Though it’s easy to forget, there was once a time was “mid-century modern” furniture and design was not called such, and neoclassical and ornate were preferred to molded-plywood and swarthy functionalism. In fact, the term wasn’t coined until 1983, when author Cara Greenberg titled her book for Random House “Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s.” Renowned gallerist Mark McDonald remembers those dark days. His professional triumph with a string of successful galleries, including Fifty/50 and Gansevoort Gallery in New York City and 330 and the current Mark McDonald, Ltd in Hudson, NY, established him as a key figure in building the market for mid-century furniture and design in the U.S. Over the past several decades, his galleries and their carefully curated stock have helped to launch “mid-century modern” to the forefront of the industry. Next month many of McDonald’s key selections will be up for grabs, thanks to “What Modern Is: The Collection of Mark McDonald,” an auction taking place at Sotheby’s in New York on March 10.
Assembled from the full span of McDonald’s impressive collecting career, the sale’s 120 lots are collectively valued between $1 and 1.5 million. Happily for bidders, that means that many of these are iconic yet affordable American, Scandinavian and Italian pieces, often in the range of $5,000-30,000. Stateside, the offerings are punctuated by Charles and Ray Eames’s Unique ESU Cabinet from the 1950s (est. $25/35,000) and Kem Weber’s “Airline” Chair circa 1934 (est. $18/26,000), and works by Isamu Noguchi, Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler.
Scandinavian lots include ceramics, glass and wood, highlighted by an extremely rare variant of a Leaf Platter by Tapio Wirkkala (est. $20/30,000), as well as Timo Sarpaneva’s iconic “Lancet” vase (est. $20/30,000). The sale also features studio jewelry by Art Smith, Claire Falkenstein and Harry Bertoia, and a selection of contemporary design, led by Ali Tayar’s “Plaza” Screen circa 1999 (est. $8/12,000) and works by Ettore Sottsass, Tejo Remy and Andrea Branzi.
“What Modern Is” will be on view in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries starting March 5 in tandem with the sale of 20th Century Design. In addition, free and open to the public, the New York School of Interior Design and Sotheby’s Institute of Art are co-sponsoring a panel discussion for Friday, March 4, at 6pm at the New York School of Interior Design. “What Modern Is: True Stories of Midcentury Design” will feature McDonald, John Waddell and James Zemaitis, and will be moderated by author and NYSID design history and theory professor Judith Gura.
The panel will tell the story of the revival of mid-century furniture and industrial art, with some of the key players on hand for commentary. McDonald’s Fifth/50 gallery has been dubbed the nation’s first mid-century design gallery, while collector John Waddell’s acquisitions are the foundation of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 20th-century design galleries. As the third panelist, Sotheby’s SVP James Zemaitis directs the legendary auction house’s 20th-century design department and has developed an enthusiastic market for American mid-century decorative arts. Since space is limited and the subject is sure to draw a (stylish) crowd, you can RSVP to rsvp@nysid.edu.
All photography courtesy of Sotheby’s.
