ONLINE EVENT – WATCH HERE
A talk and presentation by NICHOLAS LOWRY
President and Principal Auctioneer of Swann Auction Galleries, New York City
An avid collector of vintage posters, Nicholas discussed the treasures from the Lowry Collection – a selection of Czech vintage posters advertising travel throughout the Czech lands, spanning from the 1890s through the 1960s. Born to a Czech father who fled Czechoslovakia with his family in 1938, NICHOLAS D. LOWRY lived for four years in Prague in the years immediately following the Velvet Revolution (1990-1994). From a family of antiquarian book dealers, father and son together have amassed the largest collection of Czech posters in the world outside of the Czech museums. They collect out of passion, driven by their curiosity and love of history, culture and tradition. Within the collection are several hundred posters advertising travel throughout the Czech lands, spanning from the 1890s through the 1960s. These wonderful images not only serve to satisfy any feelings of personal nostalgia but also cannot fail to stir the soul of any Czech who sees them, much the same way one’s mood might be lifted by listening to Bedrich Smetana’s Ma Vlast (My Country). Nicholas’ interest in vintage posters is more than just a family past time.
As President and Principal Auctioneer of Swann Auction Galleries in New York City, Nicholas is also director of the auction house’s Vintage Poster Department and has appeared for over 20 years as an appraiser on the PBS Television series Antiques Roadshow as the poster specialist. Posters from the Lowry Collection have been exhibited at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library and the Dutch Poster Museum.