Nab a Bit of Flatbush Greek Revival History at an Auction of Brooklyn Museum Collection Objects

Architectural details including columns, a curving staircase, and a marble mantel that once graced the Clarkson mansion in Flatbush are up for auction. Old house lovers have until Thursday to place their bid on the bits of Brooklyn’s architectural history.

Donated to the Brooklyn Museum in 1940, the items up for bid once graced the 1836 Matthew Clarkson, Jr. mansion. The temple-front Greek Revival mansion once stood at 112 East 21st Street and featured Corinthian columns and a central entrance opening into a grand hall with a curved staircase.

It was home to the Clarkson family until 1889 when it was sold and converted into the headquarters for the newly formed Midwood Club. At the time the interior was described as having “frescoed walls, elegant marble mantels, carved newels” and other intact details. The club did their own remodeling as did future owners. In 1936 the building was purchased for use as the Flatbush Y.M.C.A. A 1940 fire left the house standing but the interior in rough shape, and later that year the Y.M.C.A donated period rooms to the Brooklyn Museum.

The lot up for sale is part of a larger collection of objects being auctioned off by the Brooklyn Museum. Over 200 items from the 17th to the 20th century make up the sale, including pieces from several period rooms, according to the auction details at Brunk Auctions. Museum director Anne Pasternak told Artnet that “deaccessioning allows curators to refine and focus the collection, ensuring that we continue to display work that resonates and tells meaningful stories for our visitors.”

The starting bid for the Clarkson home artifacts is $1,000 and bidding ends Wednesday. The listing includes a partial inventory that notes doors, shutters, windows, columns, pilasters, the 25-step staircase, the marble mantel, and “numerous boxes of reproduction plasters of decorative borders.”

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