An expansive collection of Federal and Classical American furniture, 19th-century American paintings, and decorative arts that once filled renowned connoisseur William N. Banks, Jr.’s historic 1820s Federal-style estate in Newnam, Ga., is being sold by Brunk Auctions in Asheville, N.C. Sharp Think was recently tapped to get the word out about the landmark auction on September 12, 2020, which will happen simultaneously in-person and online.
Banks, who died last year at age 95, was the ultimate aesthete -- a collector at the highest level and a scholar, historian, and preservationist, who wrote regularly for The Magazine Antiques. The works he owned and wrote about were core to his life, and were purchased to fill beautiful Bankshaven, which was also known as the Gordon-Banks House.
Sharp kicked off coverage with a feature in Barron’s “Penta” magazine, in which writer Abby Schultz talked to Brunk’s Nan Zander about this historic sale and William N. Banks, Jr. as a consummate collector.