Property from Southfield: The Collection of Alan Shayne & Norman Sunshine
Graciously sited between rolling fields and forests in the Litchfield hills, Southfield was lovingly restored and expanded by Alan Shayne and Norman Sunshine over several decades. The couple’s sixty-plus year relationship began in New York City where Alan was a Broadway actor and Norman was pursuing his art as a painter and sculptor. The couple moved to the West coast where Alan’s career led him to become President of Warner Brothers Television and Norman continued his practice as an artist while also developing a distinguished career in advertising. Following Alan’s retirement from the entertainment business, the couple returned to the East coast and settled in a bucolic corner of Connecticut where they had close friends. The renovation, interior decoration and landscape design of Southfield became their focus and pleasure as they became accustomed to their new life in the country. The couple designed and chose every element of the interiors, mixing Americana with traditional European works of art and comfortable upholstered furniture in a style reminiscent of a classic English country house. Southfield has been published in several magazines, and the couple have written a biography of their life together titled Double Life which focuses on how gay relationships have changed over the last half-century. Highlights in the sale include a Federal painted blanket chest, a pair of early portraits by Jacob B. Mooers, an American School river valley landscape painting, a large group of Chinese Export blue and white Canton wares, Navajo rugs and two William and Mary chairs.
Time & Location
Property from Southfield: The Collection of Alan Shayne & Norman Sunshine in Americana at Stair on September 8 at 11am