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www.privateairny.com Private Air New York | Spring 2018 53 COLLECTIBLES careful internet research," he says, "you can furnish a 1,000-square- foot apartment with antiques for less than (with items purchased from) Restoration Hardware." As many Baby Boomers retire and downsize, they are selling their valuable antique collections, he explains. Because there is so much on the market right now, savvy young collectors have the opportunity to purchase items at low prices – often at or near what the pieces sold for 45 or more years ago. However, many beginning collectors do not know where to start. Macklowe strongly recommends a visit to an antique show as a first step. "Walk into a booth that has things you don't like," he says. "Ask the owner why they are important… It will give you a different vocabulary. You may still not like them, but you will now know something new." When you do find something you like, he continues, "Buy it. Take it home, and see how it exists with what you have. Live with it…If you don't like it, you can always sell it." Macklowe says this process of "understanding your taste" is an essential aspect of growing as a human being. "You need get up and set aside time to research and explore," Macklowe says. "You have to be curious and sometimes put yourself in uncomfortable situations in order to grow." As a personal example, the gallery owner shares how a series of unexpected events led him to visit a French home filled with Art Nouveau décor. at experience gave him "incredible insight" into the post-Industrial Revolution art period he had studied for years. "I got to see how people really lived at the time when they first experienced leisure time," he says. "e rooms were filled with masterpieces I would never have seen otherwise." For Macklowe, buying an antique is a way of saying, "I want to commemorate, to celebrate this moment in my life." "Beauty has utility in your life," he says. "And it's not just going to see it, but it's touching it and experiencing it…It is buying it and seeing how to feels to have it around you." OPPOSITE, FROM LEFT: A Tiffany Studios New York "Mandarin" table lamp. The leaded glass shade, graduates from green to white on a patinated bronze "Ribbed Mushroom" table lamp base. This six-light cluster model was designed for both the "Mandarin" and "Lotus" lamps. A similar lamp was used to decorate the living room at Falling Water, the famous Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in rural Pennsylvania. Circa 1900. A pair of French Art Nouveau "Clematis" armchairs by Louis Majorelle. Circa 1900s. A French Art Nouveau two-tiered table with gilt-bronze floral mounts by Louis Majorelle. The sinuously-carved legs extend from leaf-shaped gilt bronze feet. The long bronze stems climb up the legs, terminating in flowers against a billowing background. The table has a gracefully curvilinear carved skirt. Circa 1904. Visit Macklowe Gallery 445 Park Avenue off 57th Street New York, Ny 10022 P: 212.644.6400 Monday - Friday 10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Saturday 11:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m. www.macklowegallery.com

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