Well over 600 people attended the sale according to Jill Wilson, of LLD Specialty Sales, who managed the November seventh and eighth Great Belcourt Tag Sale in Newport. The sale raised a significant amount of money for the Royal Arts Foundation, which operates the museum at Belcourt Castle. Almost 80 per cent of the items offered at the tag sale ranging from antique tools, architectural elements, and statuary to furniture and stained glass, were sold to buyers from all over the United States and Canada.
Harle Tinney, owner of the Castle, was very pleased with the sale and plans to begin the stable restoration as an area for exhibitions and tours. In 1956 the Tinney Family purchased Belcourt, and they have devoted more than 50 years to its restoration, saving original work when possible.
The Royal Arts Foundation, the nonprofit organization which operates Belcourt Castle museum, is beginning its 40th year. With its enthusiastic members, the foundation plans to fulfill its mission to exhibit a collection of art works and furniture in a historic house setting, Belcourt Castle.
Belcourt Castle, on Bellevue Avenue was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, “the Dean of American Architects”, for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont. Belcourt cost 3 million dollars to build in 1894, (a figure of approximately 75 million dollars in 2007). The Belmont name is famous for horses and Belcourt’s stable was reputed to be the finest in America in the 1890s. This sale launches the restoration project by not only raising capital, but by clearing the area long used for storage.
Among the buyers was Julie Miller, a gemologist from Sarasota, Florida, who purchased some paintings by Benny Collin, an artist who lived and painted at Belcourt from 1947 to 1972. “In support of Harle Tinney's projects at Belcourt, I now have a beautiful memento of Belcourt history.” Another enthusiastic buyer from New Hampshire purchased the box of artist brushes from the Tinneys’ stained glass studio, which dated back to 1895.
Mrs. Tinney said "It is better to have these antiques where people can enjoy and appreciate their beauty, than to be stored in our attics." Other items in storage will be offered for sale in the future.
