George Nakashima, Conoid bench with spindle back. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000. Wright image.
CHICAGO – Wright will present its design auction on Oct. 17 beginning at noon Central. Composed of nearly 400 lots of stellar modern designs, the auction features works by the 20th century’s best-known designers, including Pierre Jeanneret, Osvaldo Borsani, Greta Magnusson Grossman, Angelo Lelli and Gio Ponti. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
American designers are also well represented in the design auction. The sale includes works by George Nelson & Associates, Paul Evans, Edward Wormley, and Charles and Ray Eames. Among the American designs, a sculptural oak mirror by Wendell Castle and the iconic Rudder coffee table by Isamu Noguchi stand out as particularly fine examples of 20th century modernism.
Further outstanding in the sale is a special selection of masterworks by American woodworker, George Nakashima from the collection of Dr. John Sellers. An important Minguren I coffee table crafted of Carpathian elm burl and American black walnut (estimate: $50,000-$70,000) figures prominently in the collection, as does an expressive Conoid bench with spindle back (estimate: $30,000-$50,000). Many of the pieces are sold with original drawings and correspondence from Nakashima Studios.
Wright continues its tradition of showcasing the finest of Harry Bertoia’s sculptures with an exceptional Multi-Plane Construction measuring over 6 feet tall (estimate: $70,000-$90,000), a Sonambient with slender rods (estimate: $40,000-$60,000) and an exquisite Bush form (estimate: $50,000-$70,000).
Other notable lots in Wright’s Design auction include a superior Stumenti Musicali / Muro Romano screen by Piero Fornasetti (estimate: $10,000-$15,000), and a selection of lighting by Gino Sarfatti, including the model 1063 floor lamp (estimate: $20,000-$30,000). Finally, Ron Arad’s This Mortal Coil, a massive spiraling bookcase that perfectly captures the idiosyncratic connections the Israeli designer creates between forms (estimate: $50,000-$70,000), is also among the sale highlights.
The Wright design auction begins at noon Central on Oct. 17.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
George Nakashima, Conoid bench with spindle back. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000. Wright image. Ron Arad, ‘This Mortal Coil.’ Estimate: $50,000-$70,000. Wright image. Paul Evans, Cityscape armchairs, pair. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Wright image. Charles and Ray Eames, ESU 400-C storage unit. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Wright image.
