Jean Prouvé - Design London Tuesday, October 31, 2023 | Phillips
  • Provenance

    Caisse Nationale de Securité Sociale
    Christie’s, London, 12 November 1997, lot 37
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Literature

    Galerie Patrick Seguin and Sonnabend Gallery, Jean Prouvé, Volume 1, Paris, 2007, pp. 235, 266-69

  • Artist Biography

    Jean Prouvé

    French • 1901 - 1984

    Jean Prouvé believed in design as a vehicle for improvement. His manufactory Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, located in Nancy, France, produced furniture for schools, factories and municipal projects, both within France and in locations as far flung as the Congo. Though he designed for the masses, pieces such as his "Potence" lamps and "Standard" chairs are among the most iconic fixtures in sophisticated, high-design interiors today. Collectors connect with his utilitarian, austere designs that strip materials down to the bare minimum without compromising on proportion or style.

    Prouvé grew up in Nancy, France, the son of Victor Prouvé, an artist and co-founder of the École de Nancy, and Marie Duhamel, a pianist. He apprenticed to master blacksmiths in Paris and opened a small wrought iron forge in Nancy. However it was sheet steel that ultimately captured Prouvé's imagination, and he ingeniously adapted it to furniture, lighting and even pre-fabricated houses, often collaborating with other design luminaries of the period, such as Robert Mallet-Stevens, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand.

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33

'Semi-metal' chair, model no. 306

circa 1950
Painted steel, vinyl-covered plywood, rubber, aluminium.
80.1 x 42.4 x 48.7 cm (31 1/2 x 16 3/4 x 19 1/8 in.)
Produced by Les Ateliers Jean Prouvé, France. One leg inscribed C.N.S.S 4912.

Estimate
£6,000 - 8,000 

Sold for £9,525

Contact Specialist

Antonia King
Head of Sale, Design
+44 20 7901 7944
Antonia.King@phillips.com

 

Design

London Auction 31 October 2023