LOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams & Butterfields to offer Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts on June 13, 2011 in Los Angeles. The 550-lot sale will feature an array of works for varied tastes and collecting levels from the 16th through the 20th centuries, with a focus on English, French, Italian, Spanish and German properties. Highlights from the sale include property from the Estate of director, writer, producer and actor, Tim Whelan and his wife, actress and Los Angeles interior decorator, Miriam Seegar.

Whelan, best know for his work on The Thief of Bagdad (1940) and The Divorce of Lady X (1938) was born in Cannelton, Ind., on November 2, 1893. He began his career working for noted actor, producer and comedian Harold Lloyd in Hollywood. It was during this time that Whelan met and married Miriam Seegar, an actress from the early talkies. Seegar made her film debut in 1929, but retired from Hollywood after a few years, following her marriage to Whelan and the birth of their first son.

The family lived in England for quite some time where they acquired many of the items on offer during the June auction. It was during his time in England that Whelan made his mark as a director and the couple began to collect fine English furniture. From the late 1930s to the late 1940s, they purchased items from several of the most noted dealers in and around London, including Gloria Antica, John Bell, Hammond & Cardew and Mallett & Son, some of whom were once in the possession of the Duke of Norfolk, as well as the famed 1937 Antique Dealers Exhibition at Grosvenor House currently known as The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair. In November of 1938, the couple’s home and furnishings were featured in Ideal Home magazine in an article titled Hospitality in the Country.

Highlights from the Estate of Tim Whelan and Miriam Seegar, featured in the June auction, include several of the items depicted within the nine page Ideal Home article, such as a George III mahogany silver table (est. $3,000-5,000); a George III style carved fruitwood mirror with foliate frame (est. $1,500-2,000) and a stunning George III mahogany secretary bookcase (est. $12,000-15,000), purchased from the highly regarded Norfolk House auction held onsite at St. James Square in 1938, which featured property from His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, K.G.

Additional items on offer from the Estate include: a set of four George III beechwood armchairs in the manner of George Linnell (est. $8,000-12,000); a pair of George III fruitwood armchairs (est. $3,000-5,000); a George III Neo-Gothic mahogany side cupboard purchased from Gloria Antica (est. $3,000-5,000); a set of four George II/III carved mahogany side chairs (est. $3,000-5,000); a George III mahogany serpentine chest purchased at Grosvenor House (est. $2,500-3,500) and a George I/II walnut bachelor’s chest purchased from Mallet & Son (est. $2,500-3,500), among others.

Preview: June 10-12, 2011, Los Angeles
Auction: June 13, 2011, Los Angeles