Digital Editions
Newsletters
Subscribe
Digital Editions
Newsletters
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
In the frame
blog

Philip Roth’s ephemera—including his Richard Nixon plate—go under the hammer

The Art Newspaper
22 July 2019
Share
Philip Roth in 2012 courtesy John Munson

Philip Roth in 2012 courtesy John Munson

A wealth of (rather modest) items owned by the esteemed novelist Philip Roth, who died last year, went under the hammer at the weekend on the online bidding site Bidsquare. The 134-lot auction, organised by Litchfield County Auctions in Connecticut, included some choice furniture pieces such as a Herman Miller Eames DCW Chair (est $100-$150), which sold for $2,210 with buyer’s premium. One of the more unusual items included a chipped Collector Plate honouring the disgraced President Richard Nixon and his wife Pat (est $50-$75, sold for $585).“Everything on offer in Litchfield comes from Philip’s 18th-century Connecticut house purchased in 1972 as a retreat from New York City and the incessant attention that began with the publication of [the novel] Portnoy’s Complaint in 1969,” writes Elizabeth Pochoda in The Nation. But why a tacky plate daubed with an image of the man brought down by the Watergate scandal? “If the American antiques in his collection are not wildly valuable, they are nevertheless evocative of a writer who as much as anything was the bard not so much of Jewishness but of Americanness, of belonging and patriotism,” Pochoda adds, reflecting on the contents of the sale.

In the frame
Share
Subscribe to The Art Newspaper’s digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international art world delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter sign-up
Information
About
Contact
Cookie policy
Data protection
Privacy policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Subscription T&Cs
Terms and conditions
Advertise
Sister Papers
Sponsorship policy
Follow us
Instagram
Bluesky
LinkedIn
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
© The Art Newspaper

Related content

In the frameblog
23 May 2018

Beatz goes on (collecting)

The Art Newspaper
In the frameblog
21 August 2018

No to Nigel—picture of Brexiteer Farage left on the shelf at Royal Academy

The Art Newspaper
In the frameblog
26 December 2018

Welcome to the (life-sized) doll's house courtesy of Camille Henrot and Gaetano Pesce

The Art Newspaper
In the frameblog
27 November 2017

Matt Smith on playing Mapplethorpe: “Who knew that pictures of penises were so utterly compelling?”

The Art Newspaper