René Herbst - Design & Design Art New York Thursday, December 13, 2007 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Estate of René Herbst, France; Galerie de Beyrie, New York

  • Exhibited

    La Maison de René Herbst, Galerie de Beyrie, New York, 1999

  • Literature

    La Maison de René Herbst, exh. cat., Galerie de Beyrie, New York, 1999, illustrated p. 25

  • Catalogue Essay

    René Herbst was one of the founding members of the Union des Artistes Modernes, a group of designers united to distance themselves from the more traditional approach to design and interiors, and to foster the socially conscious and sparingly modernist ideals of the new generation of architecture and design.  The union would later also include the French designers Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Chareau.  Manifestos for the group detail their efforts to aid in the progress of the new modernism in France, paying special attention to the importance of the relationship between local and global cultures, the role of art in the economy as well as decoration and materials in architecture.  Herbst’s modernist sensibilities are visible in the designs which he kept in his apartment at 4 rue Chateaubriand in Paris.  These items were a range of designs which demonstrate Herbst’s desire to uphold and make widespread the ideals that were spreading throughout the rest of Europe.  Herbst is widely considered to be one of the first French designers to use tubular steel in his furniture, a material often represented at the root of the movement, and elegantly utilized in the present lot.

19

Side table, from the apartment of René Herbst, 4 rue Chateaubriand, Paris, France

1930
Nickel-plated tubular metal, ebonized wood, glass.
33 1/4 x 26 1/2 x 12 3/8 in. (84.5 x 67.3 x 31.4 cm)

Estimate
$18,000 - 22,000 

Sold for $34,600

Design & Design Art

13 Dec 2007, 2pm
New York