A Palladian Villa by Michael S. Smith
Photo via Christie’s
Classical Sensibility, Modern Context
The unbelievable art and furniture gathered together at the Palladian-style villa auction at Christie’s span the past 500 years. Going through the sale, it’s hard to imagine that such an extraordinary amount of art and design were put together for a single auction. But given that they’re from a private property that was designed by the Obamas’ White House interior designer, Michael S. Smith, it came at no surprise. There are over 450 lots of museum-quality pieces, including Asian art and antiques, Old Master paintings and historic European furniture. Walking through this “Palladian villa”, it became apparent why the designer is planning on bidding on some of the items that he himself have been putting together for this sale for the past five years.
Yes, the overall collection is old world, but the pieces offer an extraordinary level of comfort that one can easily live with in modern times. Further, what I also liked about this sale was that the estimated prices were quite varied, and they offer an excellent opportunity to bid between some of the fairly reasonable pieces to the most lavish ones. Michael is said to be so passionate about this sale, that he even wrote a book about it, “Building Beauty: The Alchemy of Design” (Rizzoli).
Vyna St. Phard, Christie’s 2013
Background: A group of five African masks from the Ivory Coast/Liberia/Democratic republic of Congo (including a Lega-style mask, a Guro mask, and two Dan masks)
Counting sheep: Francois-Xavier Lallane ‘Mouton De Pierre’ A pair of sheep, designed circa 1979, welcome visitors to the Palladian Villa Sale
Pair of sheep from Francois-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008)
Dramatic: Background Painting – Fedele Fischetti (Naples 1732 – 1792) La toilette de Psyche, oil on canvas
Christie’s presents a two-day sale of a Palladian Villa on April 23-24, 2013
A ‘Zanzibar’ mother-of-pear and pewter inlaid hardwood chest, late 19th/Early 20th century
Top: Two Bamileke Style masks, Cameron
A Chinese black-lacquered altar table
Top center: Chinese Scroll Fragments, in and color on silk, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
The first portrait of a scholar
Left: A pair of oak folding theater chairs, modern
Each with a padded back and seat, covered in suede leather. Right: An Irish Regency mahogany open armchair, circa 1815, attributed to Gillingtons
Top drawings: Pable Picasso (1881 – 1973), Alphabet anthropomorphe, signed ‘Picasso’ (on the fourth sheet) pencil on paper
Bottom: A pair of French oak dinning chairs, mid-20th century
Top: Sam Glankoff (1894-1982), Untitled, PP 2067, signed and dated “Glankoff 73” (lower right) ink and cassein on Japanese handmade paper
A pair of George III mahogany side chairs, circa 1780
Background painting: Leon Polk Smith (1906-1996), Correspondence Green, Signed, titled and dated
Laurence Fayard
Background painting: Sean Scully (b. 1945) signed “Scully” oil on two attached canvas. Executed in 1989
Left: A Chinese Rootwood Table, 19th Century
Top: Jean-Pierre Pincemin (b. 1944), Canto IV (Paris Generation Plus, collection Grand Format). A pair of George III Elm Ladderback Side Chairs, Late 18th/19th Century
Forefront: A circular marble table with baluster support, 19th century
Left: Central European silvered and cream painted side chairs, German or Northern Italian, circa 1780. Right: Follower of William Larkin, Portrait of a lady,
full-length, in black embroidered gown with lace collar
Left: A brass boat propeller sculpture, 20th century
Photos courtesy High End Weekly™
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