Antiques Roadshow at the LWRWC

The LWRWC hosted a private version of “The Antiques Roadshow” at their General Meeting on Thursday, March 9 at LWR Town Hall. The distinguished guest speaker was antiquities expert, Andrew Ford, the owner and operator of Ford Art and Antiques, Sarasota Estate Auction, and Sarasota Trading Company in Historic Burns Square.

Andrew has always had a passion for collecting and selling and has been in the business of antiques for about 31 years. His father was a respected, well-known appraiser and collector in the New England area, and Andrew followed in his father’s footsteps here in Sarasota. Items procured by Andrew from all over the United States, as well as internationally, can be found in his downtown gallery including fine arts, bronzes, sculptures, jewelry, and a large collection of Asian art.

Andrew excels in telling people what something is worth, from treasured family heirlooms to paintings picked up at an estate sale. He has a passion for appraising, selling, trading, and auctioning fine art and antiques. Over the past 25 years, he’s handled tens of thousands of paintings and objects through auction.

One of the highlights of the “Antique Roadshow’ was when Andrew shared some of his most exciting experiences. He reminisced that he was third in line when the Coco Chanel estate treasures came on the market, and he bought up everything he could afford. Another remarkable story centered around a portrait of George Gordon. The painting came up for sale in Florida and made $37,000 (hammer price). Next he told the story of a display of very rare coins that recently came in from New York . Unfortunately, the coins were  glued to the board, heavily devaluing their worth. His advice was to never clean a coin because the grime and dirt are a part of the value.

Andrew advised us that jewelry usually doesn’t change value and appraisals go up for fine arts. Some pieces we possess, however, have tremendous family value and he suggested that we should consider giving those pieces to someone we love.

Andrew spent the remainder of his presentation, examining the host of fascinating antiques brought in by LWRWC members. Whether or not the various items had great monetary value, each one was a treasure because each item is a valued and priceless piece of the past. He concluded by inviting the members to come and visit at the Gallery or at the upcoming auction on May 20-21 starting at 11:00