Marcel Breuer - Design Masters New York Tuesday, December 17, 2013 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Armstrong Rubber Company Headquarters, New Haven, Connecticut
    Acquired directly from the above

  • Catalogue Essay

    The present lot was produced by Marcel Breuer for the Armstrong Rubber Company Headquarters, later known as the Pirelli building, in New Haven, Connecticut. Breuer, along with Robert Gatje, designed the Armstrong building as part of the New Haven Redevelopment Agency’s Long Wharf Project, a major component of New Haven’s Model City Program which aimed to bring urban re-development to this area of the city. The design aimed to combine a unique design with a focal point in the city, situated directly on I-95, to serve as a symbol of urban revitalization. The building’s design is representative of Breuer’s mature phase in which he began to appreciate masonry and concrete structures. The shape of the building is interesting in that by using columns, he was able to lift the executive offices two stories off the ground, creating a void in the box that is the building. This void is echoed in the legs of the offered lot. This table creates the same sort of void underneath while also supporting an extremely heavy and dense top. This aesthetic exudes permanence and stability which held a fascination for Breuer in these later years and could be seen in a number of other commissions such as office buildings and religious structures in which a monumental scale is more appropriate.

    Marcel Breuer designed three unique hexagonal granite tables for the
    Armstrong Rubber Company headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut.
    Their lengths measure 8-feet, 10-feet, and 12-feet respectively. The
    shortest was sold December 13, 2007 at Phillips de Pury & Company,
    New York.

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MAX PROTETCH

427

Unique table, from the The Armstrong Rubber Company Headquarters, New Haven

circa 1968
Granite.
28 3/8 x 120 x 54 in. (72.1 x 304.8 x 137.2 cm)

Estimate
$120,000 - 180,000 

Contact Specialist
Meaghan Roddy
Head of Sale, New York
mroddy@phillips.com
+ 1 212 940 1266

Design Masters

New York 17 December 2013 6pm