California’s John Moran Auctioneers and Appraisers is gearing up to present its sweeping Art and Design summer sale this August 13, 2024, at 10 a.m. PDT. Bringing together a distinctive range of fine art—including everything from influential early 20th-century Modernism to contemporary hallmarks—and important design, covering Mid-Century Modern icons by Le Corbusier, Warren Platner, and Charles and Ray Eames, to name just a few. The sale even features a 2010 Porsche Boxster convertible, setting the tone for this wide-ranging and attention-grabbing sale.
Below, we home in on just a few of the unmissable lots included in the Art and Design sale, which you can explore too along with the more than 300 additional lots ahead of the sale here.
Agnes Pelton
Flowering (1929)
Est. $300,000–$500,000
Agnes Pelton, Flowering (1929). Est. $300,000–$500,000. Courtesy of John Moran.
A star of the sale, Agnes Pelton’s (1881–1961) transcendental abstraction Flowering (1929) speaks to the artist’s singular creative style and vision. This specific work has an interesting history, in that it has not been exhibited publicly for almost a century and was almost lost when it was erroneously included in a bulk donation from a house clearance. It dates from a period when Pelton lived and worked on Long Island following a multi-month journey to Southern California. The influence of these two locales can be seen in the color palette, and hint at the trajectory of her later practice.
Victor Brecheret
Tocadora De Guitarra (1920s)
$20,000–$30,000
Victor Brecheret, Tocadora De Guitarra (1920s). Est. $20,000–$30,000. Courtesy of John Moran.
The work of Italian-Brazilian sculptor Victor Brecheret (1894–1955) has received renewed interest in recent years, recognized for his contributions to the 20th-century Modernist sculptural vernacular. A student of Italian sculptor Arturo Dazzi in Rome, he was embraced by the Modernists of São Paulo upon his return for his mastery of sculptural techniques and clean-lined aesthetic. Tocadora de Guitarra from the 1920s hails from this period, existing in both bronze and marble iterations (the bronze is within the collection of the Memorial de Curitiba, Brazil), and alludes to Brecheret’s move towards geometric and minimalistic compositions.
After Salvador Dalí
Sillón Leda armchair by BD Barcelona (ca. 1990s)
Est. $15,000–$20,000
After Salvador Dalí, Sillón Leda armchair by BD Barcelona (ca. 1990s). Est. $15,000–$20,000. Courtesy of John Moran.
Created by furniture design brand BD Barcelona, this Sillón Leda armchair executed in polished brass takes direct inspiration from Salvador Dalí’s painting Femme à Tête de Roses (Woman with Head of Roses), completed in 1935. The chair, featuring legs capped with women’s shoes and a graceful arm wrapped around the back, reflects the inspiration of dreams and symbolism that Dalí and the Surrealists promoted. Dalí himself along with designer Jean-Michel Frank collaborated on a collection of furniture that ultimately was not realized in their lifetimes, but these designs ultimately were approached again in the 1990s wherein BD Barcelona was pegged to manufacture the pieces—of which Sillón Leda was part of the project.
Titus Kaphar
Untitled (2004)
Est. $10,000–$15,000
Titus Kaphar, Untitled (2004). Est. $10,000–$15,000. Courtesy of John Moran.
American artist Titus Kaphar (b. 1976) maintains a practice best-known for reimagining history to incorporate Black figures and questioning the Western art historical canon, offering alternatives to ingrained or assumed narratives. The present Untitled work falls within Kaphar’s practice of focusing on forgotten and overlooked histories, and is influenced by a photograph by Thomas Eakins, Rail Shooting on the Delaware (1876). Here, Kaphar takes in a literal manner the depiction of a Black man steering the shallow boat and enlarges the figure, granting it its own composition at larger scale to the original.
George Nakashima
Conoid Lounge chairs (ca. 1970)
Est. $20,000–$30,000
George Nakashima, Six Conoid Lounge chairs (ca. 1970). Est. $20,000–$30,000. Courtesy of John Moran.
A pioneer of the American craft movement, woodworker, architect, and furniture maker George Nakashima (1905–1990) created a body of work that synthesized Eastern and Western traditions and techniques, resulting in a style uniquely his own. Nakashima’s furniture pieces are prized for their respect to the material, with the mode of construction and execution paying homage to the individual wood pieces’ inherent qualities. Focusing on the wood—its selection, processing, and treatment—Nakashima was able to create some of the finest wood furniture of the 20th century.
Alexander Calder
Untitled (1976)
Est. $20,000–$30,000
Alexander Calder, Untitled (1976). Est. $20,000–$30,000. Courtesy of John Moran.
While Alexander Calder (1898–1976) is best known for his kinetic artworks and mobiles, he also maintained a strong painting practice wherein his singular style takes on a sense of immediacy not found elsewhere in his oeuvre. The present lot hails from the series “Flying Colors,” initiated in the early 1970s and continuing throughout the decade as part of an ongoing collaboration with Braniff International Airlines commemorating the airlines’ expanded routes. Featuring the colors and graphic quality of advertising of the era, the work highlights the breadth of Calder’s artistic skill.
Explore these lots and more within the Art and Design sale, August 13, 2024, at John Moran.