AFA Winter 2017

2017 Antiques & Fine Art 81 Ubaldo Vitali, (b. 1944) Anniversary Service, 1984 Silver, ebony, ivory, plastic (tray is 33½ x 15 inches) Purchase 1984 The Members’ Fund (84.1a-f) Photo by Gene Young Ulysses Grant Dietz is chief curator and curator of decorative arts, Newark Museum, Newark, N.J. He retires as of December 31, 2017. In another corner is the resplendent silver tea and coffee service commissioned from Ubaldo Vitali in 1983 to commemorate the museum’s seventy-fifth anniversary in 1984. It sits on the perfect base for it: the Arch coffee table, by Michael Puryear, made for the gallery, acquired in 2007, and now displayed for the first time. I decided to acquire something by Michael in 2006, when sitting next to him at the American Craft Council’s annual conference in Houston. Michael’s brother, sculptor Martin Puryear, was on stage as the keynote speaker. Newark had just purchased an amazing sculpture by Martin, and the irony that it was he and not Michael on stage speaking to a roomful of craftspeople and curators was not lost on me. Together, Ubaldo’s silver service and Michael’s table share an important message: function does not negate art. If there is one lesson I take away from my decades at the Newark Museum, that’s one I value most. Michael Puryear (b. 1944) Arch coffee table, 2007 Bleached and stained ash H. 15½, L. 48½, W. 27½ Purchase 2007 Friends of Decorative Arts (2007.30.2)