Reflections from Ron Bourgeault in European Works of Art from The Collection of Luigi Pellettieri
Luigi would leave his New York apartment and head for antiques shows, flea markets and country auctions searching for seventeenth and eighteenth century European decorative arts. I first met Luigi when I was exhibiting at a Connecticut flea market. He spotted a slate top table I had and we started a friendship that lasted for over thirty years. We would often meet at shows and he would discuss pieces he had bought for his own collection and others he had bought to sell to dealers specializing in European decorative arts. While listening to him I realized what an eye he had for beauty and detail. He told me his profession was photography and how he captured details by lighting and timed exposures. When I started Northeast Auctions Luigi did the color photography for many years. Digital photography was unheard of and sheet film, timed exposures and developing were an art that Luigi mastered. He would spend hours arranging group settings for our advertisements in The Magazine Antiques. Because of his love for early objects the apex of his work at Northeast was the Monahan Collection. Today that catalog is a benchmark for collectors of Pilgrim Century decorative arts. As digital photography became a necessity for auction houses, Luigi announced it was “trick photography” and he would not use the technology. To him photography is a fine art with careful attention paid to details creating beautiful results.
Time & Location
European Works of Art in The Collection of Luigi Pellettieri
Thursday, July 15 at 11am