CHICAGO ‐ On Dec. 15, 2011 the Chicago auction company Wright will auction the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kenneth Laurent House and furnishings. The property, located in the Chicago suburb of Rockford, has been consigned by Kenneth Laurent, who is the original owner.
In 1948, Laurent commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build a home that integrated his needs as a wheelchair‐bound disabled veteran with Wright’s signature open plan designs. Wright used to opportunity to develop his elliptical plan for the first time. The resulting soft curves, open floor plan and flowing space were utilized in later houses in the 1950s.
The Laurents became friendly with Wright and traveled often to his Wisconsin home ‘Taliesin,’ commissioning interior furnishings for their home and a later addition to the property. In conversation with fellow architect Edgar Kaufmann Jr., Frank Lloyd Wright referred to the Laurent House as a serene masterpiece and his “little gem.”
“We are interested in the preservation mid‐century architectural masterpieces,” said Richard Wright, president of Wright. “We have an audience that appreciates the historical and aesthetic value of these special homes and is not strictly bound by the values of the local real estate market.”
The Kenneth Laurent house and furnishings will be sold on December 15, 2011 during Wright’s semiannual Important Design auction, a sale featuring more than 250 lots of exceptional mid‐century designs. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
The home and original Frank Lloyd Wright designed furnishings are to be estimated at $500,000-$700,000.
Wright is an international auction house based in Chicago that has offered historically important architectural masterpieces in their art and design auctions before, most famously with the sale of Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #21 in Los Angeles that sold in December 2006 for $3,185,600.
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