Charlotte Perriand's career stands out even amongst the greatest designers of the 20th century for its wide-ranging impact and influence on both fellow designers and the broader culture surrounding her work. Two of her most significant collaborators were Pierre Jeanneret and Jean Prouvé. Beginning in 1939, the trio was brought together when Georges Blanchon, a mutual friend and eventual business partner, arranged for Ateliers Jean Prouvé to secure a commission to build a factory for S.C.A.L. in Issoire, France. Perriand and Jeanneret were brought in to consult on the design of prefabricated buildings for the project. This partnership led to several successive projects, including military and civilian housing. Notably, Perriand also designed furniture for these projects which aimed to be economical and mass-producible by using only materials and techniques still accessible during wartime shortages.
By 1940, they were inundated with orders for prefabricated structures, including housing for factory workers and various facilities for the S.C.A.L. factory. Despite the immense challenges the designers faced this was an intensely productive period. However, many of Perriand’s designs and drawings for furniture during this time were lost when she left for Japan in June of 1940. In her absence, Jeanneret and Prouvé adapted her designs and continued the work, forming the Bureau central de constructions (B.C.C.) to ensure the continuation of their projects. In 1944 they began working with the Équipement de la Maison company with the intention of selling commercially many of Perriand and Jeanneret’s pre-war designs.
Interior of 8x8 BCC demountable house designed by Jean Prouvé and Pierre Jeanneret, Saint-Auban, France. Furnishings by Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand. Image: © Fonds Jean Prouve. Centre Pompidou – MNAM/CCI-Bibliothèque Kandinsky-Dist. RMN-Grand Palais. Artwork: © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Upon Perriand’s return to France in 1946, she found that her collaborators had persevered through the war’s difficulties. Although she hoped to establish her own furniture company, economic hardships compelled her to rejoin Équipement de la Maison, which had started limited production of her adapted pre-war designs under Jeanneret's guidance. Many of these designs focused on flat-pack furniture that could be easily assembled, catering to the need for emergency furnishings during reconstruction. By 1949, however, very few orders had been placed and Georges Blanchon left Équipement de la Maison and formed Bureau de Coordination du Bâtiment (B.C.B.) to produce the same designs more efficiently, using modern methods.
With renewed efforts, B.C.B. began to produce and distribute Perriand-Jeanneret furniture through prominent galleries, and the same designs continued to be produced until 1968, nearly three decades after Perriand's initial work, exemplifying the enduring relevance of their design philosophy.
Provenance
Galerie Downtown-François Laffanour, Paris
Daniel Lebard, Brussels, acquired from the above
Christie's, Paris, "Collection Daniel Lebard, sous le prisme de la modernité," November 2-3, 2021, lot 38
Acquired from the above by the present ownerLiterature
Jacques Barsac, Charlotte Perriand, Un Art d'Habiter, Paris, 2005, p. 275 for a drawing, illustrated p. 277
Jacques Barsac, Charlotte Perriand: Complete Works, Volume 2, 1940-1955, Zurich, 2015, pp. 171, 311 for a drawing, illustrated p. 177
François Laffanour, ed. Living with Charlotte Perriand, Paris, 2019, illustrated pp. 71, 342
Property of a Private American Collector
105
Sideboard, model no. 4
designed 1939-1945, manufactured 1946-1968
Pine, aluminum.
51 1/2 x 95 3/4 x 17 in. (130.8 x 243.2 x 43.2 cm)
Manufactured by L'Équipement de la Maison, Grenoble or Bureau de Coordination du Bâtiment, Paris, France.
Estimate
$100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $88,900
Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist, Head of Sale, New York
bgreen@phillips.com
+1 212 940 1267
Design
New York Auction 11 December 2024
126
This lot is no longer available.
203
This lot is no longer available.
