Roberto Freitas has been dealing independently in fine American antiques since early 2002. With nearly 30 years of experience in the antiques business, he has learned the trade hands-on, working for other prominent dealers. He exhibits at antiques shows nationwide and has sold to major collections and museums.
Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), Coastal Scene, ca. 1867. Oil on canvas, 15½ x 24½ in., signed lower right: ‘MJ Heade’.
His inventory consists of period American furniture of the 18th and 19th century, complemented by folk and fine art, decorative objects and antiques, some examples of which are highlighted here.
“Choosing art is a highly personal process,” share Freitas. “To me, art should speak to you, evoke feelings or emotions. For example, Martin Johnson Heade’s Coastal Scene brings back warm memories of our spectacular sunsets here in coastal Connecticut. With his unique luminist style, Heade captures the rolling clouds with luminous reds, pinks and oranges, and beautifully contrasts them with the looming sky that blankets the landscape below in darkness.”
Barton Stone Hays (1826-1914), Still life of Apples and Grapes on a Plate, ca. 1880-1890. Oil on canvas, 12 x 18 in., signed lower right: ‘B.S. Hays’.Freitas has also always been drawn to still lifes, finding something familiar and calming about them. “The still life of apples and grapes by Barton Stone Hays (1826-1914) is just a perfect example of the quiet beauty of fruits carefully arranged on a plate or table top,” notes Freitas. In the antique furniture category, is an exquisite Taradash Family mahogany Chippendale tea table, circa 1760 to 1770, a style still popular today thanks to its versatility. Freitas notes, “A fine and rare regional example of distinctive New York design, this Chippendale claw and ball foot tea table features a double-beaded cove tray molding, the apron with boldly carved gadrooned border continuing to scroll acanthus knees on the cabriole legs, ending in crisp claw and ball feet.” Once in the collection of the late Mr. and Mrs. Taradash, it was illustrated in Alice Winchester’s book Three hundred years of American craftsmanship: Mr. and Mrs. Mitchel Taradash, Ardsley-on-Hudson, New York, and included in American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection and hailed as a “New York Masterpiece”.
The Taradash Family Chippendale Mahogany Tea Table, New York, ca. 1760-1770.
“When I look at a piece of furniture such as the Chippendale tea table, I am at awe of the craftsmanship that went into it—the exquisite carvings, the slender legs,” says Freitas. “Every little detail was well thought out and all made by hand, and here we are 250 years later and this piece is still around. I feel both lucky and privileged to have it, even if only for a short period of time, before it goes to a new good home.”
A notable piece of folk art in Freita’s current inventory is a carved and painted figure of a sailor holding spyglass. Made in the late 19th or early 20th century, the piece was the trade sign for a New England ship chandlery—once a one-stop shop to meet all of a mariner’s needs.
Standing on a custom-made base of a later date, the young sailor is dressed in shirt and trousers, a black jacket with “brass” buttons, buff-colored double-breasted waistcoat, red neck-wear and a stovepipe hat. A pocket-watch hangs from his right side pant waist. The figure is nearly 40 inches tall.
Carved and painted figure of a sailor holding a spyglass, New England, ca. late 19th or early 20th century, 39½ in.
For Freitas, “dealing in both formal American furniture, fine art, folk art and decorative arts, gives me the opportunity to show that, when carefully curated, the different genres can be combined in a complementary way, that also fits today’s lifestyles.”
Roberto Freitas American Antiques & Decorative Arts will be exhibiting at the Original Round Top Antiques Fair in Round Top, Texas, from March 25 through March 30, and at the Mid-Atlantic Antiques Festival in Poolesville, Maryland, April 27 and 28. For a full schedule of 2024 events, visit www.robertofreitas.com.
Powered by Froala Editor
