The Collector: Icons of Design Auction at Phillips New York

16 December '14

New York

The Collector: Icons of Design auction will take place at Phillips New York on 16 December 2014. The design auction contains 30 lots with a total pre-sale low estimate of $6,764,000 and a pre-sale high estimate of $9,695,000.

The Collector: Icons of Design's top lot is Isamu Noguchi’s unique Goodyear table of 1939, carrying an estimate of $2,000,000 – 3,000,000. This imposing sculptural icon – designed for then-president of the Museum of Modern Art – is widely considered one of the most important American design works from the twentieth century.

Isamu Noguchi once said of the table: “Even the first table I made for Conger Goodyear was not exactly utilitarian. I thought of it as a sculpture that was a table. After all, you can say that the earth is a table. We feast upon it. You can also say that it is utilitarian, this earth. Or you can say that it is something else.”

Isamu Noguchi
The Goodyear Table, for A. Conger Goodyear, Old Westbury, New York, 1939
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000

This landmark sale for the market also includes historical masterpieces from Eileen Gray, Carlo Mollino, Jean Royère, and Le Corbusier, amongst others. Other exceptional works by Noguchi will also be on sale including his Rare “Cloud-form” sofa, model no. IN-70 and "Cloud-form" ottoman, model no. IN-71 of which there are only six sets that are known to have been made.

Isamu Noguchi
Rare “Cloud-form” sofa, model no. IN-70, and "Cloud-form" ottoman, model no. IN-71, circa 1948
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000

Eileen Gray’s Transat chair, estimated at $800,000 – 1,200,000, hails from the Maharajah of Indore’s exceptional 1930 architectural and design commission at the Manik Bagh Palace in India. Designed and furnished by Eckhardt Muthesius, Gray’s work for the palace was part of one of the most significant modernist statements of the twentieth century.

Eileen Gray
The Maharaja of Indore's "Transat" chair, from Manik Bagh Palace, 1930
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000

Five exceptional works by Carlo Mollino together represent the greatest selection to appear on the auction market to date: standout pieces are his Unique and adjustable daybed from Casa Orengo, 1949, estimated at $250,000 – 300,000, and Mollino’s Side chair designed for his own office at the Facoltà di Architettura, estimated at $200,000 – 300,000.

Carlo Mollino
Unique adjustable daybed, designed for Casa Orengo, Turin, 1949
Estimate $250,000 - 300,000

From the French contingent, highlights include an Ours Polaire sofa and pair of armchairs by Jean Royère estimated at $500,000 -700,000 and an important group of works from the Mill Owners Association designed by Le Corbusier. Once again with an Indian connection – the Association Building was in Ahmedabad – the Unique “Managing Committee table” is estimated at $300,000 – 400,000, and the Set of eight armchairs designed by Pierre Jeanneret at $80,000 – 120,000.

Jean Royère
"Ours Polaire" sofa and pair of armchairs, circa 1952
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000

Pierre Jeanneret
Set of eight armchairs, model no. PJ-AH-09-A, from the the Mill Owner’s Association Building, Ahmedabad, India, 1953-1954
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000

Auction 16 December 5pm
450 Park Avenue
New York

Viewing 10 – 16 December
Monday – Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm