The Watt & Jan White Shaker Collection
– Stamford, Connecticut –
Watt C. White Jr. (1939-2022) had an enduring passion for collecting. His journey began at just ten years old when he wandered into a shop on Madison Avenue in New York City and purchased four Britain Toy Soldiers. From that moment, he was hooked. Watt dedicated much of his life to becoming a well-informed, generous collector with an acute eye. In addition to cultivating a significant collection of painted Shaker boxes, Watt was drawn to other examples of American folk art, acquiring important collections of weathervanes and whirligigs, mid-20th-century cast iron doorstops, 19th-century ink bottles and wells, United States postal history, and more.
“I met Watt and Jan about fifteen years ago when they came into my booth at the ADA/Historic Deerfield Antiques Show and bought a little red Shaker box. When he handed me a check, I realized they lived in the town next to South Salem but had never come into the shop. It was from this very first interaction that I began to understand Watt’s most distinguishing quality: his steadfast sense of discipline. He was a prolific collector with a range of interests—from whirligigs and weathervanes to doorsteps and postage stamps. Even so, he would only go to certain venues or dealers to acquire specific forms in a very controlled way. When Watt defined a sphere of object that captivated him, his modus operandi was to collect. When he reached a certain point, he’d be sated, and the collection would go to auction—he’d be done.
Watt decided that the Shaker Oval Box was an important object and, through this, we were able to begin a relationship. He began making monthly trips to my shop, (usually after I had alerted him of some new acquisition), where we would look at boxes and have lunch. The concept of stacking boxes was not something that interested Watt. He’d look at each box as a singular object and make a decision based on whether or not it filled the criteria by which he wanted to own it. Over time, he assembled over forty Shaker boxes—most of which are painted and stained in an array of colors.
A few years ago, Watt and Jan decided that, unlike their other collections of folk art which were sent to auction, they wanted me to handle the disbursement of his Shaker Oval Boxes. I am honored to be the recipient of this exceptional personal collection, but more significantly, the beneficiary of Watt and Jan’s trust, loyalty, and friendship.“
– John Keith Russell
Born in Winston-Salem, NC, Watt graduated from Wake Forest and began his career at RJ Reynolds. He attended the PMD program at Harvard Business School and remained in Boston to serve as the head of human resources for the Kendall Corporation. In 1981, Watt relocated to Stamford, CT, where he and his family resided for 41 years. Initially, he held a high-ranking position in human resources at Colgate-Palmolive in New York before going on to travel the world as a Management Consultant for Change Management Group. Ultimately, Watt established his own firm, Watt White Management Consultants.
In addition to his passion for collecting, Watt was an avid athlete. He was a record-setting championship sprinter in college as well as a lifelong distance runner, completing fourteen marathons. He was also a skilled golfer, carding two-lifetime holes-in-one and scoring a 70 on the famous Pinehurst No. 2 golf course. In later years, Watt loved walking laps in Scalzi Park and playing ball with his cherished Granddaughter.
“It’s always a bittersweet thing to let a collection go,” said Watt in advance of the 2021 auction, Color and Form: The Important American Folk Art Collection of Jan and Watt White. “We sincerely enjoyed the process and the people we met along the way, and we truly cherish these items… All things considered, it is genuinely exciting to know that others out there will now share some of the joy Jan and I shared in acquiring and living with these objects.”
After a lifetime of collecting, Watt passed away in October of 2022. He is survived by his loving wife, Jan, sons Watt White III and Ward White, daughter-in-law Robyn-Ziegler White, and granddaughter. His family retains his original collection of four Britian Toy Soldiers, which have always been displayed proudly on a shelf in the den.
In August 2023, John Keith Russell is pleased to present the Watt & Jan White Collection, an outstanding group of forty painted and stained Shaker oval storage boxes offered exclusively at Antiques in Manchester, The Collectors’ Fair. Previously, the Whites’ collections of Americana have been offered by Jeffrey S. Evans in 2021, Matthew Bennett in 2002, and Charles G. Moore Americana in 1996.
HIGHLIGHTS OF WATT & JAN WHITE SHAKER COLLECTION
represented by John Keith Russell at Antiques in Manchester, 2023
