LOS ANGELES, CA.- Los Angeles Modern Auctions announced that the upcoming May 18, 2014 Modern Art & Design Auction will feature custom William Billy Haines designs from the collection of Anita May Rosenstein, granddaughter of Tom & Anita May and Mervyn & Kitty LeRoy, early champions of Haines interiors. The property will include over 30 custom Haines furnishings commissioned in 1960 by Rita Roedling, mother of Anita May Rosenstein, for her home at 1015 North Beverly Drive.
The May and LeRoy families are among Haines' most important clients, states Peter Loughrey, director of LAMA, each had landmark commissions of their own and were instrumental in introducing Haines to other Hollywood elite. This collection represents the grandeur of Hollywoods golden age.
This impressive collection of Haines designs includes lounge chairs, dining tables, table lamps, side tables, stools, and bedroom furnishings, all of which have never been offered on the market. Highlights include a Tang Style Horse Lamp, a gift from Mervyn & Kitty LeRoy from their William Haines and Samuel Marx interior from an earlier period, as well as two Seniah chairs, one of Haines most celebrated creations.
Haines and the Hollywood elite
Mervyn & Kitty LeRoy, most well known for their contributions in the film industry, first collaborated with Billy Haines in the early 1950s to furnish the interior of their Samuel Marx designed home in Bel Air. Mervyn LeRoy, renowned film director, who notably produced The Wizard of Oz, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his extensive accomplishments in film.
Tom & Anita May, famously known for The May Department Stores Company, first collaborated with Billy Haines in 1953 to furnish the interior of their Samuel Marx designed home in Holmby Hills, a prestigious neighborhood that borders Beverly Hills and Bel Air.
Additional A-list clients of the Haines office: Betsy Bloomingdale, Francis F. Brody, Walter & Leonore Annenberg, and Nancy Reagan
The William Billy Haines custom furnishings from the collection of Anita May Rosenstein will go up for auction on May 18, 2014 in the Los Angeles Modern Auction (LAMA) Modern Art & Design Auction. Advance viewings begin May 5th and the auction will be on May 18th at 12 p.m. (PST).