Jean Prouvé - Modern Masters London Tuesday, April 25, 2017 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Air France Unité d’Habitation, Brazzaville, Congo

  • Literature

    Peter Sulzer, Jean Prouvé: Œuvre complète / Complete Works, Volume 2: 1934-1944, Basel, 2000, pp. 296-97 for an image and a techinal drawing of a 'Flavigny' single bed
    Peter Sulzer, Jean Prouvé: Œuvre Complète/Complete Works, Volume 3: 1944-1954, Basel, 2005, p. 167 for a technical drawing of a similar example
    Galerie Patrick Seguin and Sonnabend Gallery, Jean Prouvé, Volume 1, Paris, 2007, pp. 355, 368-69 for 'Flavigny' single beds
    Galerie Patrick Seguin, Jean Prouvé, Volume 1, Paris, 2017, illustrated p. 359

  • Artist Biography

    Jean Prouvé

    French • 1901 - 1984

    Jean Prouvé believed in design as a vehicle for improvement. His manufactory Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, located in Nancy, France, produced furniture for schools, factories and municipal projects, both within France and in locations as far flung as the Congo. Though he designed for the masses, pieces such as his "Potence" lamps and "Standard" chairs are among the most iconic fixtures in sophisticated, high-design interiors today. Collectors connect with his utilitarian, austere designs that strip materials down to the bare minimum without compromising on proportion or style.

    Prouvé grew up in Nancy, France, the son of Victor Prouvé, an artist and co-founder of the École de Nancy, and Marie Duhamel, a pianist. He apprenticed to master blacksmiths in Paris and opened a small wrought iron forge in Nancy. However it was sheet steel that ultimately captured Prouvé's imagination, and he ingeniously adapted it to furniture, lighting and even pre-fabricated houses, often collaborating with other design luminaries of the period, such as Robert Mallet-Stevens, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand.

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223

'Flavigny' double bed, from the Air France Unité d’Habitation, Brazzaville

1950-1952
Painted steel, oak, fabric.
59.5 x 161.5 x 205.7 cm (23 3/8 x 63 5/8 x 80 7/8 in.)
Manufactured by Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, Nancy, France.

Estimate
£38,000 - 42,000 

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

Modern Masters

London Auction 26 April 2017