Paul Evans cabinet one of leading lots in autumn auctions
A sculpture front cabinet is one of a group of Paul Evans designed furniture headlining one of three notable auctions being offered by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in autumn.
CHICAGO -- Through the October and November auction season, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will
conduct two unique single-owner auctions in addition to its regularly scheduled auction of decorative arts from various owners. The first collection to be offered on October 12-13 is that of Gerard L. Cafesjian, an avid collector whose interests spanned centuries and mediums. On October 20-21 the various-owner auction will be titled Period Style to emphasize its focus on English and European movements by time period. Finally, on November 17, a second single-owner auction will highlight the contents of a Chicago-area home.
A Collector's Legacy: Decorative Arts from the Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection will include furniture and decorative objects demonstrating avant-garde design from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Born in 1925 to Armenian immigrant parents, Mr. Cafesjian served in the U.S. Navy and had a long career with West Publishing, the world¹s largest publisher of legal information. Upon his retirement he founded the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan, Armenia.
Mr. Cafesjian's eclectic collection includes Napoleon III furniture, 18th century porcelain, Art Nouveau ceramics, mid-20th century Italian silver sculptures, a variety of examples of important Brutalist design and rarely-offered examples of post-modern design, all unified by the same appreciation for color, form and whimsy. A pair of Napoleon III gilt bronze mounted marquetry encoignures ($20,000-$40,000) are attributed to Grohé Frères and appear next to an upright piano ($8,000-$12,000) by the Parisian firm of Georges Alphonse Bonifacio Monbro. Post-war design offerings are led by a group of Paul Evans furniture including a sculpture front cabinet ($100,000-$150,000) and a custom bar cabinet ($50,000-$70,000) as well as a Phillip Lloyd Powell bar cabinet ($30,000-$50,000).
The following week, Period Style will feature superb examples of English and Continental furniture, ceramics, tapestries, lighting, clocks and bronze sculpture, with particular emphasis on furniture of the French and Biedermeier tastes.
Highlights in these areas include a pair of Louis XVI gilt bronze sconces ($40,000-$60,000) reputed to have belonged to François Marie Ménage de Pressigny and a Spanish table ($10,000 / 20,000) fashioned in the Empire taste and bearing a stamp that suggests it was part of the Royal Collection of Ferdinand VII.
The estates of Shirle Westwater (Columbus, Ohio) and Denise Selz (Chicago, Illinois) and the
collection of James Wenneker (Lexington, Kentucky) complete the auction. Included are several superlative lots of Italian marble sculpture; one example from Mr. Wenneker is a figure by Roman sculptor Orazio Andreoni depicting a woman after her bath ($10,000-$20,000).
On November 17 buyers will have the opportunity to acquire fine examples of late 19th century French furniture by leading Parisian firms as well as decorative objects of the same caliber.
Connoisseur and Collector: a Chicago North Shore Residence is a single owner auction from a consignor Leslie Hindman Auctioneers has had the pleasure of working with for many years, watching the collection evolve as its curator continued to acquire. Now, relocation to the South brings an opportunity for the owner to build a new collection, paying equal tribute to his taste. Form, finish and workmanship across mediums were combined in this home, celebrating the prosperity of 19th century Europe.
For more information, visit www.lesliehindman.com or call 312-280-1212.
