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This Greta Magnusson Grossman Grasshopper lamp achieved $9,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

Bid Smart Recap: Women Designers

Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Sheila Gibson Stoodley

NEW YORK – This debut edition of Bid Smart Recap, which brings together Bid Smart articles on a specific topic, showcases leading women designers of furniture, lighting, and home fittings. Each, with her own visions, has shaped the look and feel of our homes.

 

A Gae Aulenti prototype Saint Moritz table for Pierluigi Ghiandi, which never went into production, brought €9,000 (about $9,195) plus the buyer’s premium in November 2019. Image courtesy of Viscontea Casa d’Aste srl and LiveAuctioneers
A Gae Aulenti prototype Saint Moritz table for Pierluigi Ghiandi, which never went into production, brought €9,000 (about $9,195) plus the buyer’s premium in November 2019. Image courtesy of Viscontea Casa d’Aste srl and LiveAuctioneers.

Gae Aulenti (1927-2012) excelled at translating architectural principles into décor. The Italian’s keen design acumen yielded furnishings and lighting that embodied the mid-century Modern aesthetic.

This Eileen Gray Transat chair achieved $4,250 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2020. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.
This Eileen Gray Transat chair achieved $4,250 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2020. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

Irish-born Eileen Gray (1878-1976) went largely recognized in her own lifetime, but her designs, including her famed Transat chair, have since been ardently embraced.

A trio of snakes forms the legs of Judy Kensley McKie’s 1997 Serpent side table. All three snakes are engraved ‘JKM 97.’ It is numbered 15 of 16. It sold for $26,000 + the buyer’s premium in 2010. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers
A trio of snakes forms the legs of Judy Kensley McKie’s 1997 Serpent side table. This example, numbered 15 of 16, sold for $26,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2010. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

Judy Kensley McKie (b. 1944-) took up furniture-making for eminently practical reasons: as newlyweds, she and her husband were too poor to buy any. Now she ranks among the greats of American studio furniture.

This Greta Magnusson Grossman Grasshopper lamp achieved $9,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.
This Greta Magnusson Grossman Grasshopper lamp earned $9,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

A pioneering woman architect and designer whose contemporaries were mostly men, Greta Magnusson Grossman (1906-1999) applied traditional Swedish sensibilities to her work.

A Mira Nakashima single-board Conoid dining table with six single-board Conoid dining chairs achieved $30,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2023. Image courtesy of Freeman’s and LiveAuctioneers.
A Mira Nakashima single-board Conoid dining table with six single-board Conoid dining chairs realized $30,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2023. Image courtesy of Freeman’s and LiveAuctioneers.

Mira Nakashima (b. 1942-) helped her famed father, George, in his New Hope, Pennsylvania atelier. After he died, she continued his legacy. Now, works bearing her name alone are gaining favor.

A pair of Rose Tarlow yellow velvet Lambertus chairs achieved a robust price of $7,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021. Image courtesy of Andrew Jones Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
A pair of Rose Tarlow yellow velvet Lambertus chairs achieved a robust price of $7,000 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2021. Image courtesy of Andrew Jones Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

American interior designer Rose Tarlow (b. 1944-) has had her finger on the pulse of California design since the 1970s. Through her business, Rose Tarlow Melrose House, she and her team produces unique and spectacular pieces.