John A. Hays, a private art adviser, former deputy chairman of Christie’s Americas, and “Antiques Roadshow” appraiser, will deliver the Preservation Society of Newport County’s annual John G. Winslow Lecture at Rosecliff on Tuesday, August 11 at 6 p.m.
His talk, “The Thrill of the Chase: Collecting Art in Our Time,” will focus on 18th-century Rhode Island-made furniture, taking attendees through a journey of discoveries and exploring how connoisseurship, persistence, and good fortune have shaped our understanding of this highly prized category of American antiques.
Hays began his career at Christie’s in 1983 and became one of the premier auctioneers of Americana, appointed Deputy Chairman, Americas, in 2002. His career has included some of the most significant sales in American art history, among them the 1989 sale of the Nicholas Brown Chippendale desk-and-bookcase, the landmark Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller sales, and the recent sale of Emmanuel Leutze’s 1851 “Washington Crossing the Delaware,” which set the record for any image of George Washington.
The Winslow Lecture is named for John G. Winslow, who served as the Preservation Society’s president and board chairman from 1977 to 1989.
Tickets are available at newportmansions.org/events/the-thrill-of-the-chase.
