Apter-Fredericks: 75 Years of Important English Furniture.
Date19 January 11:00 AM BST | Live auction 18848
For brothers Harry and Guy Apter, dealing in the finest English antiques has been an extraordinary and rewarding adventure. ‘We only buy what jumps out and appeals,’ Harry says of the family’s famous eye for excellence. ‘Everything is bought with passion.’
For the past 75 years, Apter-Fredericks has supplied connoisseur collectors, fabled interior decorators — including royal favourite Dudley Poplak — and such prestigious bodies as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston with English furniture and works of art of the highest caliber. The storied dealership was founded in the 1940s by Alfred Fredericks. He was soon joined by his son-in-law, Bernard Apter, who would go on to run the business with his wife Carole for many years. Their sons, Guy and Harry, would later take on the mantle. From 1946 until 2019, the Apter-Fredericks gallery was a mainstay of London’s Fulham Road.
‘Our parents were a brilliant team,’ recalls Guy. ‘Our father oversaw the buying, our mother 90 per cent of the selling.’ Under their tenure, he explains, the business evolved from primarily dealing with the trade to supplying private clients and museums around the world. ‘It’s rather wonderful to have been part of that change and seen us rise to the top.