SOLD to the Art Institute of Chicago
Painted Lenox Belleek bowl, 8" diameter, 4" deep
During the final two hours of the Morristown Armory Antique Show a few years ago, I found this wonderful rare modernist bowl by E. Middleton Manigault (1887-1922) within the last hour. Although the dealer ascertained the artist's identity, he did not realize the rarity or value of this piece. As an expert in early 20th-century American modernist art with a memory for obscure names and signatures, I pounced on the bowl, clearly signed and dated. The dealer gave me a nice discount as he was ready to pack up and leave. After confirming that I had the exhibition catalogue on Manigault, I found the chapter on his decorative objects where two closely similar pieces were reproduced, one in a museum and the other in a private collection. Luckily Beth Venn, expert on the artist, completed her graduate degree in art history at the University of Delaware, as did I, and we had the same advisor. I contacted Beth and we arranged to meet so I could show her the bowl. We met at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I showed her the bowl, hidden in the back of my car, parked in the museum garage. She affirmed that it was indeed a Manigault, and exceedingly rare. With the assistance of Debra Force, a long-time top dealer in American art, the bowl sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the world's great museums.