Sotheby's Fall Sales of Design in New York total $20.4 million
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, November 15, 2024


Sotheby's Fall Sales of Design in New York total $20.4 million
French designer André Groult’s Important and Rare Commode fetched $1,452,500 – outstripping its high estimate of $1 million. Photo: Sotheby's.



NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s fall auctions of 20th Century Design in New York concluded last week with a market-leading total of $20.4 million, including new benchmark prices for Tiffany Studios and Italian glass. Below is a look at some of the highlights that drove results this season:

TIFFANY: DREAMING IN GLASS
14 December
Auction Total $5 Million

Wednesday’s auctions were led by Tiffany Studios “The Stream of Life” Window, which achieved $2,652,500 – more than seven times its high estimate of $350,000. This result marks both a new world auction record for a window by the legendary firm, as well as the top auction price of the year worldwide for Design. The commemorative window was commissioned directly from Tiffany Studios in 1914 by Mrs. Benjamin Whitman on behalf of Park Presbyterian Church in Erie, Pennsylvania – now the First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant – and proceeds from the sale will benefit the church’s outreach mission.

IMPORTANT DESIGN
14 December
Auction Total $9 Million

Top prices throughout our annual sale of Important Design demonstrated strength across this diverse category, from a Coal Hod (coal box) by Charles Rohlfs dated 1900, which sold for $225,000, to a “Miss Blanche” Chair designed by Shiro Kuramata in 1988 that brought $384,500.

The sale was highlighted by an exceptional result for French designer André Groult’s Important and Rare Commode, which fetched $1,452,500 – outstripping its high estimate of $1 million. The 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris presented a pavilion based on the theme of a French Embassy, with each room of the embassy designed by a different decorative artist. André Groult was in charge of the “Chambre de Madame,” or Lady’s bedroom. A few years later and for another client, Groult created another version of this bedroom suite executed entirely in green shagreen. The suite comprised a jewelry cabinet, two armchairs, a desk and two chairs, and the present commode.

The Important Design sale also featured the recently-rediscovered “Copenhagen” and “Lattes” Chairs by Italian architect and designer Carlo Mollino, which sold for $516,500 and $336,500, respectively. Both designed in 1951, the highly-sculptural plywood chairs remained in the same private collection for over 60 years, and were exhibited for the first time in 2011 as part of a major retrospective of Mollino’s work at the Haus der Kunst in Munich.

A FOCUSED OBSESSION
Modern Italian Glass: The Martin Cohen Collection
14 December
Auction Total $2.4 million

Assembled over the past four decades by esteemed New York collector Martin Cohen, this encyclopedic collection featured some of the most important treasures of 20th-century Italian glass in private hands today. The dedicated sale was led by Thomas Stearns’s seminal Facades of Venice from 1962, which achieved $612,500 (estimate in the region of $400,000) – a new world auction record for a work of Italian glass. Both this series and the Capello del Doge series were exhibited at the 1962 Biennale and awarded a gold medal which, sadly, was revoked due to Stearns’ American roots. Stearns’ cutting edge designs were produced in very limited numbers due to the technical competence required for execution – as a result, these works are of exceptional rarity and scarcely seen on the market today.

BERTOIA – FEATURING MASTERWORKS FROM THE KAARE BERNTSEN COLLECTION
16 November
Auction Total $3.6 Million

Sotheby’s presented a dedicated auction of works by Harry Bertoia alongside our November sales of Impressionist & Modern and Contemporary Art. The auction, which offered some of the most important works by Harry Bertoia ever to appear at auction, brought $3.6 million – well in excess of its $2.4 million high estimate. At the heart of the diverse offering were sculptures from the collection of Kaare Berntsen: Bertoia’s friend, patron and gallerist, who is credited with introducing Bertoia’s work to Norway through a series of groundbreaking exhibitions. The collection set new world auction records for both his ‘Sonambient’ and ‘Bush’ series, led by his Untitled (Monumental Bush) circa 1970 that brought $516,500 (estimate $250/350,000).










Today's News

December 20, 2016

Major exhibition of David Hockney's work on view at the National Gallery of Victoria

Van Gogh 'lost' sketches publisher threatens legal action

Outstanding Monet pastel acquired by National Galleries of Scotland under Acceptance in Lieu scheme

Turkey policeman assassinates Russia envoy at art gallery in Ankara

Amon Carter Museum of American Art announces landmark acquisition by George Bellows

Works from the most celebrated female artist of all time in Florida's first-ever solo Kahlo exhibition

Exhibition of abstract works by American female artists on view at Anders Wahlstedt Fine Art

This whimsical "Wallace and Gromit" home in Edinburgh is the 2016 RIBA House of the Year

Major exhibition, 'Martin Scorsese,' looks at the director's work, life, and passion for cinema

The Palace of Versailles unveiled at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra

Ronald S. Lauder joins J. Paul Getty Trust Board

J. Paul Getty Museum acquires rare first century carved gem

Sotheby's Fall Sales of Design in New York total $20.4 million

3 works by California painters and an Art Deco sculpture join the Huntington's collections

Sensational Verdura bracelet and exquisite diamond jewelry skyrocket to over $325,000 at Clars sale

Detroit Institute of Arts hosts "The Edible Monument: The Art of Food for Festivals"

Reza Aramesh's second solo exhibition with Leila Heller Gallery on view in Dubai

Rice University's Shepherd School of Music to break ground on new music and opera building

Nahmad Contemporary exhibits works by Andy Warhol, Christopher Wool, and Wade Guyton

Khan Lee's Red, Green and Blue lights up Vancouver Art Gallery's Offsite

Ubuntu Art Gallery presents "Unyielding River" by Mutaz Elemam

ROSEGALLERY opens group exhibition

Fondazione Prada's new exhibition space, Osservatorio, opens in Milan




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful