13/05/2025
A Life of Collecting and Curiosity
Alan Winston (1930–2021) was a renowned New York collector, dealer, and artist whose passion for art, culture, and history helped shape his truly unique collection. As a primitive arts dealer, he specialised in religious, ethnographic, and cultural artifacts, amassing an impressive collection. His unique tastes and discerning eye attracted an eclectic group of patrons, and his gallery, Winston House, became a notable fixture in the New York art and antique scene.
Born and raised in New York City, Winston’s fascination with art and culture began early. As a boy, he would spend hours exploring the American Museum of Natural History, where the displays of tribal, religious, and ethnographic artifacts sparked what would become a lifelong pursuit.
In the 1960s, he opened Winston House, a gallery in Midtown Manhattan unlike any other. It was a haven for the unexpected, filled with religious icons, medieval ironwork, tribal sculpture, and shamanic objects. His customers were as eclectic as the gallery itself, with artists, writers, and collectors, including the likes of Truman Capote and Dick Cavett, who were drawn to the unique atmosphere and Alan’s discerning eye.
He delighted in collecting the weird and the wonderful, from skeletons, skulls and mummies to antique Indian bronze anklets and samurai armour. His collecting wasn’t limited to the gallery. Winston’s personal travels took him to Spain, Mexico, and Guatemala, where he deepened his interest in ancient religious artifacts and traditional ironwork.
His Central Park apartment was a continuation of his gallery ethos - a home filled with the objects he loved most. A 13th-century Corpus Christi crucifix hung alongside a delicate but powerful Northwest Coast Native American shaman figurine as well as medieval iron strongboxes. Interspersed throughout were his own paintings and drawings, offering a glimpse into the creative mind behind the collection. In later years, he enjoyed painting and gardening on his 83-foot balcony, a personal space where his love for both art and nature flourished.
Several lots from the Alan Winston Collection, acquired through family descent, will be included in the upcoming Oxford Library Sale.These items reflect not only Winston’s distinctive eye but also his deep passion for culture and exploration.
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