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Eight casters are attached to the legs of Paul Rudolph's tubular chrome and acrylic armchair. It has a $6,000-$9,000 estimate. Photo courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center.

Montoya consigns to Sollo Rago Modern Auction, April 25-26

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Eight casters are attached to the legs of Paul Rudolph's tubular chrome and acrylic armchair. It has a $6,000-$9,000 estimate. Photo courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center.
Eight casters are attached to the legs of Paul Rudolph’s tubular chrome and acrylic armchair. It has a $6,000-$9,000 estimate. Photo courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center.

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Juan Montoya, the internationally acclaimed interior designer recognized for his bold modernist interiors, will sell select property from his modern furniture and decorative art collections at Rago Arts & Auction Center on April 25-26. Montoya’s collection is part of Sollo Rago’s two-day modern sale.

“We are thrilled that Juan Montoya has selected Rago as the auction house to sell his collection,” said John Sollo, of Sollo Rago Modern. “The objects in this sale attest to his taste for interesting, important furniture and decorative arts and to Juan’s exceptional eye for the best material, often mixed in unexpected ways.”

Montoya has been a loyal patron of Rago for many years. “I’ve purchased major pieces of 20th century design from them,” he said. “They have great depth knowledge in their fields of expertise and are very easy to work with.”

According to Montoya, the sale is a gathering of furniture and decorative objects that he has collected over the past 15 years. It will consist of approximately 85 lots. Among the highlights:

  • A modernist desk and chair by René Herbst, the celebrated Parisian designer and interior decorator known for works both functional and beautiful. His designs can be found in many museums, including the Pompidou in Paris.
  • A parchment rosewood cabinet with gilt details by Osvaldo Borsani, one of Italy’s most acclaimed modern furniture designers.
  • A mahogany and leather upholstered armchair characterized by great proportions and angles, created by Dominique, one of the premier French Art Deco furniture makers.
  • A glass countertop radiator by René-André Coulon, with a fascinating functional design. A similar example is in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York.
  • An armchair, in folded sheet steel with its original upholstery, designed by René Prou in 1931 for Labormetal. Prou, one of the great designers of the Art Deco period, is renowned for his work on cruise ships, trains, apartment buildings and luxury hotels.
  • A rare chair by the American architect Paul Rudolph in acrylic and chrome, the floating angles of the chair reflecting the same ideas as his modern architecture.
René Herbst designed this single-pedestal desk with integrated bookcase and armchair. The set is expected to sell for $15,000-$25,000. Photo courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center.
René Herbst designed this single-pedestal desk with integrated bookcase and armchair. The set is expected to sell for $15,000-$25,000. Photo courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center.

The sale will also feature many custom pieces designed by Juan Montoya himself for show houses such as Kips Bay in New York and Villa Maria and Southampton, Long Island, as well as some of his experimental prototypes.

In addition to Montoya’s collection, the auction of April 25 will offer European furniture, including a rare and important dining table by Eugene Printz, a pair of gilt and cast-iron andirons by A.A. Rateau, and a large collection by Jacques Adnet. Works of Alvar Aalto will figure prominently and the sale also highlights work by contemporary designers with, among others, a stainless steel Well Tempered Chair by Ron Arad and a sinuous Aqua table by Zaha Hadid for Established and Sons.

René Prou fabricated his 1930s Labormetal armchair of folded sheet steel. It supports a $2,500-3,500 estimate. Photo courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center.
René Prou fabricated his 1930s Labormetal armchair of folded sheet steel. It supports a $2,500-3,500 estimate. Photo courtesy Rago Arts & Auction Center.

Studio works, always a focus for Sollo Rago, include pieces from an exceptional private collection of work by George Nakashima. Wendell Castle’s work is represented with a figured sculptural jewelry box, one of his signature works. Among the Paul Evans pieces is a custom double-sided screen, an excellent and rare example of this form.

Sollo Rago is the leading proponent of Modern ceramics at auction and this sale will offer some of the best examples to date, including two important works by Betty Woodman, a large and rare bottle vase by Gertrude and Otto Natzler, as well as a large stack pot by Peter Voulkos.

Bidding may be done in person, by phone, by left bid or online through liveauctioneers.com.

Previews will be Saturday, April 18, through Friday, April 24, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. and by appointment. Doors open at 9 a.m. the mornings of the sale.

Printed catalogs are $20 and can be purchased online or by calling 609-397-9374. You can also e-mail a request to info@ragoarts.com or view the complete catalog online at www.sollorago.com. The online catalog will be available on April 10 at shop.ragoarts.com.

Rago Arts & Auction Center is located at 333 N. Main St. Lambertville N.J. For more information phone 609-397-9374 or visit www.sollorago.com.