Jean-Michel Frank - Design London Wednesday, September 30, 2015 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Hotel Horizonte, Mar del Plata, Argentina, circa 1940
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Literature

    Léopold Diego Sanchez, Jean-Michel Frank, Adolphe Chanaux, Paris, 1997, pp. 116, 123, 245 for similar examples
    Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, Jean-Michel Frank: The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period, New York, 2006, pp. 15, 139, 156, 252, 269, 301-302

  • Catalogue Essay

    Located on the Atlantic coast south of Buenos Aires, the Hotel Horizonte in Mar del Plata was one of Frank’s largest commissions during his brief time spent in Argentina while creative director of the firm Comte. Commissioned by socialite and collector Maria Mercedes Saavedra Zelaya, the hotel was a favored summer destination for the Buenos Aires elite. Completed in 1942, the hotel was decorated entirely by Comte, which had been producing and retailing Jean-Michel Frank’s designs since 1936.

  • Artist Biography

    Jean-Michel Frank

    French • 1895 - 1941

    Working in Paris, New York and Argentina, Jean-Michel Frank designed subtle, exquisitely proportioned furniture and lighting for sophisticated interiors. His elite roster of patrons included the vicomte Charles de Noailles, the businessman and politician Nelson A. Rockefeller, the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli and the perfumer Guerlain, among many others. Against the backdrop of the interwar period, Frank designed calm, subdued interiors that offered refuge from the chaotic world. His furniture, which was often clad in vellum, bleached leather or shagreen, featured clean lines and served to complement the art collections of his clients, which included works by Picasso, Léger and Matisse.

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42

Pair of 'Croisillon' table lamps, from the Hotel Horizonte, Mar del Plata

circa 1940
Brass, paper shades.
Each: 33.6 x 16.4 cm (13 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.) base, 47 cm (18 1/2 in.) high including shade
Produced by Comte, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Together with a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Jean-Michel Frank.

Estimate
£8,000 - 12,000 

Sold for £50,000

Contact Specialist
Madalena Horta e Costa
Head of Sale
+44 20 7318 4019

Design

London Auction 1 October 2015