Jean-Michel Frank - Design Evening New York Thursday, December 13, 2018 | Phillips

Design Evening

New York Auction 13 December 2018

  • Provenance

    Private collection, acquired from the designer
    Thence by descent
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Literature

    Léopold Diego Sanchez, Jean-Michel Frank, Paris, 1980, p. 184
    Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, Jean-Michel Frank: The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period, New York, 2012, p. 285

  • Catalogue Essay

    The mica-covered “Block” lamp continues the theme of Frank’s fascination for materials coupled with austerity of form. For this work the designer covered a simple rectangular block in a regular grid of mica sheets. Mica has a natural metallic luster and, just like the rock crystal lamps, lent captivating texture and sparkle to his interiors. Frank reserved the use of mica for some of his most important commissions, such as the sitting room of Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, where he clad the fireplace surround in mica. The same treatment appeared again in Templeton Crocker’s San Francisco penthouse. Mica-covered tables appeared in the designer’s own smoking room (1938).

  • 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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Property of a Private European Collector

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Jean-Michel Frank

Large "Block" table lamp

circa 1928
Mica-covered wood, leather, paper shade.
Height of mica base: 8 3/4 in. (22.1 cm)
Produced by Chanaux & Pelletier, Paris, France. Underside impressed J.M.F/4125. Together with a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Jean-Michel Frank.

Estimate
$30,000 - 40,000 

Sold for $68,750

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Design Evening

New York Auction 13 December 2018