A Look Into Wayne Mattox Antiques

From the moment you enter Wayne Mattox Antiques and see the sign on the door welcoming visitors in, you are aware of the warmth and accessibility that sets this gallery apart from others. Located in a Greek Revival house on Main Street North in Woodbury, the space has as much the feeling of a beautiful, intimate home as a public gallery. It’s a place where you could easily linger for hours and feel very much at home.

Wayne Mattox’s collection is large and unusually varied, encompassing distinctive examples of art and design from the 16^th through the 20^th centuries. Each room in the two-story shop contains an awe-inspiring range of furniture, decorative objects, art and photography, and each has its own unique palette and character. Throughout the gallery, tables and bureaus are adorned with striking antique weathervanes, such as the circa 1850 piece that features a sculpted American eagle.

“Instead of a directional arrow, it has a writing quill,” Mattox points out. “Perhaps at one time, it graced a school.”

Within the world of antiques, Wayne Mattox is a refreshing exception to nearly every rule. Whereas the vast majority of antiques dealers pride themselves on being specialists in a particular period of design or country of origin, Mattox is a self-proclaimed “generalist”. Since the late 1980’s, he has been collecting pieces from both America and Europe, spanning several centuries. Although he is a student of early American design, his passion for collecting doesn’t stop there. Mattox characterizes his business in simple terms:  “I sell stuff that’s true and authentic – and cheap.”

There are as many paths to becoming a dealer as there are dealers themselves. For some, it begins with the acquisition of one beloved piece. Others are led into the profession because they discover that they have the gift of an unerring eye. There are those who stumble into it, and those who are born into it. For Mattox, the path was anything but linear.

Wayne Mattox grew up in the circa 1840 house that currently houses his gallery. He was no stranger to the world of collecting, since his mother collected antiques as a hobby. At age 28, however, Mattox found himself far from his childhood home, working as a stock market forecaster in Texas. It was only when his father became sick in the early eighties that he came back to Connecticut to take care of his family.

After spending many years trying to find his footing in life, he realized that his creative skills were his strong suit, and that he had a particular talent for writing and for thinking outside of the box. In 1985, he began writing his now famous column, ‘Antique Talk’, which became a nationally syndicated newspaper column. Over the years, he learned about antiques through writing about them, and immersing himself in the subject matter.

In the late eighties, Mattox became the first president of the Woodbury Antiques Dealers Association, and was instrumental in putting Woodbury on the map. It was he, with an awareness of the importance of good marketing, who first came up with the tag line now synonymous with Woodbury:  “The Antiques Capital of the World”. He recounts how he cold-called newspapers and TV stations, telling them about what made Woodbury unique, before anyone knew about the burgeoning antiques trail.

To this day, his command of the history of design and his understanding of the antiques market remain his unique strengths. “I study hard, and work hard intellectually. That’s my product point of difference.” 

Mattox shows off a stunning Art Nouveau sideboard by Eugene Galliard, circa 1895. The way Mattox came to own this piece illustrates his particular edge as a dealer. An outstanding example of the Arts and Crafts period, this sideboard was for up for sale at a major auction house. Mattox immediately recognized its beauty and value. But he also took note of the fact that it was featured in a sale of 18^th century English furniture. Knowing that the buyers at this auction were focused on another period of design altogether, and that the Galliard piece was really in the wrong sale, he leapt at it. In the end, it was his intellectual edge that allowed him to acquire this important piece.

Mattox’s clients are typically interested in history – in the stories behind the antiques, and not just their aesthetic properties. To illustrate how many objects in his collection are inextricable from their historical roots, he shows a copper plaque by Victor Brenner from 1907. The plaque, one example of Mattox’s extensive political collections, depicts a highly recognizable portrait of Abraham Lincoln. The portrait of Lincoln on the plaque is identical to that which we see on every penny coin. As Mattox tells it, President Roosevelt - who had posed for Brenner himself - was so impressed with Brenner’s portrait of Lincoln that he used this plaque as a prototype for the penny, which first entered circulation in 1909.

Buyers seek Wayne Mattox out because of his unparalleled knowledge and reputation. Widely recognized as an expert in both American and European antiques, he has written over 500 articles and has also been featured on television, most notably in the award-winning program, ‘Chronicle’. Loyal clients, some who have been with him for over 20 years, know they can trust him, and frequently buy pieces from Mattox sight unseen.

Just as his clients trust Mattox’s integrity, he is deliberate about helping them become independent collectors in their own right. Here, the world of antiques is demystified, and the passion for collecting becomes accessible to everyone.

“I tell people to take the rule that ‘the rarer and older something is, the better’ - and just throw it out,” Mattox explains. “What is an antique? Something that made a difference in its day. If it made an important statement aesthetically or historically, it’s an antique.”