Jean Prouvé - 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale Hong Kong Saturday, November 26, 2016 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Mr Bernhard, Strasbourg

  • Literature

    Jean Prouvé Constructeur, exh. cat., Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1991, p. 128, fig. 31
    Peter Sulzer, Jean Prouvé: Œuvre Complète/Complete Works, Volume 2: 1934-1944, Basel, 2000, p. 33, figs. 47-48, pp. 294-25, figs. 915 1-4 for a technical drawing and images
    Jean Prouvé, Volume 2, Galerie Patrick Seguin and Sonnabend Gallery, Paris and New York, 2007, pp. 234, 250-53

  • Catalogue Essay

    Jean Prouvé designed the “Tout Bois” chair in the context of World War II when there was a shortage of steel. He created an all-wood version of his earlier Standard Chair in 1941 which bear the user’s weight to the front legs support. There were variations with and without visible tenons through the back legs, as well as a later demountable version which was developed in 1948.

  • 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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36

Pair of “Tout Bois” chairs

circa 1941
oak, oak-veneered plywood
each: 62.2 x 42.9 x 48.6 cm. (24 1/2 x 16 7/8 x 19 1/8 in.)
Manufactured by Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, France circa 1941.

Estimate
HK$150,000 - 200,000 
€18,100-24,100
$19,200-25,600

Contact Specialist
Jonathan Crockett
Deputy Chairman, Asia and Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Asia
+852 2318 2023

Sandy Ma
Specialist, Head of Evening Sale
+852 2318 2025

General Enquiries
+852 2318 2000

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale

Hong Kong Auction 27 November 2016