Thursday, August 21, 2008

Today through Sunday, the entire contents of the District house owned by former Washington Post writer Sarah Booth Conroy will go on sale. Conroy, a one-of-a-kind columnist who chronicled arts and society in Washington, was well known for her jewelry, crafted for her on a grand scale by her husband, Richard.

The four-story brick and stone house on 16th Street NW, purchased by the Conroys in the early '70s and recently sold, is "jampacked," according to Kap Cohen, owner of Thieves Market Antiques in Vienna, the company handling the sale.

The collection includes items from the mid-1800s through the 1980s, with prices ranging from $1 to several thousands, he says. Highlights: furniture by Herman Miller and Knoll, art nouveau silver, Oriental rugs and pieces of artwork, including sculptures by Richard Conroy, who exhibited his paintings and sculptures at the now-shuttered Franz Bader Gallery.

This event is the first part of the sale. Another will be scheduled early in September to sell furnishings and accessories in the carriage house as well as items in storage. Sarah Booth Conroy lives in a retirement home; her husband lives with their daughter in Silver Spring.

5106 16th St. NW, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. See TME Sales for information.

Terri Sapienza