Note: Stephen Gray (1935-2012) is widely regarded as one of the great pioneering collectors and connoisseurs in the field of American Arts and Crafts. In 1976, the acquisition of a weekend retreat in Columbia County, New York inspired him to assemble a collection of furnishings that were compatible with the architectural history of the area. He educated himself by diligently researching the original trade catalogues from the period, many of which he was later responsible for reprinting. With an emphasis on the earliest production years of Gustav Stickley, Stephen refined his collection over the course of thirty years to represent the very best in furniture, lighting, ceramics, metalwork and woodcut prints. In 2008, his collection was celebrated in the exhibition, At Home with Gustav Stickley: American Arts & Crafts from the Stephen Gray Collection, at the Wadsworth Atheneum, to whom Stephen gifted a significant portion of his collection. The majority of works presented in this auction were exhibited in that venue. In 2011, Stephen received the Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the annual Grove Park Inn Arts and Crafts Conference.