Jean Royère - Design New York Tuesday, June 6, 2017 | Phillips
  • Provenance

    Galerie François Laffanour, Paris
    Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1996

  • Literature

    René Chavance, "Jean Royère ou bon sens et fantaisie," Mobilier et Décoration, October 1949, p. 3
    Jean Royère, exh. cat., Galerie Jacques Lacoste, Paris, 1999, pp. 40, 91 for the sofa p. 94 for the chair
    Jean Royère: Décorateur à Paris, exh. cat., Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1999, pp. 16, 33, 59 for the chair
    Jacques Ouaiss, Catherine, and Stéphane de Beyrie, Jean Royère, New York, 2000, pp. 70-72 for the chair
    Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, Jean Royère, Paris, 2002, p. 233 for a drawing
    Galerie Jacques Lacoste and Galerie Patrick Seguin, Jean Royère, Volume 1, Paris, 2012, p. 78 for the chair, pp. 162-63 for a drawing

  • Artist Biography

    Jean Royère

    French • 1902 - 1981

    Jean Royère took on the mantle of the great artistes décorateurs of 1940s France and ran with it into the second half of the twentieth century. Often perceived as outside of the modernist trajectory ascribed to twentieth-century design, Royère was nonetheless informed by and enormously influential to his peers. Having opened a store in Paris in 1943 before the war had ended, he was one of the first to promote a new way of life through interior decoration, and his lively approach found an international audience early on in his career.

    In addition to commissions in Europe and South America, Royère had a strong business in the Middle East where he famously designed homes for the Shah of Iran, King Farouk of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan. The surrealist humor and artist's thoughtful restraint that he brought to his furniture designs continue to draw admiration to this day.

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Property from a Private Collection

22

"Relax" sofa and pair of armchairs

circa 1950
Fabric, oak, beech.
Sofa: 39 1/2 x 73 1/4 x 39 5/8 in. (100.3 x 186.1 x 100.6 cm)
Each armchair: 39 7/8 x 33 3/4 x 37 in. (101.3 x 85.7 x 94 cm)

Estimate
$100,000 - 150,000 

Sold for $125,000

Contact Specialist
Cordelia Lembo
Specialist, Head of Sale
+1 212 940 1265

Design

New York Auction 6 June 2017