NYC Design Sale Wrap-Up

I am not one to be smug, perish the thought, but I was pleasantly surprised to see my predictions realized. Unfortunately, both the Rateau screen and the Normandie panels crashed and burned when they hit the auction block last week. The Normandie panels were clearly too expensive and unrelated to make a cohesive offering, but the Rateau Screen was another story altogether... I previewed the sales and the screen left me dumbfounded. It was massive, definitely one of those cases where you need to focus in on the published dimensions as it was nearly 15 feet tall. The quality was unmatched for sure and it had sufficient age and patina making its authenticity above reproach. Too bad the deeper history was not known. If it could have been tied to a boldface name like Jeanne Lanvin it very likely would have sold. There is no doubt in my mind that it will sell discreetly via an after sale offer and it will likely turn up again restored to its former glory. The most expensive lot of the week was sold at Christie's. The lot in question was the exceptional Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann "Lasalle" commode that knocked-down for an astonishing $614,000 (with premium) against an estimate of $150,000-200,000. To blow through an estimate to this degree it definitely went to a private individual who was competing against other deep-pocketed collectors.
It is impressive for sure, but it was a bit more sun faded in person with a slightly greenish cast that is just faintly evident in the catalogue illustration. That however did not seem to matter, as I have said before, if the YSL and Dray sales taught us anything it is that rare top-tier art deco works are almost infallible at auction these days. The travesty of the week was the Lalanne zoomorphic bar that tanked at Christie's. Like the Rateau screen the catalogue did not convey the sheer monumentality of the work. With the explosive Lalanne results achieved this past December I thought for sure this devilishly clever bar would find a home, alas no...

Perhaps at $500,000-700,000 the price was just too steep. I for one thought it would fly at that price, pun intended...

Normandie Hodgepodge

I am getting geared-up for the design sales in New York this week and had to make a quick note about a rather puzzling lot at Christie's. Available for your bidding are 13 reverse glass decorated panels from the Grand Salon of the art deco luxury liner the S.S. Normandie. It would sound pretty alluring to modernist aficionados....until you see what they are actually offering.

Fairly puzzling, no? For $300,000-500,000 I would personally want something more recognizable than some scattered clumps of unrelated foliage, banners, waves, a buoy and a partial edifice....but I digress. For those not in the know, the Normandie was a floating palace of an ocean liner ensconced from stem-to-stern with top-notch art deco decor. The centerpiece of the ship was the "grand salon" which could seat 700 people comfortably. The room was furnished with Jean Rothschild and Jean Dunand furniture, Lalique fixtures and its walls were clad with glass panels designed by Jean Dupas depicting continuous scenes of the history of navigation. The Normandie was launched in 1935 and was unfortunately converted into a troop transport ship in 1942. However, during its conversion for wartime use an acetylene torch set life vests ablaze consuming the ship and it languished capsized in the Hudson river for 18 months. Fortunately, most of the furnishings and decor had been removed prior to the conflagration only to be scattered for eternity by subsequent public auctions.


These period images of the Grand Salon are a bit hard to decipher but thankfully the Met recently installed their 58 continuous panels that were donated in 1976.

As you see the panels puzzled together form vast sweeping scenes where mythical figures and creatures commingle with various eras of maritime vessels. These panels were fairly common at auction in the 1980s when art deco was enjoying a wide renaissance amongst collectors, but by the mid-1990s they tended to trade hands privately or through dealers. Obviously what you truly want as a collector is an interesting continuous scene, or if you settle on one or two panels they should command visual impact. There have been some recent successes following this tactic...

This depiction of sails comprising 10 panels from the "Birth of Aphrodite" section of the mural ranks high in desirability and thus commanded $512,500 (with premium) against and estimate of $200,000 to 300,000 at Sotheby's this past December.

This single panel pops with the geometry of lines and rays all focused on the sun at the horizon. Sotheby's managed to sell this gem for $46,875 (with premium) against a sensible estimate of $30,000-50,000 in June of 2009.

These two vertical panels dramatically depict the stern of a ship from the "Chariot of Thetis" section and were successfully sold by Maison Gerard at the Winter Antiques Show this past January. While the sale was private they were widely thought to have traded in the low six figures.

So we are left to muse as to why Christie's would be motivated to sell such a large random assortment of panels in an unforgiving market that only rewards the "best of the best." With a little research I think I found the answer. It appears that 12 of the 13 panels were actually sold by Christie's on 23 June 2005 as consecutive lots 292-294 (totalling $282,000 with premium). It is likely that the current consignor purchased all three lots in 2005 and has decided to re-sell them in light of the recent successes at Sotheby's. Still, it would have been more realistic to break them up into smaller groupings as the current offering is rather hard to digest especially for a collector who may only need a few of the panels to complete a set in their existing collection. It is a gamble on Christie's part for sure and I hope they prove me wrong, but in my opinion the odd mass grouping is going to be a tough sell.

And then there were none...

This spring season I was pleasantly surprised to find that society doyenne Jayne Wrightsman had closed her London home and decided to sell its contents via Sotheby's New York. She had done this once before in 1984, a celebrated sale after she shuttered her fabled Palm Beach compound. If you are not familiar with Jayne Wrightsman, think of the Wrightsman Galleries of Decorative Art at the Metropolitan Museum. She is truly a woman after my own heart, rising from humble beginnings to reign over the New York art scene from her exclusive perch at 820 Fifth Avenue. Vanity Fair did an extensive bio of her in 2003 which I refuse to butcher here. Moving forward... the most recent Sotheby's sale offered an enticing array of 18th century French high-style, a look which was heavily promoted to socialites since the 1940's by firms such as Maison Jansen whom Jayne employed extensively. When I came to lot 121 I had a moment of deep recognition in the form of a pair of fanciful niches en tabourets (dog bed footstools).

Whimsical? Agreed. Almost comical? Perhaps, but rarities such as these make for an exciting moment and good copy, but I knew I had seen them before. After tearing through my library I found my copy of the Metropolitan Museum's 1966 "Wrightsman Collection Volume I: Furniture." There on page 98 I found what I was seeking...

I had to blink, but despite the fabric change the pairs seem to be one in the same. The proof is in the details. The measurements are identical, as is the construction, and one kennel is stamped E. Nauroy in each instance. But if you compare the wear patterns to the gilding in both images it is clear that the kennels for sale were once part of the Wrightsman Galleries at the Met. Hmmm... so why were they deaccessioned? Who can say for certain. Perhaps Jayne wanted them back at some point or perhaps they were deemed "not quite right." This is purely conjecture, but Sotheby's steered clear of any controversy noting succinctly that they were acquired from Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, 1962 and that the were reupholstered in 18th century French silk in 1987 by the firm of Mayorcas Ltd., London. Their stint at the Met was omitted completely so we are left to only to guess. They were however guaranteed as being circa 1765 and sold for $86,500 (with premium) against an estimate of $25,000-35,000. It seems that quite a few bidders were convinced of their veracity. But then again they have a delightful appeal and a Wrightsman provenance is nothing to sniff at....

This exercise led me to muse over the fate of the the another rare dog kennel that is still included in the Wrightsman galleries, well at least for now. It is a delightful little domed, gilt-wood and blue velvet upholstered doghouse tucked in front of a window in the Paar room.


The image above is from the 1966 Wrightsman catalogue where this elaborate dog bed that was still fleetingly believed to have been delivered to Marie Antoinette at Versailles in 1787. The piece in fact bears the personal stamp of the queen's Garde Mueble or furniture equerry. The kennel has held pride of place in the Paar room since its donation in the 1960s but it has not been the focus of any recent scholarship. For years I have heard rumors and curatorial opinions that the piece was not quite right or plainly just too good to be true. Well I waited with anticipation to see if the kennel would be included in the updated catalogue of the Wrightsman Galleries which was released late last month. It seems that the little blue "royal" kennel failed to be included. The rest of the important pieces are included especially those with a proven royal provenance. While the Met has not taken a public stance it seems that, by omission, the kennel no longer makes the cut. We'll see how long it manages to stay on view.

Screen Fling!

Well I hope you don't think I am completely OCD posting about screens back-to-back. What can I say, I like a good screen and these inspirations tend to come in waves as it were... Anyhow, my email alerts have been blowing-up with auction offerings from the spring design sales. Christie's has the usual fairly encyclopedic assortment of goods coming in at 215 lots and Sotheby's opted to go with a rigidly curated boutique offering of a mere 115 lots. We shall see who wins the day as it always comes down to the sordid topic of coin. After a cursory inspection the single object that stood-out was a lush art deco screen by the rarefied designer Armand-Albert Rateau.

To some this may not look like much but you must understand that Rateau was beyond exclusive in his commissions and since he passed in 1938 a precious few top-notch examples exist outside of museum collections. Rateau's brand of art deco is imbued with playfulness and lush sculptural tendencies that separate him from the rigidity of his contemporaries, namely Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann. Rateau achieved super-stardom after decorating the Paris apartment of fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin in 1925. He became indispensable to Lanvin designing her other homes, boutiques, packaging and even headed her interior design division. Fortunately, an enfilade of rooms from her Paris apartment were given to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in 1965 (below):

The decoration of the screen offered at Sotheby's is most akin to another more extensive screen from Lavin's dining room and to the walls that were decorated for the over-the-top bathroom executed for the Duchess of Alba in Madrid.

Rateau Screen from the dining room of Jeanne Lanvin


Bathroom for the Duchess of Alba, Madrid (Truly a room to die in...)

As far as pricing goes $400,000-600,000 is a hefty sum for a piece of decorative art in this market. That said, Rateau's bronze tables, chairs and torcheres command prices in the low millions but provenance is critical. That is the only strike against the Sotheby's screen, its vague provenance as being from an "Important South American Collection". When the stakes are this high, this scant history could potentially sink the chances of the lot finding a buyer. I have yet to hear any buzz and am waiting with baited breath....details hopefully to follow.

Mirror Mirror...

As the adage goes "one must be in the right place at the right time." No truer words were spoken and I have encountered endless "pickers" who have made a livelihood through a combination of luck and guile. A "picker" is an intermediary dealer that combs the countryside to snap-up under-catalogued items as they pass anonymously through hasty volume sales of every sort. The "picker" usually unites the obscure item with its authorship and/or provenance and passes it on for a tidy profit. Much to my chagrin I must introduce Exhibit A:

This deliciously architectural Art Deco screen was offered amidst hundreds of other lots in Christie's New York January Interiors sale. I only discovered its existence a few weeks ago while perusing the back catalogue bins at the Strand and my heart sank (as is usually the case in these instances). The lot was simply described as an "Art Deco Aluminum and Colored Glass Four-Panel Screen" and sold for a mere $1250. I knew from the tattered catalogue exactly what I was seeing... I introduce Exhibit B:

This virtually identical screen was created ca. 1930 for the first Mrs. Vincent Astor (Helen Dinsmore Huntington) by her brother-in-law the South African artist Jan Juta. Jan Juta is best known as a muralist and illustrator who was a close friend and collaborator of D. H. Lawrence. A portrait of Lawrence by Juta hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Juta was the fortunate heir of a publishing dynasty which allowed him to develop his art and travel the globe in the process, spending most of the early 1920s on the Riviera. It was in Eze that he painted extensive murals for the chateau of American composer Samuel L. Barlow. This was quite fortuitous as Barlow's wife was a society decorator under the professional name of Ernesta Beaux. She hired him to craft the extensive glass murals present in the lobby she created for the fabled River House in New York City. (If you have not read Michael Henry Adams series on the River House over at the Huffington Post do so at once...it is a must.)

The River House Lobby, showing a detail of the Juta mirrored glass murals depicting exotic Mexican vistas

It is likely that Mrs. Barlow assisted Juta with his entree to New York society, regardless, in short order he opened a New York studio and began a prolific career as a muralist/designer and regularly exhibited his decorative works.

This circa 1929 image of the artist in his studio shows him at work on a series of japonisme panels destined for the townhouse of Schuyler Parsons at 49 East 72nd Street (demolished 1959).

Detail of the Schuyler Parson's residence with the Juta panels in-situ

Juta contributed to the decoration of the RMS Queen Elizabeth and to the United Nations headquarters, remaining in the United States until his death in 1990. Whoever was fortunate enough to purchase the Jan Juta screen at a fraction of its $2000-3000 estimate is quite lucky in my book. Provided further context and provenance research it can be passed on for five to ten times the auction price... Oh well, you can't win them all. On to the hunt!

Errant Artemis Re-emerges at the Met...

Sorry to be such an absentee blogger but duty called and I was off advising for the past few weeks. During my research I had the chance to once again call on the Watson Library within the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their holdings are amazing but to call their process "old school" is being kind. Don't believe me....check out their guidelines. Anyway, after I had viewed what I needed I decided to take a turn though the Greek and Roman galleries. Since their much touted reinstallation I thought I had investigated every treasure...apparently not. Behold, right in the vestibule of the Roman Court I came face-to-face with a rather scandalous "old friend".

This Imperial Roman glamour girl was the center of a hot debate when she was auctioned off at Sotheby's in 2007. You see, she was part of a large group of traditional antiquities and fine arts that were deaccessioned from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York in order to raise funds to acquire modern and contemporary art instead. Museum circles and donors were outraged to think that long held artworks could be sold-off from institutions at the whim of a curator or board. It was a PR nightmare for Albright-Knox but the rare works attracted frenzied bidding and wild results. This unusual and large bronze of Artemis with a stag fetched $28.6 million against a seemingly modest estimate of $5-7 million. She holds the current highest price paid for an antiquity or any other sculpture for that matter. Of course the Met's cataloging mentions nothing of the scandal and discreetly notes that she is on loan from a private collection. Your casual gallery goer would breeze by and never understand her full history and rarity from the scant information provided. For now she is on loan and still in the public eye. Check her out while you can...

Liberty of London for Target Liberates Cash from Wallets

I have to say that like most anglophiles I was delighted to hear that Liberty of London was partnering with Target on an extensive line of clothing and lifestyle accessories. Well, the sellout and early closing of the NYC pop-up store last week was an early indication of how well the line would go over. For those not familiar, Liberty of London was founded in 1875 and offered exotic housewares and fashions that became essentials for the Aesthetic Movement crowd. Liberty's bold floral fabrics are iconic in the design world and have logically formed the centerpiece of the Target collection. I awoke on Sunday only to find that most of the collection had already sold out online. Not to be discouraged I rented a car and hit the burbs...I was not the only one to do so. It was a madhouse but after hitting two stores I felt sated in the knowledge that I had seen the collection and bought a few of the "must have" items.

The hoard above is comprised mostly of their stationary, giftware and clothing. I have to say that at these price points the quality is pretty fair. They did get it wrong with most of the bedding because the patterns are blown-up to near distortion and the thread counts are low enough to be rash inducing. That said their Lucite boxes, frames and stationary are very well done and would be a bargain at twice the price. I of course I had to compare some of the clothing with Liberty pieces I already possess...

Placed side by side these ties feel fairly similar in weight and texture. The print on the Target tie is a bit simplified and the finish lacks the sheen of its better cousin but overall I was pleasantly surprised. By the time I left both stores most of the shelves were picked clean and by mid-afternoon "Liberty for Target" items started popping up allover eBay at double and triple the retail price. That's life in the world of design...