gallery featuring midcentury furnishings and a blue and white rock-formation-like chandelier

Photo: Courtesy Jeff Lincoln

gallery featuring midcentury furnishings against a white backdrop

Photo: Rayon Richards

High-end galleries are championing an essential component of the Hamptons’ design DNA.

Sprinkled among the saltboxes, the Hamptons’ midcentury homes declare the area’s modernist roots. Today, the aesthetic of the era is having a spirited revival, with efforts to preserve the region’s architectural heritage growing and an influx of dealers specializing in fine period antiques setting up shop. For these professional treasure hunters, landing out East was a natural homecoming.

Quinn Pofahl, founder of Southampton gallery Jetsam Studio, is categorical: “Midcentury design has always been part of the Hamptons—homeowners appreciate its marriage of an uncluttered feel and sophistication,” he notes. Analisse Taft-Gersten, who co-founded Sag Harbor’s 1818 Collective with designer Kristin Fine concurs: “What’s incredible about midcentury design is that it can blend so well with other interior styles. If you find the right balance, it’s magic.” When sourcing for her eponymous East Hampton shop, Marie-Christine McNally, too, finds the “well-worn woods, rope details and perfectly aged brass” of midcentury furnishings a serendipitous match for the East End’s relaxed ethos.

Merging art and design in the context of a former 19th-century Southampton power station, Collective by Jeff Lincoln is a thrilling environment to experience rare and important midcentury works. (One of Lincoln’s pieces by Brazilian designer José Zanine Caldas is currently on loan to MoMa.) The L.A. gallery Merit recently opened a Southampton outpost, where midcentury mascots like Charlotte Perriand furnishings or Mathieu Matégot lighting can be found in conversation with Louis Vuitton leathergoods from the ’40s. And Wyeth, dealer John Birch’s Sagaponack mecca of design finds from the mid-20th century, remains an authority on vintage style.

A perfect summer day in the Hamptons may well be spent lingering in these beautiful galleries, whether seeking out your home’s missing link or an education in design.

Dealer’s Choice

To elevate a coastal retreat with midcentury flair, all it takes is just one piece.

Analisse Taft-Gersten lifts spaces with vintage lighting, like this 1950s Jacques Biny lamp. the1818collective.com / Photo: Glen Allsop

“The most compelling pieces have a story,” muses Quinn Pofahl—like this favorite 1955 Pierre Jeanneret chair. jetsamstudio.square.site / Photo: Courtesy Jetsam Studio

This 1950s maple wood Paul McCobb desk illustrates the livable aesthetic of Marie-Christine McNally. @mariechristine.shop / Photo: Glen Allsop

Preview The May/June 2021 Design + Renovation Issue