Secretaries reportedly fell
over from time to time in these three-legged chairs designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright for the S.C. Johnson & Son
administration building circa 1936. That didn't deter the buyer
at Butterfields, who paid a world record $104,750 for this
example.
LOS ANGELES - Rare examples of Twentieth Century Modern brought
strong prices and set auction records on Sunday, September 29 at
Butterfields. Nearly 450 lots of furniture and decorative arts
were offered to bidders in the salesroom as well as via the
Internet. The sale totaled $937,419, meeting 99 percent of the
pre-sale dollar expectation.
Two exceptional and fresh-to-market Dirk van Erp lots were of
great interest to collectors, one selling for an impressive
auction price. A bidder paid $104,750 for a van Erp hammered
copper and mica "Warty" lamp estimated at $20/30,000. A slightly
smaller van Erp copper lamp estimated at $15/20,000, sold for
$23,500.
Dirk van Erp "Warty" lamp, $104,750.
A world record price was set for a Frank Lloyd Wright armchair
designed circa 1936 for the Johnson Wax Company's Administration
Building. The chair maintains its original "Cherokee" red paint
and original fabric upholstery. The chair, a gift to the
consignor from Johnson, sold for $104,750 ($12/15,000). Still
another at-auction record price was set when a bidding battle
pushed the price for an important George Nakashima dining table
of English burl oak above its estimate to sell for $64,500. The
table was designed and executed in 1964, and was crafted from the
first log of this fine wood inventoried by Nakashima.
Other strong sellers included a Tiffany Studios lamp and two lots
of Raymond Subes designs, including Art Deco wrought-iron gates
similar to a pair Subes designed circa 1934 for the S.S.
Normandy. This pair sold for more than three times the
estimate, fetching $17,625. Sculpture, decorative glass and many
examples by important designers found buyers, notably, $32,312.50
paid for a Demetre Chiparus cold-painted bronze and ivory group
signed and inscribed by the artist, and $17,625 paid for a Sam
Maloof rocking chair sold to benefit the Camp Max Straus
Foundation.
Wall hangings and woven tapestries directly from the personal
collection of textile designer Evelyn Ackerman found buyers, as
did a series of circa 1956 Gertrude & Otto Natzler ceramics.
Multiple lots of fine art were offered and sold, featuring works
by Herbert Bayer, Roy DeForest and others. An Andy Warhol
"Campbell Soup Dress" constructed of paper and designed circa
1968 sold for more than twice its estimate, bringing $3,231.25.
