42
Jean-Michel Frank
Pair of 'Croisillon' table lamps, from the Hotel Horizonte, Mar del Plata
- Estimate
- £8,000 - 12,000
£50,000
Lot Details
Brass, paper shades.
circa 1940
Each: 33.6 x 16.4 cm (13 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.) base, 47 cm (18 1/2 in.) high including shade
Produced by Comte, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Together with a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Jean-Michel Frank.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Located on the Atlantic coast south of Buenos Aires, the Hotel Horizonte in Mar del Plata was one of Frank’s largest commissions during his brief time spent in Argentina while creative director of the firm Comte. Commissioned by socialite and collector Maria Mercedes Saavedra Zelaya, the hotel was a favored summer destination for the Buenos Aires elite. Completed in 1942, the hotel was decorated entirely by Comte, which had been producing and retailing Jean-Michel Frank’s designs since 1936.
Provenance
Literature
Jean-Michel Frank
French | B. 1895 D. 1941Working in Paris, New York and Argentina, Jean-Michel Frank designed subtle, exquisitely proportioned furniture and lighting for sophisticated interiors. His elite roster of patrons included the vicomte Charles de Noailles, the businessman and politician Nelson A. Rockefeller, the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli and the perfumer Guerlain, among many others. Against the backdrop of the interwar period, Frank designed calm, subdued interiors that offered refuge from the chaotic world. His furniture, which was often clad in vellum, bleached leather or shagreen, featured clean lines and served to complement the art collections of his clients, which included works by Picasso, Léger and Matisse.
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