In 1955, holding a business degree from New York's City College, an honorable discharge from the Army and the recent memory of a stint in Japan with the Army Finance Corps, Lewis Robinson joined his father-in-law's thriving antiques business in Manhattan.
It was the start of his love affair--still going strong--with a fascinating profession that made him part of a select group of colorful individualists and uniquely skilled experts in the craftsmanship and art of past centuries.
Lewis soon became the owner, president of Midtown Antiques, Inc.--which he quickly grew into one of the largest and most prestigious, wholesale antiques and art dealerships in the United States--and a respected member of a small, elite group of experts, through whose hands flowed tens of thousands of household heirlooms and artistic treasures from around the globe. His hands-on experience is quite different than that of many appraisers who learned their trade from books and courses.
In 1986, when Lewis sold Midtown Antiques, Inc., and relocated to La Jolla, California, his reputation as a dealer and expertise as an appraiser attracted an offer from the West Coast's leading, San Francisco-based auction house, Butterfield & Butterfield, to become its Southern California representative.
"It was interesting to be on the other side of the business, for a change," confides Robinson, who for over three decades was one of the most valued bidders of the top auction houses of Europe and the U.S. "It also helped me to get acquainted with the West Coast market and the very different way in which the antiques and art business is conducted here."
Lessons learned, a year later, Lewis resigned his position at B&B and re-established himself in business as a dealer, appraiser, consultant and expert witness in estate disputes.....and here he still is, 30 years later, still very active in his most interesting profession.
No comments:
Post a Comment