Stuart Holbrook, President of Theriault’s Auction house, makes a welcome return to Vienna Austria joining host Louisa Maxwell for Part Two of our Fall 2021 podcast.

Film star and doll collector Jane Withers with Stuart Holbrook President of Theriault’s . Image courtesy of Theriault’s

A hot topic this year has been the discussion of the doll, not just as a historic object but as a piece of art in its own right. Stuart Holbrook and host Louisa Maxwell discuss landmark doll collections with unique pieces of such quality that they cross the line from antique to fine art. Stuart explores the Barry Art Museum with it's world class collection of art at Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia, in the USA. The Barry Museum’s doll collection spans three centuries of fashion and society. The dolls are shown alongside great works of art challenging the viewer to see the doll in terms of art and the society that created them.

For more details about the Barry Museum:

Collection:https://barryart.emuseum.com/groups/dolls/results
Visit the blog of Bruce A. deArmond : http://www.dolledition.com/about

Historical Dolls and Automatons in the Barry Art Museum Collection

We lost a remarkable collector recently, Hollywood Star Jane Withers. She was one of the most famous child stars of the late 1930’s and starred in many movies with Shirley Temple. Jane always played the naughty to Shirley’s nice. Jane Withers amassed a legendary doll collection she even had gifts given personally to her by Eleanor Roosevelt. Stuart shares his memories of Jane Withers and tells some insider tales about her movies and friendship with Shirley Temple.

**SHIRLEY TEMPLE'S LEGENDARY ITALIAN FELT SALON DOLL KNOWN AS "PINKIE" BY LENCI** Pinkie Featured in the film Bright Eyes, starring Jane Withers and Shirley Temple. Image courtesy of Theriault’s.

Artist Dolls

Stuart also predicts that the work of today's doll artists will soon be the much sought after collector prizes of tomorrow. Stuart discusses market trends and the rising interest among collectors in artist dolls. To learn more about these artists and see their work go to the website of The National Institute of American Doll Artists : https://www.niada.org