WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Nestled in an oceanfront home, a trove of Dodie Thayer lettuce ware pieces sat undisturbed for years. These unique and very sought-after pieces will be offered at Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches (AGOPB) on Saturday, May 6. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
The iconic lettuce wares of Thayer, who was also known as the Pottery Queen of Palm Beach, are collected by jet-set patrons and Hollywood celebrities dating back to the 1960s, as well as celebrities and tastemakers of today.
Dodie Thayer was born into a Florida legacy family and turned to pottery in hopes of making ends meet. Originally her wares were sold at the gourmet store Au Bon Gout on Worth Avenue. After the store’s staff told her about Italy’s green Napoli ware, Thayer’s pieces evolved, becoming larger and more elaborate.
The vivid green coloration and the lifelike casting of each vein, leaf and stem caught on with buyers. Frank and Barbara Sinatra and also the Kennedys hosted parties with the wares adorning their tables. Thayer continued making her pottery pieces into the 1980s. She died in 2018, and since then, demand for the vintage originals has soared. Recent auction results show Dodie Thayer lettuce wares selling for sums in the thousands, especially the sculptural tureens.
The May 6 sale will include a large lidded Dodie Thayer lettuce ware tureen and underplate, signed by Thayer, dated ‘Oct. 72’ on the tureen’s underside and estimated at $100-$1,000; a pair of matching smaller tureens and underplates and also a pair of candlestands, signed by Thayer, with both lots bearing the same $100-$1,000 estimate; as well as dinner plates, side plates, peapod plates, toothpick holders and butter pats. Brian Kogan, of AGOPB, expects interest will be strong as these are estate pieces and will be sold to the highest bidder with no reserve.
Some pieces have minor nicks and impefections, but having this many surfacing together provides a great opportunity for collectors to add that must-have to their tablescapes. Thayer’s wares are now licensed, reproduced and sold by Tory Burch.
The auction will also include furnishings and antiques from the same oceanfront estate that yielded the lettuce ware. In addition, the sale lineup contains a fine selection of paintings by artists such as Yolande Ardisonne, Euguen Boudin, Howard Behrens, Michel Henry, Pierre Boudet, Alain Thomas, Salvador Dali, John Lennon, Richard Lindner, Charles Henry Alston, Maria Helena Viera da Silva, David Hockney, Victor Vasarely and Charles Cobelle.
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