet when he see something so rare and
fine that he knows he will lose it forever unless he seizes the
George Walter Vincent Smith (1832-1923) and his wife Belle Townsley Smith moment of opportunity.’ In 1904 The Craftsman stated that
(1845-1928) in their home. Photographer unknown.
Smith’s cloisonné enamels outranked the collections of the
史喬沃先生（1832-1923）及其夫人史貝桃女士（1845-1928）在寓所中
Metropolitan Museum and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Smith stated throughout his long history of collecting that
his primary criterion was beauty, commenting that, “The key
note of this collection, was intended to be, and is, beauty
Established in 1896, the George Walter Vincent Smith
– beauty and repose, beauty of form, and beauty of colour
Art Museum was founded by George Walter Vincent Smith
schemes, and consequently beauty of thought.” He also once
(1832-1923) and his wife Belle Townsley Smith (1845-1928).
memorably commented, “There are many hundreds of dollars,
As a young man, George Walter Vincent Smith made his
but there is only one such work of art.”
fortune as a partner at Stivers and Smith Carriage Emporium,
a New York City carriage manufacturing company best
The Springfield Museums, located in the heart of the
known for beautifully decorated carriages fashioned with
downtown, is the largest cultural attraction in western
high-end fabrics. Smith’s successful career, which combined
Massachusetts. Established in 1857, the Museums’ primary
an appreciation for beauty with business savvy, enabled him
mission is to use its art, history, science and Dr. Seuss
to retire at the age of just thirty-five and to pursue his true
collections to explore shared connections and unique
passion: collecting art. In 1871, Smith moved to the thriving
perspectives to promote engagement, literacy and learning.
industrial city of Springfield, Massachusetts, the hometown of
his wife Belle Townsley Smith. In 1891, after several decades The result of a lengthy process of evaluation and refinement
of enthusiastic purchasing, the Smiths generously gifted of the permanent collection, proceeds realised from the sale
their collection to the privately run City Library Association will be used for the care of collections and to advance the
(now the Springfield Museums Corporation), overseeing the Museums’ commitment to equity, diversity, and access through
construction of the building to house their objects. Mr. Smith future art acquisitions of works by women artists, artists of
served as the museum’s first director and curator. color and under-represented artists.

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