NEW YORK, 9 June 2017 – Sotheby’s trilogy of Important Design sales concluded yesterday in New York, with a market-leading total of $10.4 million. More than 275 works were sold over the course of the day, representing a strong overall sell-through rate of 83%. Below is an overview of some of the highlights that drove our outstanding results this season:

IMPORTANT DESIGN
Auction Total $6.5 Million
Emerging from the celebrated Forbes Family Collection, an exceedingly rare group of eight panels by Jean Dupas from the S.S. Normandie led our Important Design sale, achieving $1.4 million – a new auction record for Dupas’s coveted Art Deco panels and the top price of this week’s Design auctions in New York.

The stunning reverse-glass panels are part of the monumental History of Navigation mural, designed by French artist Jean Dupas for the luxury voyageur’s Grand Salon. Depicting part of the mythological Birth of Aphrodite scene, the eight adjacent panels are surviving relics of the French vessel’s extravagant Art Deco interiors, and capture the glamour of this by-gone era. Renowned entrepreneur and publisher, Malcolm S. Forbes, purchased the eight panels at auction in 1981 as a wedding gift to his son, Robert, for $99,000 – a then-record sum for Dupas. The panels would later welcome visitors to the Forbes Galleries in Manhattan until its closing in 2014. Separate pre-sale release available

Other top prices from our Important Design sale demonstrated strength for works across the 20th century: from a rare Side Chair created by Charles Rennie Mackintosh circa 1904 for Miss Kate Cranston’s residence Hous’hill at Nitshill in Glasgow, which sold to applause for $576,500 (nearly four times its high estimate), to Claude Lalanne’s monumental and unique topiary fountain Dimetrodon II from 1998, which brought $540,500.

MASTERWORKS BY TIFFANY STUDIOS FROM THE ESTATE OF CAROL FERRANTI Auction Total $2.3 Million

Our series of three sales began with the outstanding collection of rare Tiffany treasures from the Estate of Carol Ferranti, whose $2.3 million total was well in excess of the auction’s $1.9 million high estimate, with 95% of lots sold – 83% of which fetched prices above their high estimates.

An Important and Rare “Butterfly” Table Lamp led the morning auction, selling for $648,500 (estimate $400/600,000) – a new auction record for the firm’s “Butterfly” model. A lyrical and early artistic production from the iconic studio, the “Butterfly” motif is one of Tiffany’s rarest and best-documented designs. Dating to circa 1898, it marks one of the first leaded glass shades designed by Clara Driscoll. Originally credited to Louis Comfort Tiffany, Driscoll’s correspondence from the time confirms that the two creatives worked together to realize this extraordinary design.

WYETH: THE ART OF TIMELESS DESIGN
Auction Total $1.6 Million
Our dedicated auction WYETH: The Art of Timeless Design achieved strong prices for the chic and sophisticated works of Scandinavian, American mid-century, and Italian design on offer, unified by integrity of materials, impeccable craftsmanship and beauty of form. The collection of post-war designs was inspired by WYETH’s Sagaponack location, with contents curated by its visionary founder, John Birch.

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