Curating SOLD! Dealers, Museums and the Art Market

This talk by Dr Mark Westgarth, guest curator of SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story, outlines the objectives and purpose of this ground-breaking exhibition.

SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story was the first time the history of antique dealing was the subject of an exhibition in a public museum. It directed renewed attention to the history of museum objects through the fascinating story of the history of antique dealing in Britain.

Staged at The Bowes Museum in 2019, SOLD! brought together world-renowned and familiar museum objects from leading public collections, and presented these objects in new and unfamiliar contexts. The exhibition highlighted the extraordinary role that antique dealers have played in the development of public museums, presenting an illuminating story of our 200 year-old fascination with ‘antiques’.

In this talk, Dr Mark Westgarth will reflect on the development and the processes involved in curating SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story, and will share the challenges and opportunities of working on the exhibition. Dr Westgarth will retell intriguing tales of expert discoveries and fortunate finds, and will reveal some of the stories (and myths) about antique dealing. 

Booking information

The talk is free and will be hosted by The Furniture History Society, It will take place online via Zoom.

To book your place, please email The Furniture History Society Secretary, Beatrice Goddard, at events@furniturehistorysociety.org

About SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story

SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story was a core element of The Year of the Dealer, an impact and engagement collaborative research project based at the University of Leeds.

PDF digital copies of the accompanying exhibition catalogue for SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story at The Bowes Museum, 2019, are available as a free download (made possible by the generous support of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art). 

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SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story, 2019. Photograph courtesy of The Bowes Museum.