The venerable auction house, Doyle, now has a permanent presence in Boston upon opening a sprawling, first-floor gallery in The Vendome building at 290 Dartmouth St. in the Back Bay, and that space will be the setting for its inaugural ‘Americana in Boston’ live auction on Friday, Oct. 10, at 11 a.m.
The auction will include a carefully curated selection of American furniture and decorative art, including vintage artwork, furniture, dishware, Persian carpets, and antique toys, among other items. Just a few of the auction highlights, which have all been on view in The Vendome showroom, include a ‘Portrait of a Trophy Fish’ – a realistic oil painting of a 4-foot-long, 35-pound fish inscribed along the lower edge, March 8. 1736; a late Federal mahogany dressing chest in the style of John and Thomas Seymour, Eastern Boston, circa 1815-20; a Hubley painted, cast-iron, four horse-drawn, four-seat carriage toy, circa 1890; and a pair of unique cast-iron, painted dalmatian figures attributed to Gray Foundry of Poultney, Vt., which likely date from the mid-19th century.
Interested buyers can bid on auction items in person at the gallery while remote buyers can also bid on items via online, telephone, or absentee bids.
Future live auctions will take place at the Boston showroom on a regular basis (with open house previews held nearly daily in the week leading up to the event), including the upcoming ‘Property of a Commonwealth Avenue Mansion’ live auction on Dec. 12.
And besides holding jewelry auctions on a recurring basis, the Boston showroom will also offer its Boston Consignment Day on Tuesday, Oct. 21, for would-be sellers by appointment only.
Doyle’s in Boston also offers appraisal and auction services for estates, collections, or single items via telephone; email; video conference (which can include a walkabout of the client’s home); or by in-person appointment.
While its permanent gallery at The Vendome only just opened, Doyle’s previously operated a pop-up showroom at 236 Clarendon St. in the Back Bay from January 2023 until this past February. The overwhelming success of that venture encouraged the Manhattan-based company to make a permanent home in Boston, said Kathryn Craig, vice president and director of the firm’s Boston operations.
And though the company remains based in New York, Doyle’s has deep roots in Boston.
Laura Doyle, the company’s CEO and the youngest of the 22 Doyle grandchildren, followed in the footsteps of the late William Boyle, a Newtown native who started his antique business in 1962.
(The firm was founded in 1962 by the late William Doyle as William Doyle Antiques. In 1973, it was incorporated as William Doyle Galleries, Inc. Since 2001, it has been doing business as Doyle New York.)
William Doyle learned the antique business from two local antique dealers – George Gravert on Charles Street and Jack Yaffe in Chelsea, respectively.
And since much of the Doyle family still lives around Boston, Laura Doyle believed bringing the family business to the city seemed like a logical step for them, according to Craig.
Visit Doyle at The Vendome at 290 Dartmouth St., or call the business at 617-999-8254. For more information, visit doyle.com.