|
 |  | Barbara Israel |
Barbara Israel grew up in Far Hills, New Jersey, not far from the Blairsden, a
splendid turn-of-the-century estate with cascading Italianate gardens. Her
early interest in gardens, design and ornament was fostered not only by her
childhood expeditions to Blairsden, but also by countless days spent playing in
her grandmothers' welcoming gardens. It was clear from the start—Barbara's
enthusiasm for gardens would be a defining aspect of life.
In the early 1980s, Barbara and her husband, Tom, purchased an 1860s farmhouse
in Katonah, New York where she had the opportunity to cultivate a garden of her
own. Her challenge was to restore, maintain and expand the planted areas of the
property, including a formal garden that was reputedly designed by the Olmsted
Brothers in the early 20th century. Barbara's penchant for hands-on gardening and
her love of research spurred a quest to find historically appropriate ornament to
complement her outdoor space. In 1985, while under the mentorship of William
Doyle, founder of Doyle Galleries in New York City, she traveled to an estate
where she purchased one statue that gave spirit and focus to her Katonah property
and thirty-nine others that would launch her career.
As a dealer, Barbara collects the finest examples of garden ornament, guided by
her appreciation for classical forms and her love of unusual, once-in-a-lifetime
finds. Her collection pays homage both to historic European models and to American
creativity and invention. Barbara Israel is the sole antique garden ornament
dealer at the highly prestigious Winter Antiques Show. The company also exhibits
at The New York Botanical Garden Antique Garden Furniture Show, the most selective
and longest-running garden antiques show in the country. In 2006, Barbara started
Garden Traditions, her line of high-end reproductions that is now sold at select retailers across the country.
Barbara's book, Antique Garden Ornament: Two
Centuries of American Taste, was published by Harry N. Abrams in 1999
and is still considered the most complete reference of its kind. Illustrated with
more than 100 color photographs of ornament in historic gardens and an exhaustive
catalogue of patterns organized by type, it chronicles the history of American
garden ornament from 1740 to 1940.
Barbara has served as a consultant to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on their
collection of nineteenth-century cast iron, and has sold pieces to the Winterthur
Museum, the Smithsonian Institution and the Baltimore Museum of Art, as well as to
many important private clients. As an active board member of Historic Hudson
Valley, Barbara is helping to preserve landmark properties and their antique
garden ornaments. She has appeared on television programs and webcasts including
Good Morning America, Sunday Morning Today, Antiques Roadshow
FYI and, most recently, on MSN's Collect This!. Barbara has also been
featured in The New York Times, Elle Décor, House & Garden, Garden Design and
The Baltimore Sun. She continues to lecture extensively on all aspects of garden
ornament.
"What would entice a person to pursue a career in garden
ornament? In my case it was one magnificent estate: Blairsden, in Peapack, N.J. A
few times as a child, I secretly circumnavigated the locked entrance gates and
scaled the clifflike hills surrounding the house to peek through the trees at
Blairsden's formal garden."
— Barbara Israel, Antique Garden
Ornament: Two Centuries of American Taste |
