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wright auction

Home Tag wright auction
design mastersworks auction. wright.

design mastersworks auction. wright.

Apr 25, 2016

above> reaper | wendell castle | 2010 /// preview / new york | 7 > 19 may 2016 |11a > 6p /// auction / chicago | 19 may 2016 | noon ct

a showcase for exceptional objects, wright presents design masterworks, a tightly curated sale featuring seminal works by the most innovative and influential artists and designers of the 20th and 21st centuries at auction on may 19th. notable works include a minguren ii coffee table by george nakashima, an influential bloc bahut by charlotte perriand and a sculptural rocking chair, titled reaper, by wendell castle, alongside works that unite the worlds of art and design by paul kelpe, peter voulkos, nanda vigo and ettore sottsass. further distinguishing this impressive sale is a selection of important italian glass made by the country’s best designers and makers including an early mosaic vase by artisti barovier, a unique con macchia vase by fulvio bianconi and an exceptional carved vase by vittorio zecchin and franz pelzel, and more.

each of these groundbreaking designs will be featured in our full-color catalog alongside texts and images that contextualize their significance within the cannon of design. all lots will be on view in our new york gallery located at 980 madison avenue.

below> pennellate vase model 3788 | carlo scarpa | venini | 1942

wright16-master-scarpa1

below> bloc bahut | charlotte perriand | cité cansado | 1958

wright16-masters-charlotte1

below> sculptures from stemmons towers dallas | harry bertoia | 1964a

wright16-masters-harry1


below> miss blanche chair | shiro kuramata | ishimaru | 1988 / 1989

wright16-masters-shiro1

below> o vessel from the kalligraphy series | ettore sottsass | bitossi/flavia | 1996

wright16-master-ettore1

wright16-masters-hans1

dolphin lounge chair | hans j. wegner | johannes hansen | 1950


below> untitled (monumental sonambient) from the standard oil commission | harry bertoia |1975

wright16-masters-harry2

preview / new york | 7 > 19 may 2016 |11a > 6p /// auction / chicago | 19 may 2016 | noon ct
chicago | 1440 west hubbard street /// new york | 980 madison ave new york city

Living contemporary auction. Wright.

Sep 24, 2013

1
amsterdam clown (from Circus series) | karel appel 1921>2006 | 1978

Living Contemporary, Wright’s unique mix of art and design, has become a staple of our auction season. This fall’s sale features and wide-ranging selection of art including sculptures by John Henry, Karel Appel, Henry Moore and Clement Meadmore, paintings by Ed Paschke and Robert Herrmann and prints by Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann and Roy Lichtenstein. Designs by John Vesey, Charles Hollis Jones, Robert Venturi, Gio Ponti, George Nelson & Associates and Milo Baughman and many others make this Living Contemporary auction a sale that is not to be missed.

2 tee console | j. wade. beam | brueton | c. 1985

3collection of sixteen krenit bowls and two servers | herbert krenchel | torben orskov | 1953

4banquete chair | fernando and humberto campana | 2002

[ preview ] 19 > 25 september 10am > 5pm
[ auction ] 26 september 2013 | noon CST
[ wright ] 1440 west hubbard chicago | T 312 563 0020

1> amsterdam clown (from Circus series) | karel appel 1921>2006 | 1978
2> tee console | j. wade. beam | brueton | c. 1985
3> collection of sixteen krenit bowls and two servers | herbert krenchel | torben orskov | 1953
4> banquete chair | fernando and humberto campana | 2002
5> ibaya mc 212 | victor vasareli 1906>1997 | 1974
6> dining table | louis durot | 2005
7> jeux de l’oie | alexander calder 1898>1976 | 1970
8> paris chair | andré dubreuil | 1988
9> prototype bent glass benches | naoto fukasawa | glasitalia | 2012
10> cynthia | john kacere 1920>1999 | 1982
11> untitled | claire falkenstein 1908>1997 | c. 1972
12> artona chairs | afra and tobia scarpa | maxalto | 1975

Wright announces one king’s lane tastemaker tag sale curated by richard wright.

Nov 10, 2012

coffee table | gio ponti | giordano chiesa | c. 1955 | click > enlarge

Wright, a Chicago-based auction house specializing in modern design and One King’s Lane, an online flash-sale destination collaborate to create a Tastemaker Tag Sale comprised of nearly 150 objects, ranging from vintage furniture to artwork. Richard Wright, the founder of Wright, has vetted each piece for quality and beauty, using the same standards applied to Wright auction. Featuring works from the 20th and 21st century, Richard Wright’s Tastemaker Tag Sale offers exceptional designs for beginning buyers and seasoned collectors alike, making great design accessible like never before. [ Tastemaker flash sale Friday 16 November starting at 8am PT ]

lounge chair | warren platner | knoll | 1960s

Look for iconic vintage furnishings by George Nakashima, Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi and Gio Ponti, as well as extraordinary new designs by celebrated contemporary designers such as Ron Gilad and Tanya Aguinga. Cult classics by Mies van der Rohe and Warren Platner mingle with one-of-a-kind pieces by renowned 21st century designers such as Martino Gamper.

shell boxes | marguerite stix | c. 1960

coffee table no. 2 | ron gilad | 2009

richard wright

Since 2000 [ Wright ] has sold nearly 40,000 lots across the spectrum of 20th and 21st century design. They have pioneered whole fields of collecting and transformed the market for modern design. Their dedication to design drives what they do and who they are.

Launched in 2009, today, [ One Kings Lane ] is the leading home and lifestyle shopping destination, offering the best of top-brand, vintage and designer items at exceptional values. In only three years, the company has grown to 3 million registered users, with a staff of almost 300 employees.

Living contemporary auction. Wright.

Sep 16, 2012

click > enlarge

Opening the fall auction season is Wright’s Living Contemporary sale, a thoughtfully edited auction comprised of functional and non-functional 20th and 21st century design paired with post-war and contemporary art. This sale features an outstanding selection of works by American, Argentine, Italian, Danish, French and Japanese designers.
 
An iconic painting by the American artist, Roger Brown, figures prominently in the auction, as does two Bertoia sculptures: a rare Dandelion and a large Spray sculpture. Exceptional works of art include those by Sam Francis, Louise Nevelson, Franz Hagenauer, Marino Marini, Matt Leines, Luciano Gaspari, Robert Loughlin, Conrad Marca-Relli and Ray Potes. An important painting by Victor Vasarely, a steel sculpture by Australian sculptor Clement Meadmore and a wrought iron and glass vase by Andre Dubreuil are also among the most highly anticipated lots of the sale.



Unparalleled craftsmanship is the hallmark of American pieces featured, such as JB Blunk’s organic-form coffee table carved from solid buckeye burl, an outstanding wall-mounted cabinet of welded and patinated steel by Paul Evans, a monumental hand-carved cabinet by Phillip Lloyd Powell, and a Conoid dining table crafted of American black walnut by George Nakashima. Extending the legacy of modern craftsmanship into the new millennium are contemporary works such as the Modern Primitive Chair by the New York based creators arandalasch, exhibited at the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale, and three designs by the architect Steven Holl, including a stellar prototype cabinet of walnut, rubber and anodized aluminum. Works by international designers include a cast bronze and mosaic coffee table by Grillo Demo and a Delfi dining table by Carlo Scarpa and Marcel Breuer.

 
All lots are available for preview online at [ wright ] or through our catalog. Gallery preview 20>26 September, 10a>5p Monday > Saturday and Sunday by appointment. Wright | 1440 West Hubbard Street | Chicago. For additional information about this sale, please contact us at 312 563 0020 or email us at press@wright20.com.

Mass modern auction. Wright.

Jul 12, 2012



Wright’s much anticipated Mass Modern auction features more than 500 lots of 20th century design and objects offered mostly without reserve. The auction emphasizes the well-designed and affordable with forms by mid-century favorites such as Charles and Ray Eames, Joe Colombo and Verner Panton. Sale estimates range from $100- $7000 so the auction is perfect for beginning collectors, design enthusiasts and bargain-hunters alike!
 
MASS MODERN auction 14 July 2012, 10a  | No Reserve auction on Saturday, 14 July
Gallery Preview 9 > 13 July / 10a > 5p daily | Extended preview hours 12 July from 5 > 8p
[ view lots ] online

All lots are fully illustrated and described online with complete condition reports at [ wright ] Gallery preview is open 9 > 13 July from 10a > 5p daily with special extended preview hours accompanied by refreshments on 12 July from 5 > 8p at Wright | 1440 West Hubbard Street | Chicago. Catalogs are available ($10 domestic/$20 international).
 
For additional information about this sale, please contact press@wright20.com or call 312 563 0020
 
WRIGHT is the premier auction house specializing in modern and contemporary design. Since 2000 we have sold nearly 20,000 lots across the spectrum of 20th and 21st century design. We have pioneered whole fields of collecting and transformed the market for modern design. Our dedication to design drives what we do and who we are.

Important design 2012 auction. Wright.

Important design 2012 auction. Wright.

Jun 2, 2012

no. 4 chairs by jean prouvé | click > enlarge

Sale highlights include an exceptional Nuage Bibliothèque by Charlotte Perriand, a rare set of eight No. 4 chairs by Jean Prouvé an early spindle back bench by George Nakashima and a custom dining table by Paul Evans. Italian masterworks include an important dining table by Dubé for Fontana Arte, collaborative furnishings by Osvaldo Borsani and Lucio Fontana as well as significant works by Gio Ponti, Angelo Lelli, and Gino Sarfatti to name just a few. auction: 7 June 2012, 12 pm cst

nuage bibliothèque > charlotte perriand

table > osvaldo borsani and luci fontana

spindle back bench > george nakashima

terra chair > alessandro mendini

josé zanine caldas’ > demountable house

A selection of rare works from the Cassina Archive Collection is also included in this sale; works include Mario Bellini’s Teneride chair (technically difficult create, this chair never went into production), a prototype Sessantuna table by Gaetano Pesce and a Terra chair by Alessandro Mendini. The auction also includes large scale sculptures by Harry Bertoia, Kenneth Snelson, Isamu Noguchi and Guy de Rougemont. Important Design concludes with an influential collection of works from Brazil’s top designers and architects and the sale of José Zanine Caldas’ Demountable House.

Important Design features more the 200 lots of exceptional mid-century design. Each item is featured in Wright’s award-winning full-color catalog as well as presented online [ view lots ] Gallery preview runs 31 May > 7 June | 10a > 5p Monday | Saturday and Sunday by appointment at Wright, 1440 West Hubbard Street, Chicago. For additional information about this sale, please contact [ wright ] or call 312 563 0020 [ wright ] auction: 7 June 2012, 12 pm Central

Modern design. Wright auction.

Mar 21, 2012

29 march noon cst | double cabines | george nakashima | 1973 | click > enlarge

The 2012 auction season opens with our bi-annual Modern Design sale featuring works by renowned designers of the 20th century. Sale highlights include an impressive selection of American mid-century design with works by George Nelson & Associates, Charles and Ray Eames, Greta Magnusson-Grossman and Isamu Noguchi. Works by Pierre Jeanneret, George Nakashima, Guido Gambone and a collection of designs from a home and interior in Glencoe, Illinois by Jordan Mozer all figure prominently in this auction.

duchamp sofa | jordan mozer | 1994

waikiki lounges model c4720 | walter lamb | 1952

Modern design features nearly 250 works of exceptional design. Each item will be featured in our award-winning, full-color auction catalog as well as presented in our online preview at [ View lots ] Gallery preview will open 22 > 28 March, open Monday – Saturday 10 am – 5pm and Sunday by appointment | 1440 West Hubbard Street Chicago | 312 563 0020 [ wright auction ] [ auction begins 29 march 2012 | noon cst ]

Wright to auction frank lloyd wright’s “little gem”.

Dec 3, 2011



On December 15, 2011 Wright will auction the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Kenneth Laurent House and furnishings. The property has been consigned to the Chicago-based auction house by the original owner, Mr. Laurent.



In 1948 Mr. 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 Taliesin commissioning interior furnishing for the home and a later addition to the property. In conversation with 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,” states 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 bi-annual Important Design auction, a sale featuring more than 250 lots of exceptional mid-century designs. The home and original Frank Lloyd Wright designed furnishings will be estimated at $500,000 – $700,000. The sale will be conducted with Diane Meltmar of Gambino Realtors of Rockford and in conjunction with Brian Kuzdas of RealEstateAuctions.com.
 
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.

architect: frank lloyd wright


dates: 1949-1952
l
ot size: 1.3 acres


interior: approximately 2,500 square feet. single-story structure with three bedrooms and two bathrooms features numerous built-in desks, cabinets, shelving and seating.


For additional information online preview at [ View lots ] Private viewings of the home are by appointment. Please call to schedule a visit at your convenience. | 1440 West Hubbard Street Chicago | 312 563 0020 |
[ wright auction ] [ important design 2011 auction ]

Important design 2011. Wright auction.

Dec 1, 2011

15 december 2011 |12 pm cst | left: harry bertoia | stahr collection

On 15 December Wright concludes the year with our Important Design auction, a bi-annual sale featuring rare and significant works of the 20th century.
 
Important Design is comprised of a number of works from prominent collectors and distinguished interiors as well as exceptional forms by the 20th century’s leading artists and designers. The sale includes more than two dozen sculptures by Harry Bertoia, including an excellent Gong and an unparalleled selection of sculptures from the Stahr Collection. Italian master, Gio Ponti features prominently in this sale with a selection of works designed for Villa Arreaza, Caracas (1956), one of two complete residential commissions completed by the designer in Venezuela. Modernist Ettore Sottsass is represented with a large collection of rare glass forms, each from a small edition. And finally, a great collection of beautifully crafted works from interiors designed by Samuel Marx, will be introduced to the market for the first time. 
 

two seat sofa | wendall castle

aristea vase | ettore sottsass

Additional highlights include a matched pair of Long chairs by George Nakashima, a mobile by George Rickey and a Stack Pot by Peter Voulkos. Numerous architectural artifacts from Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan buildings and a selection of works by Isamu Noguchi, including a rare bowl, will be sold alongside important works by Gabriella Crespi, Paul Evans, Max Ingrand, Gino Sarfatti, Roger Tallon, Jean Prouvé and other notable designers. Important Design is comprised of the highest quality works of the 20th century.

Important design features nearly 250 works of exceptional design. Each item will be featured in our award-winning, full-color auction catalog as well as presented in our online preview at [ View lots ] Gallery preview will open December 8th and run through December 14th, open Monday – Saturday 10 am – 5pm and Sunday by appointment | 1440 West Hubbard Street Chicago | 312 563 0020 [ wright auction ]
[ auction 15 december 2011 | noon cst ]

Barcelona chair deconstructed. Wright.

Jul 18, 2011
masterpiece. very early example. note overlap joint on backrest.


11

Attention Barcelona chair owners and shoppers. A little history on the Barcelona chair was part of the 125th birthday celebration of Mies van der Rohe hosted by the Mies van der Rohe Society. An edited ( by Michael ) transcript of the enlightening presentation by Michael Jefferson of Wright:


6

one of many mies seating studies.

Mies first drew his scissor-structure chair in 1928 on a scrap of paper, while exploring numerous variations of seating designs. Classical forms never seem too far in the distance as these sketches are made. It is just this affinity for the timeless, the preference for the permanent that Mies seemed to have in every fiber of his being, in order to create a chair that we all instantly recognize and know in the Barcelona chair.

The scissor principle in design dates back at least to the New Kingdom of Egypt, in 16th century BC , where one finds early archetypes of furniture design that pollinated and influenced chair forms across the Mediterranean. The cross-legged chair is refined and variations are created by the Greeks and Romans. Here, numerous designs can be accounted for on pottery and relief sculpture. In these early scissor-shaped seats, known as Curule chairs, the axis of the frame was generally found in the front to rear elevations of the chair in a symmetrical composition with versions appearing in the middle ages and throughout the Renaissance. In these cases, the chair is more like a stool, as it lacks a backrest. Finally in the 19th century, Thonet produced an economical folding deck chair that predicts later forms by Mies. The most direct precedent for the Barcelona chair, however is not a folding chair, but rather a cast iron garden chair by Karl Frederich Schinkel in 1825, whose work had a tremendous influence on Mies.


barcelona pavilion, 1929.

In pursuing a solution for the furniture to accompany the free walls and planes of the Barcelona Pavilion in 1929, Mies sought an object that was to be more than a chair, but a Monumental and silent object. Mies sought a formal solution, something more substantial, perhaps, than the tubular steel furniture designed only a few years before. It had to be more than a chair, but a monumental object and not disrupt the spatial flow of the building.

Inside the Barcelona Pavilion, furniture was to be fixed in place, as part of a spatial concept. This theory was repeated in the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1928, whose interior furnishings were never to me moved or rearranged on a whim. It is noteworthy that this is in complete contrast to Crown Hall which represents an open plan that is free of any encumbrances or constraints, and furniture could be placed as the function or need dictates. The solution to this otherwise contradictory pursuit became the scissor shape which has an inherent structural integrity with an air of transparency.

Using thin flat-bar steel, this advancement of the scissor principle in chair design produced a highly cantilevered seat that only became possible with materials produced in the Modern period.

One popular misconception of the Barcelona chair was initiated by Mies himself. In the early 1960s, some 30 years after the design was made, Mies suggested that he created the chair knowing the King Alfonso XIII would be visiting the pavilion and so he designed a chair that would be fit for a king. This has been discredited somewhat, given that the initial thrust of the Barcelona Pavilion was to express the new spirit of the Weimar Republic, one of democracy, progressive culture, prosperity and pacificism, not an elitist, monarchic approach to design. Furthermore, Mies was a member of the socialist November Group, and designed a revolutionary, anti-monarchist monument three years prior. This structure had incredible detailing and complexity of brickwork that Mies never repeated again

In the end, Mies sought a chair that expressed pure construction and materiality, a chair that was free of ornamentation, but was symbolic of the new era of progress in the twentieth century. Reduced to the simple intersection of a stationary curve and an elongated S, the Barcelona chair appears to us now as if it existed forever.


barcelona pavilion 1929

Only two examples of the Barcelona chair were originally made for display at the Barcelona Pavilion. Their bolted and chrome-plated construction supported ivory colored pigskin cushions. Quickly thereafter, the chair took on cult status because of the increasing fame of the designer and the publication of photographs of this seminal building. Mies was an influential architect who was revered and copied, and his chair became famous. Mies went on, of course, to use the chairs in numerous commissions in the common areas of his buildings and as these projects were photographed and disseminated to the world, the chair took on a greater iconography.

The first production examples after the originals were created by hand in the workshops of Joseph Muller. Only one year later the Barcelona chair design appears in the 1931 product catalog of the Bamberg company. At this time, chrome plating was a completely new kind of process in furniture manufacture, borrowed from other industries. Because of this, there was limited access to chroming vats large enough to accommodate the single welded steel frame of the chair, and so early frames were created in chrome-plated steel, and assembled from five individual parts. These component parts were then assembled with a screw connection at each intersection of the frame and cross-member. Joseph Muller examples began with a screw connection lap joint at the corners of each element, and this detail migrated inward, to be concealed by the straps and cushions.


lap joint on horizontal for stability, 1931


current lap joint moved to hide screws under strap, 1931

in 1931, lap joint screws moves to horizontal section for stability and later (below) migrates inward to place screws under strap.

Single-welded and plated frames were expensive and labor-intensive because the filing of welds was done completely by hand. In 1932, Thonet took on production which continued until World War II ended production in 1934. In 1938, Mies had settled in the United States. Knoll took on its earliest production in 1947 as a chrome-plated steel version after an initial experiment in aluminum failed. The Knoll production was the first in the United States but not the only one. In the early 1950s the first examples of the Barcelona chair produced in Chicago appear. These revered and considered examples were produced by Gerry Griffin and commissioned by Mies for several of his buildings in Chicago. These were also the first to utilize stainless steel, a material that Mies stated he would have used from the beginning had the technology be available to him. Knoll did not create their version in stainless steel until 1964.

worker gerry griffin welding barcelona chair in his studio in chicago.

Examples by Griffin have a distinctive clarity to them, with less material utilized at the X-intersection of the sides and a precise corner at each backrest and seat that is razor sharp. The clearly delineated X-intersection was also a flaw, and we sometimes encounter examples from this period that have flattened somewhat over time.

The authentic Barcelona chair has been in nearly constant production since 1929. Like any great design, the temptation to copy or knock-off occurred and is rampant with the Barcelona chair. Vintage examples that are screwed together can be found in the market, but they do not have a sensitive lap joint with small countersunk screw at the corners, but rather the bars are butted together and connected through the ends of the steel with long screws. There are also examples that are currently created in aluminum, or in configurations that were not designed by Mies such as a double-wide sofa version.

[ author: michael jefferson, senior 20th century design specialist, wright ] [ mies van der rohe society ] [ knoll ]

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