NEW YORK, NY.- Phillips announces a series of three auctions dedicated to the finest works of Design which will take place on 15 December 2015 in New York, and which follows a public exhibition opening on 9 December. Design Masters will offer 42 exceptional works selected for their outstanding quality and rarity, and will follow the auction of Design, which will present 147 lots highlighting many of the leading movements and makers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. In addition, Phillips is excited to present a stand-alone auction dedicated to a collection of 23 stoneware works by R.W. Martin and Brothers.

Alexander Payne, Senior Director and Worldwide Head, Design: “We look very forward to presenting such an exciting and diverse series of Design auctions in New York in December. From the Greene & Greene masterworks made for the Blacker House to the rare collection of 23 pieces of Martinware; and from Jean Prouvé’s ‘6x6’ demountable house to the unique Carlo Mollino celing light from the Franca and Guglielmo Minola House, these auctions will show rare and wonderful works from many highpoints of Design which are sure to appeal to international collectors and aficionados.”

DESIGN MASTERS:
The auction of Design Masters will present 42 lots selected on the basis of their outstanding quality and rarity. Two works by American Arts & Crafts architectural firm Greene & Greene are leading highlights of the sale. Founded by brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, the firm was based in Pasadena, California, where it thrived in the early 20th century. Furniture commissions are extremely rare and were reserved for the most important residential commissions, including the Robert R. Blacker House. Phillips will offer a sofa and a chiffonier commissioned for the Blacker House and produced circa 1914 using exceptional materials, and decorated with intricate carving and elaborate inlay work. Each is expected to realise $300,000 to $500,000. Another work to be offered at the auction with a celebrated provenance is a unique ceiling light by Carlo Mollino. Executed circa 1944-1946, it was made for the Franca and Guglielmo Minola House in Turin, an important commission which marked Mollino’s transition from the surreal to the organic. It is expected to realize $150,000 to $250,000.

A further highlight is a ‘6x6’ demountable house by Jean Prouvé, circa 1944-45, which is expected to realise $1 million to $1.5 million. Prouvé’s demountable houses responded to the urgent need for post-war reconstruction in France and provided a solution to the housing crisis for those made homeless following the Second World War. An architectural coup, the components of the houses could be shipped directly to bomb-devastated sites, and assembled in a single day. These houses represent the height of Prouvé’s rationalist and functionalist ideals; approximately 400 were produced, of which only a handful are known to have survived.

Further highlights include a "Basse-Boule" low table, model no. 1110NR, by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, circa 1928 (estimate: $180,000 to $240,000); a large, unique sideboard, 1959, by Charlotte Perriand (estimate: $180,000 to $240,000); and an “Ours Polaire” armchair, 1950s, by Jean Royère (estimate: $160,000 to $220,000).

WONDROUS BEASTS, FEATHERED FANTASIES: R.W. MARTIN & BROTHERS
Phillips will to present a group of 23 stoneware works, including two grotesque animals and one grotesque spoon warmer, by R. W. Martin & Brothers. All 23 of the “grotesques” are from a single UK collection and have been gathered over the last two decades. Estimates range from $10,000 to $120,000, and the whole collection is expected to realise around $1 million. The top lot, a covered tobacco jar modelled as a grotesque bird caricature of former UK Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, is estimated to realise $80,000 to $120,000.

DESIGN
This auction will offer 147 lots spanning over 100 years of international creative design, and including works by celebrated artists including Le Corbusier, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, René Lalique, Marc Newson, Oscar Niemeyer, Gio Ponti, Jean Prouvé, Lucie Rie, and Jean Royère, among others. Estimate range from under $5,000 to over $100,000. A leading highlight is a pair of armchairs by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, circa 1955-1956, designed for the High Court and Assembly in Chandigargh, India, which is expected to realize $80,000 to $120,000.