LOS ANGELES, CA.- Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) announces its most impressive sale to date: The December 11, 2011 Important Modern Art & Design auction. This auction of over 500 lots features exceptional material from a prominent West Coast collection and includes rare examples of modern art and design by iconic 20th century artists. A 1906 Greene and Greene linen cabinet from the Dr. W. T. Bolton House, an early John Chamberlain mixed media relief sculpture from 1962, and a specially commissioned George Nelson “Double Marshmallow” sofa are among the top lots of the auction.

Over 100 lots in the auction come from a prominent West Coast collection, which includes museum-quality examples by iconic California artists and designers, such as unique works by Charles Eames, a monumental Otto & Getrud Natzler vase, and a Dan Johnson Gazelle chair and dining table. In conjunction with the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time, the exceptional works in this collection exemplify the California way of living and thinking.

The cover lot, one of the most important works to be sold in LAMA’s history, is an early John Chamberlain mixed media relief sculpture from 1962. This work comes from the same year Chamberlain had his first solo show at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York, during a period of growing international acclaim for his contorted car part constructions. Untitled from 1962 is a complex tangle of rusted metal scraps exploding from a support of stapled brown paper, an early example of Chamberlain’s iconic car part collages that retains the Leo Castelli Gallery label on the reverse. The work was acquired from the gallery by Betty Asher, and has been in the same private collection in Los Angeles since 1970.

Additional fine art highlights include an Andy Warhol Shoes screenprint with diamond dust, Robert Graham’s Elisa sculpture, ceramics from Pablo Picasso, iconic works by Ed Ruscha, several pieces by Raymond Pettibon, and a selection of contemporary art by Tom Sachs, Jonas Wood, and Jim Isermann. Design highlights include a Jean Prouvé Antony Chair, works by George Nakashima and Sam Maloof, and a comprehensive selection of outdoor ceramic pottery from Architectural Pottery and Stan Bitters among works by many other Los Angeles and California artists and designers.

Peter Loughrey, Director of LAMA: “After the exciting openings of the Pacific Standard Time exhibitions, we are thrilled to continue offering exceptional works of art and design by key figures in the California Art movements. From Greene and Greene to Gehry, this sale covers the entire 20th century.”