Washington Winter Show 2025

54 held in 2011. Members of the Washington Winter Show Founding Board, Hannah C. Cox and Helen W. Curtin (photo on page 53), currently serve as Show Directors and are intimately involved in helping to continue our co-founders’ vision and bring it to life each January. You may see them walking the Show floor on Preview Night and throughout the weekend, greeting dealers, shopping, and enjoying the Show they helped create. James Hanson “Jim” Lemon, Jr., Honorary Chair Emeritus of this year’s Show and son of Show co-founder Martha Lemon, passed away in April after many years of involvement, starting Mrs. James Hanson Lemon (Martha), Mrs. Carl Shipley (Nancy), and Mrs. William Bowles make plans at Mrs. Lemon’s home for the preview of the 1964 Washington Antiques Show. Photo source: Murillo Diplomatic News Photo Service. Courtesy of Ashley Lemon Shaw. with trips as a boy to the Show with his mother. Mrs. Lemon loved Chinese export porcelain and Battersea enamelware boxes. She bought many pieces over the years, which Mr. Lemon inherited and was able to enjoy with his children and grandchildren. He loved the Show, served as a Show Advisor for many years, and came every year. He made a point to say to Mrs. Cox each time, “Thank you for continuing my mother’s legacy.” Jim Lemon’s joie de vivre still permeates the Show and he is deeply missed on our 70th Anniversary. Locations for the Show as it grew included The Mayflower Hotel and The Omni Shoreham Hotel. After many years at the Shoreham, the Show Directors found they needed to look for a new location. The reason was a combination of the growth of the Show and the fact that the hotel felt they could make more money through events such as conventions where all sleeping rooms would be fully booked. After considering a variety of settings from airplane hangars to schools, Mrs. Curtin drove through Ward Circle one afternoon in 2007 heading towards Maryland when she had her own “lightbulb moment” similar to Mrs. Lemon’s in 1955. She saw the newly-built and very modern Katzen Arts Center at American University and thought it might be just the place with its high ceilings, abundant space and light, and convenient parking. She remembers that, after a discussion with Dr. Cornelius M. “Neil” Kerwin, President of American University, the Washington Winter Show Board had to wait months until the