Done
New York, NY, United States
Auction Details
Modern Decorative Art & Design
You can tell by looking at a tree if it has character, if it is going to be gentle or brash," wrote George Nakashima, in a feature about his work in Life magazine in the 1980s. And indeed, throughout his career, making pieces of furniture to order from his creative campus in New Hope, Pennsylvania, he brought out the astonishing organic beauty of wood again and again. In chairs like the Conoid series with their sleigh feet and elegant vertical spindles, or tables with their edges left reverently raw (the better to appreciate the complexity of the bark formation) the material, not the man, was the hero of the piece.
So perhaps it is unsurprising that at a time when 'integrity' itself seems to fetch a premium, Nakashima's work is being more highly regarded than ever before. "This was never work acquired by people who wanted to show off their wealth," says Benjamin Walker who, in December is holding a Modern Decorative Art and Design sale that includes some exceptional Nakashima pieces at Bonhams in New York. "It has a strong spiritual element, and it's not ostentatious. But that is now part of its enormous appeal." Prices for Nakashima's work can reach six-figures for a large Conoid dining table. "It's becoming increasingly hard to find, and interest has moved beyond the United States, too," says Walker. "It's taking a hold in the French salerooms now."
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24
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24
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