At Rago, deals for McMillen and extravaganzas for big collectors can all be had!

I am happy to report (both for my ego’s sake and Rago’s!) that each of my three picks from last week’s auction sold for above their high estimate.  Most dramatically, the Bertoia sculpture, “Devon Dunes,” sold for $162,500, against an estimate of $50,000 – 75,000.

McMillen bought a great Paul Evans dining table (lot 744), and an orange-red Raymond Loewy cabinet (lot 1169).  I’m really excited about an Italian mirrored bar cabinet that we got for less than we’d anticipated.  It’s very rare to find an antique mirrored cabinet – this one is from the 1940s – without any cracks or missing panels, so I really couldn’t believe our luck!  (Oh, and did I mention the interior of the cabinet is illuminated?!)

Italian
Mirrored Bar Cabinet, 1940s
Antiqued, etched and beveled mirror
Unmarked

David Rago, co-director and founder of the auction house that bears his name, gave me his thoughts on the sale results.

Good Buys

Lots 1033 and 1034, The Bertoia Bush Sculptures, were reasonable at $22,500 each.  (Considering another Bush form sculpture sold a few weeks ago for $64,900, I’d say that Rago’s Bertoias were quite reasonable indeed!)

Harry Bertoia (1915-1978)
Untitled sculpture (Bush), Pennsylvania, 1970s
Patinated bronze and copper
Unmarked
9″ by 12″

There were some “out and out bargains” in James Mont.  With the exception of the “spinning top” lamps (see last week’s blog) and a pair of lounge chairs (lot 798), works designed by Mont were either passed or sold under the low estimate.  The dining set below, which had an estimate of $3,000-4,000, failed to sell last Sunday.  Putting aside that it’s by a famous 20th century designer, what a steal to be able to get an entire dining set for as little as $3,000!!  (If I bought this I would probably repaint it and reupholster the seats, taking away some re-sale value, I know!)

James Mont (1904-1974)
James Mont Design
Dining Set: table and seven chairs, New York, 1960s
Enameled Wood, printed vinyl
Unmarked
Chairs: 35″ by 20 1/2″ by 23″; table: 30″ by 72 1/2″ dia

What Was Unusually Hot

I didn’t know much about the furniture designer, Wendell Castle, before I went to Rago last week and saw his funky, zig-zaggy carved furniture.  Not surprisingly, Castle was strong across the board, with multiple bidders in the room, on the phones, and on the internet, vying for his pieces.  Lot 1056, a jaggy, amoeba-like coffee table, was one of my favorites, and a great example of his whimsical design.  Estimated at $18,000 – 24,000, this table sold for $26,250.

Wendell Castle (b. 1932)
Coffee table, “Theme and Variations I,” Scottsville, NY, 1996
Pommele sapele, chip-carved and crackle-lacquered wood
Carved Castle 96
16 1/2″ by 48 3/4″ by 34″
Provenance: Original Owner, purchased from the artist

Rago’s strong suit is American Organic Modern design, and some of the lesser known Studio designers brought surprisingly high prices last week.  One such designer is John Cederquist (b.1946), whose kooky fish bench, lot 1061, sold for $16,250 against an estimate of $5,000-7,000.  I have to admit that I was not crazy about this bench when I saw it at Rago; it looked to me like something that belonged at the Lobster Inn, in Southampton, N.Y…  But now that I’ve done a little research on John Cederquist and his work, examples of which are in The Smithsonian American Art Museum, and The Museum of Arts and Design here in New York City, I’ve decided that I might need my own Cederquist creation!

John Cederquist (b. 1946)
Folding Fish Bench from the “Conservation Series”, California, 1991-2007
Mixed woods, aniline dyes and epoxy resin
Signed
49″ by 81″ by 36″
Provenance: Original owners, purchased from the artist

I hope you’ve learned a little bit about Rago and 20th/21st Design from this post.  We are grateful to David Rago and his team, especially Anthony Barnes, who sent us the above images.

The next Modern auction is in March 2014.  We can’t wait!

- Elizabeth Pyne