Famed architect and designer Thierry Despont’s estate showcased at Roland NY April 6

Thierry Despont mixed metal sculpture, estimated at $10,000-$15,000 at Roland NY.

GLEN COVE, N.Y. — Roland NY will present a very rare auction opportunity when it offers the highly anticipated collection from the estate of world-renowned New York architect and designer Thierry Despont on Saturday, April 6. The complete catalog is now open for review and bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

Despont (1948-2023) lived in a 10,000-square-foot Tribeca townhouse at 182 Franklin Street that recently sold for $25 million, and Roland’s sale features more than 200 lots of ‘rare and highly curated’ pieces from the late designer’s collection. Included is artwork, furniture, rare books, and sculptures which have never appeared at auction previously.

Architectural Digest called Despont “the designer of choice for titans of industry.” He rose to fame when he worked on the 1986 renovation of the Statue of Liberty’s torch, crown, and stairways. He also oversaw the restoration of the Woolworth Building. In other engagements, he built houses for Bill Gates, Conrad Black, Ralph Lauren, and Michael Douglas.

Choice pieces include a Thierry Despont mixed metal sculpture featuring a moon-form disc on a vise and stand, exhibited at Marlborough Gallery in New York in 2008. It carries an estimate of $10,000-$15,000.

An 18th-century portrait painting of author and poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), attributed to Joseph Highmore (1692-1780), is another top lot. The work has an inscribed label on the verso bearing a date of 1728, with an additional label for art dealers Scott & Fowles, who were in business on Fifth Avenue in New York from 1905 to 1943. It is estimated at $2,500-$3,500.

Likely connected to Despont’s restoration of the Statue of Liberty is Lady Liberty, an abstract of polished Belgian black marble, signed and dated by sculptor Benoit Luyckx (b. 1955-). It is estimated at $1,500-$2,500.

Despont clearly loved mid-century modern furniture. Two key items include a Le Corbusier LC4 easy chair estimated at $1,000–$1,500 and a Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Barcelona daybed with a chrome base and black leather seat, which has an estimate of $1,000-$1,500.

Thierry Despont mixed metal sculpture, estimated at $10,000-$15,000 at Roland NY.

Thierry Despont mixed metal sculpture, estimated at $10,000-$15,000 at Roland NY.

Attributed to Joseph Highmore, portrait of author and poet Alexander Pope, estimated at $2,500-$3,500 at Roland NY.

Attributed to Joseph Highmore, portrait of author and poet Alexander Pope, estimated at $2,500-$3,500 at Roland NY.

Benoit Luyckx, 'Lady Liberty,' estimated at $1,500-$2,500 at Roland NY.

Benoit Luyckx, 'Lady Liberty,' estimated at $1,500-$2,500 at Roland NY.

Le Corbusier LC4 easy chair, estimated at $1,000-$1,500 at Roland NY.

Le Corbusier LC4 easy chair, estimated at $1,000-$1,500 at Roland NY.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Barcelona daybed, estimated at $1,000-$1,500 at Roland NY.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Barcelona daybed, estimated at $1,000-$1,500 at Roland NY.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Pratone chaise reissue and Pierre Jenneret armchairs earn top-lot status at Billings

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LOS ANGELES — A classic example of Italian anti-design led Billings‘s auction of Modern Art & Design on September 16. A reissue of the Pratone or Big Meadow seat — the winning entry in the 1970 Sintesis Idee 70 competition — raced away from its $5,000-$7,000 estimate to sell to an internet bidder via LiveAuctioneers at $27,500 ($35,750 with buyer’s premium).

The Pratone chaise was the brainchild of a trio of radical Turin architects — Pietro Derossi, Giorgio Ceretti, and Riccardo Rosso — who called it “an object for individual and group relaxation.” It was designed, with no shortage of Pop Art irony, like an outsized square of artificial lawn with 42 blades of grass made from coated soft polyurethane foam, then relatively new material. It measures 4ft 7in square and slightly more than 3ft high.

The Italian manufacturer Gufram did begin batch production of the Pratone in 1971, and the following year, it was shown at MOMA as part of the exhibition Italy: The New Domestic Landscape. However, most examples that appear at auction are either modern reissues or part of an edition of 200 pieces made by Gufram in 1986. Billings’ piece from the 1986 run was stamped with the manufacturer’s mark to side and the number 157/200 and had a provenance to the Standard Hotel in Los Angeles.

The sale also included a pair of teak, cane and fabric armchairs designed Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967) for the Punjab University in Chandigarh.

In 1950, the Swiss artist, architect and designer had joined his cousin Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (who assumed the pseudonym Le Corbusier) to create the new capital of Punjab. The Chandigarh project involved much of the necessary civic architecture — 14 different types of mass housing, plus furniture for some of the public buildings.

The Punjab University armchairs, which were made in France and India circa 1955, have become classics of mid-century design. This pair, with a provenance to the university and newer caning and cushions, were offered with an estimate of $12,000-15,000 and took $13,000 ($16,900 with buyer’s premium).
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1986 special edition example of the 1970 Pratone or Big Meadow seat by Gufram, $27,500 ($35,750 with buyer’s premium) at Billings.
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Circa-1955 pair of Pierre Jeanneret easy armchairs, $13,000 ($16,900 with buyer’s premium) at Billings.
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Capsule welcomes spring season with Art & Design sale, April 6

Rufino Tamayo, ‘Figura en Jarras,’ estimated at $1,500-$2,500. Image courtesy of Capsule Auctions
Rufino Tamayo, ‘Figura en Jarras,’ estimated at $1,500-$2,500. Image courtesy of Capsule Auctions
Rufino Tamayo, ‘Figura en Jarras,’ estimated at $1,500-$2,500. Image courtesy of Capsule Auctions

NEW YORK – In celebration of the season, Capsule Auctions presents a Spring Art and Design sale on Thursday, April 6, starting at 11 am Eastern time. Spanning figuration and abstraction, surrealism and expressionism, sculpture and painting, the sale offers a range of fine art sourced from prominent estates and collections, such as that of Latin American art historian Graciela Kartofel. The auction also includes furniture and design items by Le Corbusier, Mario Bellini and Sori Yanagi. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Sam Gilliam mixed-media artwork at forefront of Neue’s May 28 auction

Sam Gilliam, ‘Pantheon #5,’ est. $50,000-$80,000
Sam Gilliam, ‘Pantheon #5,’ est. $50,000-$80,000
Sam Gilliam, ‘Pantheon #5,’ est. $50,000-$80,000

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – An abstract acrylic-on-canvas collage and enamel-on-aluminum work by African American artist Sam Gilliam (b. 1933-) is the expected headliner in an online-only May Modern auction scheduled for Saturday, May 28 at Neue Auctions, starting at 10 am Eastern time. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Le Corbusier: A man of many talents, in architecture & design

A contemporary version of the LC4 long chaise lounge earned $5,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021 at Doyle New York. Image courtesy of Doyle New York and LiveAuctioneers.
A contemporary version of the LC4 long chaise lounge earned $5,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021 at Doyle New York. Image courtesy of Doyle New York and LiveAuctioneers.
A contemporary version of the LC4 long chaise lounge earned $5,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021 at Doyle New York. Image courtesy of Doyle New York and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Many architects dabble in industrial design and furniture design. The ranks of the boundary-crossers include immortal names such as Frank Gehry and Mies van der Rohe. But the one who earns equally high acclaim for his beautiful buildings as well as his ergonomic and modernist furniture is Le Corbusier.

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