Sotheby’s, Monaco, “Arts Décoratifs Styles 1900 et 1925,” March 6, 1983 (part of a larger suite), lot 134 Sotheby’s, London, “20th Century Decorative Arts & Design,” July 3, 2002, lot 34 Private collection, New York Phillips de Pury & Company, London, “Design,” April 26, 2012, lot 11 Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
“Ruhlmann,” Galerie Francine et Thierry Couvrat Desvergnes, Paris, June 11-September 15, 1985 “Art Deco 1910–1939,” Victoria and Albert Museum, London, March 27-July 20, 2003 then traveled to: Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, September 20, 2003-January 4, 2004; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, March 13-July 5, 2004; Museum of Fine Arts Boston, August 22, 2004-January 9, 2005, National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, June 28-October 5, 2008
Literature
Florence Camard, Ruhlmann: Master of Art Deco, New York, 1984, p. 266 Ruhlmann: Un Genie de l’Art Deco, France, 2001, pp. 196-97 Charlotte Benton, Tim Benton and Ghislaine Wood, eds., Art Deco 1910–1939, exh. cat., Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2003, illustrated p. 151 Florence Camard, Jacques Émile Ruhlmann, New York, 2011, p. 310 for a period image of the Drouant restaurant
Catalogue Essay
Ruhlmann designed the present model armchair and a similar side chair in 1924 for Drouant, a popular bistro at 18 rue Gaillon in Paris. The following year he exhibited his “Ledroua” chairs upholstered in silk damask in the Grand Salon of the “Pavillon du Collectionneur” at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. An adjacent related suite of furniture – a bench, a settee, and an armchair – were covered with a floral Aubusson tapestry (similar to that accompanying the present lot) designed by the artist, architect and sculptor Émile Gaudissard, who also designed the Salon’s immense circular carpet.
Pair of "Ledroua" armchairs, model no. 67AR/101NR, designed for the Drouant restaurant, Paris
circa 1925 Macassar ebony, silver-plated bronze, fabric. Each: 33 1/2 x 22 1/2 x 26 in. (85.1 x 57.2 x 66 cm) Together with the original Aubusson tapestry upholstery designed by Émile Gaudissart (1872-1956).
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Contact Specialist Meaghan Roddy
Head of Sale, New York mroddy@phillips.com
+ 1 212 940 1266