Premier Spotlight: Minding Meissen with the Collection of Steve Stewart

When someone has found their passion, something they enjoy to such a degree that it fully permeates their daily life, sharing it with others can be all they want to do. They’ll talk about it at length to any who ask and let themselves allocate that interest great amounts of their time and money. For Dr. R. Steve Stewart, Steve to his friends, finding his passion was as simple and easy as having a conversation. In the late 1970s, Steve was introduced to the world of Meissen porcelain after talking to a collector friend about it, and gave himself entirely to the pursuit of its collecting. Over the years of pursuing his passion, Steve would make several trips to the Meissen factory, peruse auction catalogs in the pursuit of rare works, and take glee in showing off recent acquisitions to his fellow collectors. Steve bought his objects with a prioritized eye for craftsmanship and the narrative of particular figures or groups, the hand-decorated details and story of the object in question being the main draws. There was an element of the “thrill of the hunt” as well, in tracking down the right work to complete a matched set, all of which were given places of prominence in Steve’s home. 

But beyond any personal, material joy, for Steve the true pleasure of collecting came from the ability to share his passion with others. His aforementioned collector friends were one such source, a small community brought together by a shared appreciation for a specific kind of art that lasted a lifetime. He also found joy in sharing his hobby with his family. From bringing one of his nephews with him on a visit to the Meissen factory in Germany (which his brother Barry fondly recounts letting his son see the subject of Steve’s passion through his eyes), to filling three residences with his collection, his unwavering joy and enthusiasm endured throughout his life-long participation in the collecting world. As much as the driving force behind his vigorous collecting was his own appreciation for the art form, the arguable core of Steve’s ambition was aspirational stewardship, the hope that his collection would go on to spark the same joy in Meissen porcelain in others that was sparked in him when he first began collecting. Whether you’re a longtime connoisseur with an abiding love of the craft, or a neophyte collector only just dipping your toes in, we hope you’ll join us for our British & Continental Premier Auction on May 21st, which will feature choice examples of Meissen porcelain, Viennese enamels, and other objects d’art from the Collection of Steve Stewart.