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Marc-James Collection
The Marc-James Collection began in 1982.
James F. Neal and Marc R. Belair
merged two smaller collections into a single
one. Each partner had different interests
in the Decorative Arts. Over the following
decades the combined collections
expanded in size and scope. They formed what is
today a rather extensive representation
of European Art and History beginning in the
early 13th Century.
A Grouping of Staffordshire Pottery, both Polychrome and Blue Transfer along
with
a few A.W.G. Pugin Tiles. Included is photograph of Jim Neal and Marc Belair,
taken in 1984 at their first home in Los Altos, California and, as always, Jim's
Casa Blanca Lilies.
Description: 13th Century wood carving of Mary Magdalene, France.
This statue is beautifully carved and retains some of the original
polychrome including the red garments distinctive to Mary Magdalene.
Previously in the Santa Barbara Museum.
Provenance: the Butterfield & Butterfield Fall Auction, San Francisco,1983.
To view carvings from this period please click on the Religious Art Button
at the top of this page.
An interesting vignette of Victorian Staffordshire and Georgian books.
A grouping of framed prints dating from the 1790's.
A view of a corner of the library dining room. Featured in the photograph is a
Grand Tour issue of a Michelangelo painting of the Holy Family
Circa 1910, one of
two Louis XIII fruitwood chairs and some 19th Century ecclesiastic
embroidery.
Here's a
slightly different perspective.
A selection of brass rubbings taken from York Minster.
A detail of a Father Edward M. Catich**
slate engraving, titled "Jesus, The Good Shepherd."*
A detail of the Agnus Dei Roundel,
circa 1875. This window is currently mounted in the dinning area
of the Alison Eliason Library. This window originally hung in the Convent of Mission San Jose in California
and was removed during the Vatican II period.
Multi-hued Victorian window with a kiln-fired roundel Circa 1880,of a
bird in flight and dogwood branches.
The Jim Neal Birthday Memorial Lily in Library, July, 2010.
An interesting collection of Early English Blue and White.
The coffee pot by Christian's and the sauce by Pennington's,
both Liverpool and from the mid-18th Century.
The Platter is a 19th C transfer of Windsor Castle. The shelf is a
composite using 19th Century (1860's) doors. The marble columns
were part of
an Altar Rail from a demolished Catholic church in Brooklyn.
Two views of some of the ecclesiastical collection as displayed in the
Upper Bedroom of Marc-James Manor.
When you tour Marc-James Mews, please visit the Alison Eliason Library.
*A gift from Thomas Kimball, PhD who attended St. Ambrose College
and was in Father Catich's Art Class, 1953-54
**Founder and former chairperson of the St.
Ambrose University Art Department,
Fr. Edward Catich was well known as an author, stone-cutter, calligrapher,
photographer, musician, liturgical artist, historian and lecturer. His alphabet
stones are
in permanent collections of seven museums. His reputation as a stone cutter,
calligrapher,
liturgical artist and craftsman commands the highest respect in the United
States and abroad.
Examples of his lettering work in stone have been exhibited in institutions
throughout the country
and are a permanent part of the collection at Encyclopedia Britannica's
corporate headquarters,
the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Reed College, Morton Arboretum and Harvard
College.