Seller Story: Irene Zelinsky, Greenwich, CT
“My parents were collectors. Everybody in our family was always told, when you buy, buy the best. But it wasn’t just about paying top price for pieces; we did a lot of traveling to find things. We worked with people who knew it, with dealers. I was a collector of American furniture, and then I started to get more into eclectic things, more contemporary.
But we’ve moved to a new house, and it’s totally different. It happens to be more towards the American Deco period, so that’s why we’re selling these things. The house that these pieces came from was a very traditional house, designed by Alan Greenberg, who was a foremost architect of the American style.
Collecting is really having an eye, and being able to know what pieces we wanted to live with. Our house was very eclectic: we had a lot of contemporary art, and a lot of traditional art. There is, for instance, one particular piece that we thought it might be a Greuze, and if it were a Greuze it would be worth several million dollars. It’s a woman, in a round frame. The frame is the original, still. You can unhook the painting from the frame, because it’s just nailed in. That’s such a major piece. And with that we hung contemporary pieces of art. I really believe in mixing everything.”
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Waterford Crystal Millennium Collection Champagne Bucket Featuring Five Wishes
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Stained Glass Window Panel With Floral Motif
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Douglas “Bumo” Johnpeer Landscape Oil Painting, 2024
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Offset Lithograph After Claude Monet "Le Bassin des Nympheas"
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Oil Painting of a Forest Stream, Circa 1900
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Coach Mini Crosby Crossbody Carryall In Silver/Blue Black Badlands Flora
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Pair of Faux Leather, Brass-Tacked and Ebonized Wood Club Chairs
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Hollywood Regency Style Brass and Blue Velveteen Upholstered Stools
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Derek Jeter Signed Rawlings Official Major League Baseball with Display
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Fulper Pottery Earthenware Amphora Vessel With Drip Glaze, Early 20th C.
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Charriol Colvmbvs Diamond Wristwatch
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Atmospheric Skyscape Oil Painting
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
6'11 x 11'1 Hand-Knotted Persian Kashan Area Rug
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Mark Whitmarsh Abstract Acrylic Painting "Divine Garden," 2019
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Hickory Mfg. Co. French Provincial Style Oak Two-Drawer Bombé Low Chest
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
14K 3.88 CTW Lab Grown Diamond Eternity Band
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
7'11 x 11'3 Machine Made Oriental Weavers "Nirvana Collection" Area Rug
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Vintage and Antique Glass Beaded Flapper Sautoir Necklaces
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Tricia Bass Oil Painting of Dog "Bella's Daisies"
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Luc LeBon Abstract Expressionistic Style Acrylic Painting "Boundary Waters #1"
There’s some gorgeous furniture in the sale. Any favorites?
There are two red chairs that came from Partridge, a big dealer, one of the most expensive and top dealers.. They’re in prime condition, and such beautiful chairs. And there’s a mirror that’s American—with a finial on the top, a gold finial. Those are really the high-end pieces.
Tell us about the clothes!
I sold a lot of my vintage Chanel collection to Sotheby’s years ago, but I kept some, and there’s just not space in the new house for it now. I was in the vintage clothing business; really not to sell, just to collect. I traveled to Paris, traveled all over, collecting Chanel and other designers. These are really authentic, from the 1940’s.
What about the chest of drawers that is actually a desk?
That was a family piece. It was my mother’s; my mother got that when she was in Europe. It looks like a chest of drawers, but when you open it up, it opens to a desk. It’s the most beautiful piece; that comes actually from one of the best cabinet makers, who goes back to the 18th century. It’s handmade; it’s beautiful; it’s in impeccable condition. It’s one of the best pieces in the collection.