Another Jacques Doucet Treasure Surfaces at Auction

Hello Dear readers I have taken far to long to start posting once again but life does tend to get in the way.  In preparation for the unfolding fall auction season I took time to look back at the spring season to take stock.  A reader tipped me off a few months ago that another rarity from Jacques Doucet's Studio St. James residence emerged at Christie's Paris May 20th, 2014 in the form of a rather smart silver and rock crystal desk set.

Rock Crystal and Silver Desk Set, Christie's Paris, 20 May 2014, Lot 4 (€37,500)

The lot comprises an inkwell, pin tray, stamp box and paper clip pot.  The winning bid of €37,500 is rather astonishing given that the set is not attributed to a known designer/maker and was offered on a pre-sale estimate of €10,000-12,000.  The result shows the importance of a Doucet provenance.  If you are not familiar with Jacques Doucet or his fabled collection see my previous posts here.  Christie's placed the date of the set to around 1929, the year Doucet died and when period images of his modernist studio home were published widely.  Looking at a period image of the studio the set indeed can be seen resting on the Pierre Legrain desk just outside of the "Oriental Cabinet".

The set seen in-situ within Jacques Doucet's Studio   Image: L'Illustration, 30 Mai 1930.

Detail of above

I would not date these items so late as they were present in the apartment Doucet acquired in 1912 on the avenue Bois de Boulogne.  The image below from the early 1920s shows the desk set in the Bois de Boulogne residence placed on the same Pierre Legrain desk which itself was designed in 1920 and executed shortly thereafter.  

The desk set present at Jacques Doucet's Bois de Boulogne apartment circa early 1920s   Image via Sotheby's

The desk set was one of a number of pieces that was not disbursed in the subsequent years immediately following Doucet's death.  According to the Christie's catalogue the set was offered as lot 13 in his groundbreaking 1972 sale.  The desk articles sold for a tidy 4500 francs where they were purchased by a Madame M., the present consignor to Christie's, which means they have had only two owners in nearly 100 years which only adds to their allure.

Vente Audap, Ancienne collection Jacques Doucet, 8 novembre 1972   Image: Aestheticusrex

In putting together this post it came to my attention that Architectural Digest September 2014 issue published a short article about Doucet as a collector.  It seems that the venerable Cheska Vallois dedicated her booth to Doucet's collecting genius at the 2014 Paris Biennale which closed today. Reports point out that it is a mix of Doucet items and period works in the spirit of his collection.

Galerie Vallois booth, 2014 Paris Bienalle    Image courtesy Galerie Vallois

I am loving the printed scrim at the end of the installation showing the entry stairs to Doucet's Studio. Connaissance des art Decortatifs produced the following interview which highlights a few of the works presented.

I must get my hands on Vallois' Biennale publication tout de suite.  I will undoubtedly travel to Paris for the fall 2015 Jacques Doucet exhibition at the Fondation Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent. Much to do and see....until next time.  -AR

Pierre Legrain Stool with Jacques Doucet Provenance at the Brooklyn Museum?

Hello Dear Readers.  Just another quick post.  The other week I found myself attending an event at the Brooklyn Museum for the first time in many years I hate to admit.  Just beyond the lobby is a grand installation entitled "Connecting Cultures: A World in Brooklyn".  The concept is part of a sweeping trend among Museums to get more artworks out of the storerooms and display them en mass not only to show off their holdings but also to make cross cultural connections.  It was a display case of African and African inspired furniture that stopped me in my tracks.

"Connecting Cultures: A World in Brooklyn" installation    Image: Brooklyn Museum

As I rounded the case I knew at once I was seeing an art deco masterwork by the French designer Pierre Legrain.

Pierre Legrain Stool, Ca. 1923   Image: Brooklyn Museum

The form is African in origin but is rendered in the materials of art deco luxury, namely lacquer and galuchat.  Legrain works are exceeding rare as he died in 1929.  It was for this reason I was keen to read the gallery text to find its provenance.  Unfortunately there was no listed provenance beyond the credit line "Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor".  Fortunately the accession number "73.142" may provide some insight.  You see, accession numbers are typically a combination of the year that the object is acquired and the number of the bequest/object donated in that year.  The stool's number would suggest that it was acquired in 1973 which was was in close proximity to a major event in the nascent art deco market...that would be the groundbreaking sale of the collection of Jacques Doucet.  For background on Doucet and his awe inspiring collection see my previous post here.

Collection Jacques Doucet, Hotel Drouot, Paris 8 November 1972    Image via diktats.com

The couturier Jacques Doucet died in 1929 and eventually the contents of his studio in Neuilly Sur Seine were placed in storage only to be rediscovered by his descendants decades later when the storage facility was closing down.  The subsequent sale in November of 1972 is a subject of legend in the decorative arts community and pieces ended up in the best collections and museums across the globe.  Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the sale catalogue at my fingertips or else I would settle this mystery in mere moments...therefore, we are left to consult the period images of the studio.

View of Doucet's Studio at Neuilly-sur-Seine, circa 1930     Image: L'Illustration, No.  4845

In the image above a very similar stool to the one at the Brooklyn museum can be seen just to the left of the monumental Lalique door.

Detail of stool in Doucet's Studio    Image: L'Illustration, No. 4845

The seat is of the same shape and proportion as is the rectangular stepped base, but the legs appear to be comprised of four posts and not faceted columns.  Its also hard to tell if there is a cream central support.  This lack of detail may be due to the period method of tinting these images or it may in-fact not be the same Legrain stool.  Thankfully, the Centre Pompidou's catalogue for their recent Eileen Gray exhibition published another view of the Studio that I had never seen before.

Studio Jacques Doucet Neuilly-sur-Seine    Image: Institut national d'histoire de l'art

Detail of Legrain Stool in Doucet's Studio     Image: Institut national d'histoire de l'art

If the Brooklyn Museum's stool is from Doucet's fabled studio, this appears to be an image of it in-situ.  It is of the same overall shape, possesses the central cream support, and you can make out the collars on the four faceted legs as they catch the light.  I need to consult a copy of Doucet's sale to be sure, but if I were a gambling man I would suspect that this is indeed the example now in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum....I will provide updates as the truth emerges.

On a side note, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has an African inspired Legrain stool that was purchased from the 1972 Doucet sale.  It was on view a few years back, but alas is now safely in storage.

Pierre Legrain carved rosewood stool for Jacques Doucet, ca. 1925   Image: Metmuseum.org

This stool borrows its form from an African headrest but is of the proportion of a low stool.  The sister to this stool was sold from the outstanding Dray Collection presented at Christie's Paris in 2006.  It achieved the tidy sum of $660,066.

Pierre Legrain carved hardwood stool for Jeanne Tachard, Circa 1925.   Image: Christie's

The Christie's catalogue notes that while Legrain's works for his top clients were generally unique pieces it is believed that since Jacques Doucet and Jeanne Tachard were close friends some exceptions could be made.  The Yves Saint Laurent sale at Christie's in 2009 yielded yet another rare stool by Legrain.  This stool can be traced directly to Jacques Doucet as it was lot 43 in the 1972 sale of his collection.

Legrain carved hardwood stool for Jacques Doucet, ca. 1925   Image: Christie's

I have always loved this particular example.  It is overtly African in inspiration but the supports to me also skew into the arena of the machine age becoming stylized gears.  Christie's sold this work for $589,130.

As a final aside, I am pleased that more period images of Doucet's collection are coming to light.  As reader's of this blog know I love seeing works as they were presented in their original context.  This recently published image is no exception as it clearly shows two "old friends" that I have marveled at for years.

Studio Jacques Doucet Neuilly-sur-Seine    Image: Institut national d'histoire de l'art

At the immediate left you can see two figures from Eileen Gray's screen "Le Destin".  The work dates to 1914 and was one of the first Gray pieces that Doucet acquired.  It resurfaced in his 1972 sale where it achieved $36,000.  It presently resides in a private collection.

Doucet's Studio detail showing Gray's "Le Destin"   Image: Institut national d'histoire de l'art

Eileen Gray's "Le Destin" lacquered wood screen, ca. 1914    Image via marcbongaerts.nl

Another work visible in the image of the studio is a bit hard to make-out but is well know today as it resides in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris.

Detail of Doucet's Studio showing the Legrain side cabinet at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs  
Image: Institut national d'histoire de l'art

It is a bit hazy but if you know the work it becomes clear.  I shot a few images of this piece when I was last in Paris.

Pierre Legrain & Gustave Miklos side cabinet, ca. 1923   Image: Aestheticus Rex

Detail of the Gustav Miklos silvered and enameled panel.  Image: Aestheticus Rex

In the period photo you can just pick out the graphic nature of the stylized African panel by Gustave Miklos.  It is all very exciting.  I am trying to get my hands of a copy of the 1972 Doucet sale as we speak.  Updates to follow.  Until next time...--AR.

UPDATE:
Well in the days since penning this post I have discovered that a stool of the same exact model as the one at the Brooklyn Museum is in the possession of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Pierre Legrain Stool, ca. 1923       Image: © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

It is part of the Sidney and Frances Lewis bequest and the listed provenance is none other than Jacques Doucet.  I am very curious to know if there was a pair made for Doucet, or if the example at the Brooklyn Museum was made for another client.  I should have my hands on a copy of the Doucet sale in a few days...details to follow.

UPDATE II:
Well the mystery has been solved on two fronts.  I was able to find a copy of the Doucet auction and there was only one stool of this design offered, lot 33.  This would mean that Doucet's Legrain stool is definitely the example in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Jacques Doucet's Legrain stool, Hotel Drouot, Paris, 8 November 1972, lot 33 ($4300)

The Brooklyn Museum also confirmed that theirs was indeed not from the Doucet sale but was actually acquired from an Italian collection and it was originally made for the de Crespi family with whom Legrain designed textiles.  Examples of this collaboration were evidently shown at the 1925 Exposition in Paris and recall his work in luxury bookbinding.

Pierre Legrain textile designs for Benigno Crespi, ca. 1925   Image via Flickr

Until next time.--AR

Jacques Doucet's Studio St. James at Neuilly-sur-Seine

If you don't know by now, I am more than a little obsessed with research. In fact, it often drives me to distraction but it comes with the territory working in the "art biz". I especially love to learn all I can about places that no longer exist. Gazing deep into a period photo or painting and absorbing the details of how the room was decorated and used...especially if it is filled with treasures. Wondering what all the objects are and where on earth they are now... or if they even survive at all. Enter couturier Jacques Doucet's Studio St. James at Neuilly-sur-Seine. Jacques Doucet was famous as a fashion label but the man himself was a voracious collector. In 1912, at the age of nearly 60 he sold his conventional collection of French antiques and fine arts and embraced the avant-garde to an astounding degree.

This lush corner of the grand salon from the Studio is a feast for the eyes and I have taken the liberty of pointing out a few masterworks:

Tucked into the corner was this exotic ebony cartonnier by Pierre Legrain with lacquer panels executed by Edouard Degaine. It was created around 1925 and presently resides in the permanent collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

This unusual lacquer "Bilboquet" table sat adjacent to the sofa and is an extremely rare early work by Eileen Gray before she fully embraced modernism. It dates to circa 1915 and presently resides in a private collection.

This late Amedeo Modigliani masterwork hung on the far wall and is entitled "The Pink Blouse". It was painted in 1919 and is currently housed in the Musée Angladon.

This early cubist delight hung just above the Legrain cabinet. It is entitled "Man with a Guitar" by Pablo Picasso and was painted in the south of France in the fall of 1912. It now forms part of the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

This haunting work titled "The Snake Charmer" is a large masterwork executed by French primitive painter Henri Rousseau in 1907. It now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

This exoticist sofa dominated the room and was created by Marcel Coard around 1927. It is cleverly carved in rosewood to resemble rattan and is further embellished with ivory. It is a perfect counterpoint the African influenced works by Legrain that were scattered throughout the home. The sofa was given to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond in 1985.

This almost cubistic carpet sat in front of the Coard Sofa and is a work by Pierre Legrain executed in 1924. It surfaced last month at the Chateau de Gourdon Sale at Christie's Paris and fetched €325,000.

Nestled in the center of Doucet's "Oriental Cabinet" was this chinese/egyptian inspired "Lotus" table executed by Eileen Gray in 1915. It has been widely published but yet resides within a private collection.

If the previous treasures were not enough, Picasso's iconic "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" of 1907 held pride of place at the top of the Studio's stair landing. The painting now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

This is another view of the long living room within the Studio and perfectly illustrates how black and white photography denies the modern eye the true vibrancy of a period interior. Thankfully we know the whereabouts of many of the works seen above.

This "African" chair was created by Pierre Legrain in 1924 and can be viewed today at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

This rare green lacquer and eggshell encrusted side cabinet anchored the large wall at the left of the image. It was created by Paul-Louis Mergier around 1928 and is now part of the permanent collection of Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Placed just above the Mergier cabinet was Henri Matisse's "Goldfish and Palette" painted in the fall of 1914. It can be viewed today at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Visible in the foreground of the image is yet another African influenced work. This time it is an eggshell lacquered side table based on stool form. It was executed by Pierre Legrain in 1923 and is now at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

This monumental rosewood and python skin veneered bureau is just visible in the background of the image. It was created by Marcel Coard around 1925 and once again it can be found today at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Doucet's eye was amazing to say the very least and collections of this level are rarely seen today. We can at least console ourselves with these lush images and dream of what it was like to be surrounded by such masterworks all under one roof.

Update!

In researching another lacquer topic I stumbled across another piece from the studio that has survived to this day. First things first, here is a period image of the Doucet Studio's foyer.

Like many important pieces from the period, this table has passed through the hands of Galerie Vallois in Paris.

This image appears to be from the 1980s or 1990s and it has not surfaced in some time so it is likely resting in a private collection.

The table is a real oddity, but in the best sense. It is vaguely Chinese in form but the charioteers that emerge from the legs are right out of classical antiquity. Hopefully more pieces will emerge--AR.