It’s a bold statement to say the market for traditional antiques is dead, but few are more qualified to say it, or to explain why, than David Rago. Rago, an auction house owner who frequently appears on “Antiques Roadshow,” is giving a talk on exactly this subject.
Rago will speak at the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday, November 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Princeton Marriott. Tickets are $75, $50 for members. For more information, visit www.princetonmercerchamber.org.
Rago will discuss the formation of the current market for art and antiques, his involvement since 1972, and how collecting and museum interest has changed over the decades.
Rago began dealing in American decorative ceramics at the age of 16 at a flea market in his home state of New Jersey. Today, with partners Suzanne Perrault and Miriam Tucker, he oversees the Lambertville-based auction house that bears his name, sells privately in the field of 20th and 21st-century design, lectures nationally, and appears as an expert appraiser for the PBS series, “Antiques Roadshow,” where he specializes in decorative ceramics and porcelain.
He is the author of more than 500 magazine and newspaper articles and author of five books on the subject. He is the publisher of two nationally distributed magazines, one focusing on the Arts and Crafts Period (Style: 1900) and the other on Modernist design (Modernism). Rago lectures in his specialty at major conferences across the United States and holds 20 auctions at the Rago Arts and Auction Center throughout the season.
At the luncheon, the chamber will also celebrate the awarding of $35,000 in community development funds to four organizations, announce the creation of the new LeadNJ Scholarship Program, and give its 100th Champion for Business award to Scott Kent of Wawa.
