Design FEATUR IN G W H ARTO N E S H E R IC K: THE HE DG E ROW TH E ATR E CO L L EC TI O N
March 31, 2020
Design F E AT U R I NG WHA RTO N E S HE R I C K : T HE HE D G E ROW T HE AT R E CO L L EC T I O N
AUCT ION Sale 1660 Tuesday, March 31 at 10am 2400 Market St Philadelphia PA freemansauction.com
VIE WING T IME S Friday, March 27: 10am - 5pm Saturday, March 28: 10am - 5pm Sunday, March 29: 10am - 5pm Monday, March 30: 10am - 5pm Tuesday, March 31: by appointment only
DE PART ME NT Tim Andreadis Vice President | Head of Department tandreadis@freemansauction.com, 267.414.1215
CLIE NT SE RVICE S Mary Maguire, Director | Client Services mmaguire@freemansauction.com, 267.414.1236 Abigail Clouser, Client Services aclouser@freemansauction.com, 267.414.1206
Opposite: Lot 29 (detail); Cover: Lot 41 (detail); Inside Front Cover: Lots 44, 45; Inside Back Cover: Lot 52 (detail)
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struckthrough Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “1” and “4” H: 7 3/4, W: 5 1/2, D: 10 in.
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struckthrough Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “61” Incised numeral “1.” Underglaze-blue numerals “71.” H: 2 1/2, W: 3 3/8, D: 4 3/4 in.
A Coffee Pot Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 446-447 $2,000-3,000
A Creamer Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 450-451 $300-500
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration All with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through, impressed artist’s monogram, and impressed markings “K2” and “69” Dia: 7 1/4 in. (each)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Both with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Cup: impressed artist’s monogram, impressed numerals “2” and “12”, underglaze-blue numerals “71.” Saucer: impressed markings “K2” and “69” H: 2 1/2, W: 4 1/2, D: 3 1/4 in. (cup), Dia: 7 1/4 in. (saucer)
A Group of Three Saucers Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 454-455 $300-500
A Coffee Cup and Saucer Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 452-455 $300-500
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration All with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Cups: both with impressed artist’s monogram, impressed numerals “2” and “12”, one with underglaze-blue numerals “71.” Saucers: both with impressed markings “K2” and “69” H: 2 1/2, W: 4 1/2, D: 3 1/4 in. (cup), Dia: 7 1/4 in. (saucer)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration All with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Cups: impressed artist’s monogram, impressed numerals “2” and “12”, underglaze-blue numerals “71.” Saucers: both impressed “K2” and “69”, one saucer with impressed artist’s monogram. H: 2 1/2, W: 4 1/2, D: 3 1/4 in. (cup), Dia: 7 1/4 in. (saucer)
A Pair of Coffee Cups and Saucers Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 452-455 $600-800
A Pair of Coffee Cups and Saucers Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 452-455 $600-800
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration All with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through, and impressed artist’s monogram Cups: both with impressed numerals “2” and “12”, one cup with underglaze-blue numerals “71.” Saucers: both with impressed markings “K2” and “69” H: 2 1/2, W: 4 1/2, D: 3 1/4 in. (cup), Dia: 7 1/4 in. (saucer)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration All with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through and impressed artist’s monogram Cups: both with underglaze-blue numerals “71.”, one cup with impressed numerals “2” and “12”, the other with impressed numerals “139” and “2” Saucers: both with impressed markings “K2” and “69” H: 2 1/2, W: 4 1/2, D: 3 1/4 in. (cup), Dia: 7 1/4 (saucer)
A Pair of Coffee Cups and Saucers Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 452-455 $600-800
A Pair of Coffee Cups and Saucers Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 452-455 $600-800
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Both with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, impressed artist’s monogram, impressed “B1”, and underglaze-blue numerals “71” H: 3/4, Dia: 7 in.
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Both with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, impressed artist’s monogram, impressed numerals “5” and “82”, and underglaze-blue numerals “71” H: 2/3, Dia: 7 in.
literature
literature
$400-600
$400-600
A Pair of Bread Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 392-393
A Pair of Bread Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 392-393
11 Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
A Set of Four Bread Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904 Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration All with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, three with markings twice struck-through All with artist’s monogram and underglaze-blue numerals “71.” Three with impressed numerals “5” and “82” One with impressed marking “BI” H: 5/8, Dia: 6 7/8 in. literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 392-393 $800-1,200
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Both with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, impressed artist’s monogram, and underglaze-blue numerals “71” One with impressed numerals “5” and “82” The other impressed “B1” H: 3/4, Dia: 7 in.
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Both with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, impressed artist’s monogram, impressed numerals “5” and “82”, and underglaze-blue numerals “71.” H: 5/8, Dia: 7 in.
A Pair of Bread Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 392-393 $400-600
A Pair of Bread Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 392-393 $400-600
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Incised script marking “Salad. 1.” Impressed numerals “77” H: 3 1/2, W: 11 1/4, D: 6 7/8 in.
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Incised script marking “Salad.” Impressed numerals “77” H: 3 1/2, W: 11, D: 6 7/8 in.
literature
literature
A Salad Serving Bowl with Lid Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 430-433 $1,500-2,500
A Salad Serving Bowl with Lid Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 430-433 $1,500-2,500
16 Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
A Mustard Pot Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904 Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram (slightly obscured) Underglaze-blue numerals “71.” H: 3 7/8, W: 4, D: 3 3/4 in. literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 440-442 $400-600
17 Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
A Large Sauce Boat Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904 Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “38” Incised numeral “1.” H: 5 1/8, W: 5, D: 11 5/8 in. literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 410-411 $3,000-5,000
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “2” and “22” Underglaze-blue numerals “52” H: 3/4, Dia: 9 1/8 in.
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “2” and “22” Underglaze-blue numerals “52” H: 3/4, Dia: 9 1/8 in.
literature
literature
A Pair of Dinner Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 390-391
A Pair of Dinner Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 390-391
$800-1,200
$800-1,200
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “2” and “22” Underglaze-blue numerals “52” H: 3/4, Dia: 9 1/8 in.
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “2” and “22” Underglaze-blue numerals “52” H: 3/4, Dia: 9 1/8 in.
literature
literature
$800-1,200
$800-1,200
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Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “2” and “22” Underglaze-blue numerals “52” H: 3/4, Dia: 9 1/4 in.
Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram Impressed numerals “2” and “22” Underglaze-blue numerals “52” H: 3/4, Dia: 9 1/8 in.
literature
literature
$800-1,200
$800-1,200
A Pair of Dinner Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 390-391
A Pair of Dinner Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 390-391
A Pair of Dinner Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 390-391
A Pair of Dinner Plates Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 390-391
24 Henry van de Velde (Dutch, 1863-1957)
A Meat Serving Dish and a Bowl Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, 1903-1904 Glazed porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration Both with underglaze-blue crossed swords mark, twice struck-through Impressed artist’s monogram and underglaze-blue numerals “71.” The dish with impressed numerals “146” and “2” The bowl with impressed numerals “3” and “24” H: 1 3/4, W: 16 5/16, D: 12 5/16 in. (dish), H: 2, W: 10 1/4, D: 7 1/16 in. (bowl) literature
Henry van de Velde, Interior Design and Decorative Arts: A Catalogue Raisonné in Six Volumes. Volume 3: Ceramics, Föhl and Neumann, pp. 416, 466-467 $1,200-1,800
25 Tiffany Studios
A “Daffodil” Table Lamp New York, circa 1910 Leaded glass, patinated bronze The shade with applied tag, impressed: “TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 34??” (numbers partially obscured) The base impressed: “TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 443” H: 26 1/2, Dia: 20 in. provenance
Descended in a Private Family Collection, Villanova, Pennsylvania literature
For the shade: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Duncan, p. 153 For the base: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Duncan, pp. 94 and 162 $35,000-55,000
26 Tiffany Studios
A “Clematis” Table Lamp New York, circa 1910 Leaded glass, patinated bronze The shade with applied tag, impressed: “TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK” The base impressed: “396 TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK. S199” H: 24, Dia: 18 1/2 in. provenance
Descended in a Private Family Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania literature
For the shade: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Duncan, pp. 92 and 147 For the base: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Duncan, p. 82 $8,000-12,000
27 Tiffany Studios
A “Nasturtium” Table Lamp New York, circa 1905 With “Favrile Glass Ball Library” adjustable base Leaded glass, favrile glass, patinated bronze The shade with applied tag, impressed: “TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK” The base impressed: “TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK” (partially obscured). H: 27, Dia: 21 in. provenance
Descended in a Private Family Collection, Lancaster, Pennsylvania literature
For the shade: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Duncan, p. 148 For the base: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Duncan, pp. 82, 142 and 157 $50,000-70,000
28 Tiffany Studios
An “Apple Blossom” Table Lamp New York, 1899-1918 Leaded glass, patinated bronze The base impressed: “TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 534” H: 21 1/2, Dia: 16 in. provenance
Property of a Private Collector, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania literature
For the shade: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Duncan, pp. 30, 34, 60, and 137 For the base: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Duncan, p. 104 $15,000-20,000
29 Samuel Yellin (American, b. Russia, 1884-1940) A Framed “Sketch in Iron” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1930
Wrought iron Impressed signature: “SAMUEL YELLIN” Later, custom frame. H: 9 1/4, W: 9 1/4, D: 1 14 in. (iron), H: 15 5/16, W: 15 5/16, D: 2 1/2 in. (with frame, overall) provenance
Estate of the artist Acquired from the above Private Collection, New York, New York $1,500-2,500
30 With Ironwork by Samuel Yellin (American, b. Russia, 1884-1940) A Cupboard Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1930
Wrought iron, stained pine The iron with impressed signature: “SAMUEL YELLIN” Cabinet with pencil inscription to back: “Louis E. McAllister 7027 Montgu St. Phila” H: 58, W: 45 1/2, D: 19 in. provenance
By descent in a Private Family Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania $2,000-3,000
31 Samuel Yellin (American, b. Russia, 1884-1940) A “Sketch in Iron” for the Equitable Trust Company Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1931 Wrought iron Later, custom mount and plinth Impressed signature: “SAMUEL YELLIN” H: 19 3/8, W: 15 1/8, D: 1 1/8 in. (iron), H: 50, W: 17 1/2, D: 6 in. (with plinth, overall) provenance
Estate of the artist Acquired from the above Private Collection, New York, New York literature
Samuel Yellin, Metalworker, Andrews, pp. 30 and 42 (for related design) $2,000-3,000
32 Samuel Yellin (American, b. Russia, 1884-1940) Floor Lamp for the Abraham T. Malmed Residence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1930 Wrought iron, silk. H: 74, Dia: 22 in. (overall) provenance
The Abraham T. Malmed Residence, Germantown, Pennsylvania, circa 1930 By sale of house to Private Collection Thence by descent literature
Samuel Yellin, Metalworker, Andrews, pp. 58-59 (for related design) $7,000-9,000
33 Samuel Yellin (American, b. Russia, 1884-1940)
Framed Radiator Grill for the Brooklyn Edison Company Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1930-1931 Wrought iron Impressed signature: “YELLIN” Later, custom frame. H: 44 1/4, W: 30, D: 1/4 in. (iron), H: 51 1/4, W: 37, D: 2 1/4 in. (with frame, overall) provenance
Estate of the artist Private Collection, Pennsylvania Acquired from the above, 2014 Private Collection, New York, New York $10,000-15,000
34 Samuel Yellin (American, b. Russia, 1884-1940) Fire Screen for the Abraham T. Malmed Residence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1930 Wrought iron, copper screen Signed twice with impressed signature: “SAMUEL YELLIN” H: 34 1/4, W: 65 1/4, D: 6 1/4 in. provenance
The Abraham T. Malmed Residence, Germantown, Pennsylvania, circa 1930 By sale of house to Private Collection Thence by descent $20,000-30,000
TH E H E D G E ROW T HE AT R E CO L L EC T I O N
Set design by Wharton Esherick for Hedgerow Theatre’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s “When We Dead Awake”, 1930 Hedgerow Theatre Company collection, 1901-2016, Ms. Coll. 1321, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania
WH ARTON ESHERICK & HEDGEROW THEATRE Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), heralded as the “Dean of American Craftsmen” and a vanguard of America’s Studio Furniture Movement, began working in wood at the close of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Although embracing the ideology that valued the hand-made over the industrially produced, he broke with the movement’s more traditional edicts and aesthetics, creating sculptural, cutting-edge furniture forms. Esherick was introduced to the Hedgerow Theatre in nearby Rose Valley, Pennsylvania and to its founding Artistic Director Jasper Deeter (18931972) in 1923. The men shared both artistic ambition and a rebellious spirit. Esherick began designing pieces of furniture for the Hedgerow Theatre in exchange for his daughter’s acting lessons. Initially involved in set, costume and lighting design, Esherick went on to create woodblock posters for various productions and furniture for both the Theatre and nearby Hedgerow House, which served as the home to Theatre company members. Over the years, the Theatre’s Green Room housed several works of sculpture by Esherick, operating as an unofficial gallery and exhibition space for the artist. Much of the furniture by Esherick has remained in use at Hedgerow Theatre since its creation.
Wharton Esherick was born in 1887 in what is now considered West Philadelphia. From a young age, Esherick was interested in drawing and studied the commercial arts of lithography, illustration, and drawing at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts. From 1908 to 1911, Esherick studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA). Unable to reconcile his interest in impressionism with the Academy’s more traditional aesthetic, he left months before graduating. After leaving PAFA, he made scant money as an illustrator, working for local publications and the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey, the corporation that had recently released the Victrola. Wharton and his wife Letty moved to an old farmhouse on Diamond Rock Hill in Paoli, Pennsylvania in the winter of 1913. Deeply entrenched in the writings of the transcendentalists, the Esherick home, dubbed Sunekrest would, along with his yet-to-be-built studio, become the artist’s Walden Pond. In the 1920s, Esherick began experimenting with wood, crafting frames for his paintings. His experimentation with flat-relief carving expanded to woodblocks and woodblock printing. The medium informed Esherick’s angular style he would later transform into furniture.
The forms that followed have been famously likened to the classic German expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). Between carving his woodblocks, Esherick created small wooden sculptures and in 1923, was inspired by a visit to the nearby Rose Valley Arts and Crafts community and began carving the surfaces of antique furniture for use in his home. The Rose Valley community was created in 1901 by the Philadelphia architect William Price around a dilapidated, pre-Civil War mill town. Having learned about William Morris, John Ruskin, and the Arts and Crafts movement during his travels to England, Price set out to experiment with his own utopian, single-tax community in response to the growing industrialization of urban America. The Rose Valley Arts and Crafts community was centered around Guild Hall, a converted grist mill, created by Price for musical and theatrical productions. Like many Arts and Crafts communities, Price’s experiment ultimately failed and the Rose Valley Association dissolved nine years after its incorporation in 1910. As the story goes, Jasper Deeter was on his way from Swarthmore to visit his sister Ruth Deeter, a physician in Moylan. It was there he
found his sister rehearsing a play in the old mill fashioned by William Price into a center for the performing arts in Rose Valley. Jasper Deeter had gained notoriety as an actor and member of the Provincetown Players in Greenwich Village, New York. However, having grown discontent with the commercialism of the theatre scene in New York, found the abandoned mill in Rose Valley a perfect place to house a repertory theatre under his direction. Deeter deeply believed in the theatre’s capacity to access and express truths of the human condition. The Hedgerow Theatre that followed was effectively a second attempt at Price’s experiment. At Hedgerow you were not only trained as an actor, but to create sets and costumes, taught to cook and wash clothing, valet cars, and complete yard work. Deeter produced the challenging work of contemporary modernist writers and playwrights such as Eugene O’Neill, George Bernard Shaw, Bertolt Brecht, and Countee Cullen, among many others. Around this theatre a larger artistic community formed, made up of writers, actors, painters, sculptors, and photographers, to whom Hedgerow’s success and artistic spirit was indebted. Esherick’s wife Letty was friendly with Deeter’s sister Ruth, and she introduced
Hedgerow Theatre company members seated around the “Thunder Table” (Lot 43) planning the Theatre’s production schedule, circa 1950 From the Hedgerow Theatre Collection, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
Scenes of Hedgerow life as depicted in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, January 20, 1938 From the Hedgerow Theatre Collection, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University
the men to one another in 1923. Esherick wrote of Deeter: “I love what he is doing and what he is going to do, that is why I give, give all within my power to help.” The whole Esherick family became intimately involved with the theatre. Letty taught dance and weaving at the nearby Hedgerow School. Esherick’s daughters Mary and Ruth spent many years at the theatre, Mary as an actor and Ruth as a lighting technician, among other roles. Wharton famously created set designs, worked on general carpentry around the theater, populated its Green Room with his work, and at least once, acted in one of the company’s plays. Wharton Esherick’s multi-layered relationship with Hedgerow lasted a lifetime. It provided him inspiration and a testing-ground for ideas. In the theatre’s balcony, he spent countless hours sketching actors as they moved across the stage or held a sensitive pose. Some of these figures Esherick then rendered in wood as sculpture.
Esherick’s set designs for Hedgerow productions prefigure the experimental forms actualized in his furniture. Hedgerow was perhaps the single most important influence on Esherick’s evolution as an artist. At Hedgerow Theatre he first met Theodore Dreiser, the author of Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy, and with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. Sherwood Anderson, a close friend of Jean Toomer (who Esherick came to know through Toomer’s wife, Marjorie Content, a modernist photographer and Esherick patron) secured a spot at Hedgerow for his short story cycle Winesburg, Ohio, to be adapted to the stage. Jasper Deeter’s theatre was an undeniable hub for modernist social and intellectual circles. His work and determination helped define this landscape redolent with the potency of artistic truth, influencing generations of stage actors. After nearly 100 years since its founding, Hedgerow continues to operate as America’s longest serving Repertory Theatre, devoted to the fostering of a creative life.
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
THE HAMMER HANDLE CHAIRS FOR H E DG E ROW TH E ATR E Wharton Esherick purchased two barrels of hickory hammer handles, in two sizes, at an auction of assets from an out-of-business woodturning company. The wood handles sat idle until Hedgerow Theatre asked Wharton for thirty-six chairs for use in the common room of Hedgerow House, the home where company members lived and rehearsed. By 1938, Esherick had produced the large “Thunder” and “Sawbuck” tables (Lots 43 and 45) which, presumably were in use at Hedgerow House and around which such a set of chairs would function. Esherick turned to the hickory hammer handles as source material for the chairs’ construction. Utilizing the longer handles for the chairs’ stiles and legs, and shorter handles for the seat rails and stretchers, the “Hammer Handle” chair was born. A total of forty-five chairs were constructed by Esherick and John Schmidt in four batches, between April and July of 1938. John Schmidt, a Hungarianborn cabinetmaker who lived nearby, assisted Wharton with many of his more complicated designs, lending his joinery skills in service of Esherick’s artistic vision. The eight chairs offered in lots 35-42 are from the original Hedgerow Theatre collection of thirty-six. Of the remaining chairs not sold to Hedgerow, one of the chairs was gifted to Wharton’s friend, Sherwood Anderson, and others were presumably sold or gifted to other friends or clients. Separately, two “Hammer Handle” armchairs were made in April of 1938. One was given to Hedgerow Theatre’s director Jasper Deeter. The other was offered for sale at a price of $32.00, netting Wharton a total profit of $6.00. With each group of chairs produced by Esherick and Schmidt, the pair refined the design, eventually lowering the chairs’ back and spaying its legs for added support. The chair is constructed of round mortise and tenon joints. The seat rails are tenoned to the rear stiles and join at the front rail with lap joints. The earliest chairs (Lot 35) have upright front legs, diagonal stretchers front to back, and a rear stretcher which joins the back legs. The second version of the design (Lots 37, 38, 41 and 42) replaces the diagonal stretchers with horizontal ones, raises the front stretcher, and eliminates the back stretcher. The third version of the chair (Lots 36 and 40) splays the front legs, widens and lowers the seat back, and returns a rear stretcher to which the stiles now join. The final version of the chair (Lot 39) adds a cross stretcher (eliminating the front stretcher), and removes a redundant stretcher to the stiles. It is this final iteration that informs all future examples of the design. The seat backs or crests are made of oak, some perhaps using wagon rims referenced by Esherick in the making of the two “Hammer Handle” armchairs he produced in April. The seats of the chairs were constructed of interlaced, industrial, canvas belting or leather. Those produced with
canvas belting were laced and painted by the actors at Hedgerow. For the thirty-six chairs produced for the Theatre, Esherick assigned the price of $235.20, roughly $6.53 per chair. However, Esherick’s younger daughter Ruth, then a senior in high school, sought an apprenticeship at the Theatre. Not having the money to pay her way, Wharton offered the chairs in exchange. The “Hammer Handle” chairs, like all the Esherick furniture in use at the Theatre, served a variety of functions. The chairs sat around the “Thunder” and “Sawbuck” tables where company members met over meals and for meetings. If the weather allowed, chairs were brought outside to the porch or lawn. Other chairs found their way onto the stage, utilized as props in both rehearsals and live productions. Over the years, some chairs broke or were lost. Others, more commonly, left the Theatre as “gifts” to retiring company members. The Theatre has retained the eight chairs offered here, in continual use at the Theatre since their creation in 1938. The popularity of the “Hammer Handle” chair yielded Esherick’s later “Ash Chair”, of similar design, but utilizing ash chair members turned by John Schmidt to resemble to original hickory handles of which they eventually ran out. Examples of Esherick’s “Hammer Handle” or “Ash” chair are in the permanent collections of the Wharton Esherick Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Museum of Arts and Design, and Longhouse Reserve.
Hedgerow Theatre’s founding Director, Jasper Deeter, pictured on the lawn of Hedgerow House seated on a “Hammer Handle” chair, circa 1950 Hedgerow Theatre Company collection, 1901-2016, Ms. Coll. 1321, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania
*three views pictured
35 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A “Hammer Handle” Chair for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1938 Hickory, oak, painted canvas belting. H: 32 1/2, W: 17 1/2, D: 21 in. provenance
Made by the artist between April and July of 1938 for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 38 and 92 (for illustrations of the model), p. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 162-163 (for illustrations of the form and discussion of design), pp. 59-60, 106, 108109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works), pp. 263 (for an illustration of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Museum) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 33 and 158 (for illustrations of the model), pp. 30-35, 112127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) Hammer Handle Chair, Bascom, exhibition catalogue, Wharton Esherick Museum, 2006, unpaginated “The Hammer Handled Chairs: Found Object Art by Wharton Esherick”, Sfirri, Woodwork, no. 110 (April 2008): 60-62 film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the chairs in situ at Hedgerow House) $5,000-7,000
*three views pictured
36 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A “Hammer Handle” Chair for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1938 Hickory, oak, painted canvas belting. H: 32, W: 18 1/2, D: 20 in. provenance
Made by the artist between April and July of 1938 for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 38 and 92 (for illustrations of the model), p. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 162-163 (for illustrations of the form and discussion of design), pp. 59-60, 106, 108109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works), pp. 263 (for an illustration of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Museum) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 33 and 158 (for illustrations of the model), pp. 30-35, 112127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) Hammer Handle Chair, Bascom, exhibition catalogue, Wharton Esherick Museum, 2006, unpaginated “The Hammer Handled Chairs: Found Object Art by Wharton Esherick”, Sfirri, Woodwork, no. 110 (April 2008): 60-62 film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the chairs in situ at Hedgerow House) $5,000-7,000
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
*three views pictured
37 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A “Hammer Handle” Chair for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1938 Hickory, oak, painted canvas belting. H: 33 1/2, W: 18, D: 20 in. provenance
Made by the artist between April and July of 1938 for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 38 and 92 (for illustrations of the model), p. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 162-163 (for illustrations of the form and discussion of design), pp. 59-60, 106, 108109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works), pp. 263 (for an illustration of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Museum) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 33 and 158 (for illustrations of the model), pp. 30-35, 112127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) Hammer Handle Chair, Bascom, exhibition catalogue, Wharton Esherick Museum, 2006, unpaginated “The Hammer Handled Chairs: Found Object Art by Wharton Esherick”, Sfirri, Woodwork, no. 110 (April 2008): 60-62 film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the chairs in situ at Hedgerow House) $5,000-7,000
*three views pictured
38 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A “Hammer Handle” Chair for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1938 Hickory, oak, painted canvas belting. H: 33 1/4, W: 18, D: 19 1/2 in. provenance
Made by the artist between April and July of 1938 for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 38 and 92 (for illustrations of the model), p. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 162-163 (for illustrations of the form and discussion of design), pp. 59-60, 106, 108109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works), pp. 263 (for an illustration of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Museum) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 33 and 158 (for illustrations of the model), pp. 30-35, 112127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) Hammer Handle Chair, Bascom, exhibition catalogue, Wharton Esherick Museum, 2006, unpaginated “The Hammer Handled Chairs: Found Object Art by Wharton Esherick”, Sfirri, Woodwork, no. 110 (April 2008): 60-62 film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the chairs in situ at Hedgerow House) $5,000-7,000
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
*three views pictured
39 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A “Hammer Handle” Chair for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1938 Hickory, oak, painted canvas belting. H: 31 3/4, W: 20, D: 21 in. provenance
Made by the artist between April and July of 1938 for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection published
Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, p. 33 literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 38 and 92 (for illustrations of the model), p. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 162-163 (for illustrations of the form and discussion of design), pp. 59-60, 106, 108109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works), pp. 263 (for an illustration of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Museum) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 33 and 158 (for illustrations of the model), pp. 30-35, 112127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) Hammer Handle Chair, Bascom, exhibition catalogue, Wharton Esherick Museum, 2006, unpaginated “The Hammer Handled Chairs: Found Object Art by Wharton Esherick”, Sfirri, Woodwork, no. 110 (April 2008): 60-62 film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the chairs in situ at Hedgerow House) $5,000-7,000
*three views pictured
40 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A “Hammer Handle” Chair for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1938 Hickory, oak, painted canvas belting. H: 32, W: 17 3/4, D: 20 in. provenance
Made by the artist between April and July of 1938 for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 38 and 92 (for illustrations of the model), p. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 162-163 (for illustrations of the form and discussion of design), pp. 59-60, 106, 108109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works), pp. 263 (for an illustration of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Museum) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 33 and 158 (for illustrations of the model), pp. 30-35, 112127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) Hammer Handle Chair, Bascom, exhibition catalogue, Wharton Esherick Museum, 2006, unpaginated “The Hammer Handled Chairs: Found Object Art by Wharton Esherick”, Sfirri, Woodwork, no. 110 (April 2008): 60-62 film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the chairs in situ at Hedgerow House) $5,000-7,000
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
*three views pictured
41 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A “Hammer Handle” Chair for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1938 Hickory, oak, painted canvas belting. H: 34, W: 18, D: 20 in. provenance
Made by the artist between April and July of 1938 for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection published
Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, p. 33 literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 38 and 92 (for illustrations of the model), p. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 162-163 (for illustrations of the form and discussion of design), pp. 59-60, 106, 108109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works), pp. 263 (for an illustration of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Museum) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 33 and 158 (for illustrations of the model), pp. 30-35, 112127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) Hammer Handle Chair, Bascom, exhibition catalogue, Wharton Esherick Museum, 2006, unpaginated “The Hammer Handled Chairs: Found Object Art by Wharton Esherick”, Sfirri, Woodwork, no. 110 (April 2008): 60-62 film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the chairs in situ at Hedgerow House) $5,000-7,000
*three views pictured
42 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A “Hammer Handle” Chair for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1938 Hickory, oak, painted canvas belting. H: 33 3/4, W: 18, D: 19 1/2 in. provenance
Made by the artist between April and July of 1938 for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 38 and 92 (for illustrations of the model), p. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 162-163 (for illustrations of the form and discussion of design), pp. 59-60, 106, 108109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works), pp. 263 (for an illustration of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Museum) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 33 and 158 (for illustrations of the model), pp. 30-35, 112127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) Hammer Handle Chair, Bascom, exhibition catalogue, Wharton Esherick Museum, 2006, unpaginated “The Hammer Handled Chairs: Found Object Art by Wharton Esherick”, Sfirri, Woodwork, no. 110 (April 2008): 60-62 film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the chairs in situ at Hedgerow House) $5,000-7,000
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
THE IMPORTANT “THUNDER TABLE” FO R H E DG E ROW TH E ATR E In the 1920s and 30s Wharton Esherick created a small number of Trestle or Trestle-type tables for various clients, including Ruth Doing (circa 1923), two for the dance camp he and his family attended in the Adirondacks (circa 1925), one for Theodore Dreiser (1928), the present lot for Hedgerow Theatre (1929), one for Hannah Weil (1931), and one for Marjorie Content (1934). The tables reflect an evolution of Esherick’s earliest attempts at table design and construction, aided by John Schmidt, a local cabinetmaker who assisted Esherick for many years. In 1929 the Hedgerow Theatre Company performed Thunder on the Left, the stage adaptation by Jean Ferguson Black of Christopher Morley’s book by the same name. To celebrate the occasion, as well as his daughter Mary’s acting role in the production, Esherick sculpted a long trestle table, named (appropriately enough) the “Thunder Table.” The table is comprised entirely of oak, with two, matched boards for the top flipped end-to-end and joined by five burl oak butterly joints, each double pinned through the table top and then partially carved out in the center so as to continue the line created by gap of the adjoining boards. Having spent much of his time on the Theatre’s balcony sketching various actors on stage, Esherick carved a minimalist curvilinear drawing into one of the table board’s wide, deliberately warped ends. The carving inscribes a pose by the play’s leading actors Dudley Vaughn and Smith Dawless (shown below in a period photograph of the production). The table top is supported on two pairs of splayed legs hinged with a knuckle joint. The upper section of the knuckle is cut with a long dovetail, to accept a shallow mortise cut beneath the table’s top. The knuckle hinge is held by a steel rod. The ability of the table legs to fold provided ease of movement and versatility of function, as the table no doubt was transported by company members within and between the Theatre and nearby Hedgerow House. The table’s use is well documented in both locations. The legs are each comprised of three solid oak sections, joined by a pinned mortise and tenon. The legs present visually as a single sculptural element of geometric form. A central stretcher joins the pair of legs with through-tenon construction, keyed at opposite ends. The protruding tenon of the stretcher at each end is joined with a pin to a swing arm which is double-tenoned through the table’s top. These arms operate as an added element of support at the table’s ends. The V-shaped stretcher provides needed stability to the long table, affixes the movable legs in place, and creates an element of visual interest, drawing the eye to Esherick’s inscribed marks to the center of each side. On one side is carved the inscription “WE + HEDGEROW.” The opposite side memorializes the table’s creation date in roman numerals “MCMXXIX”. 1929, in fact, proved to be a productive and consequential year for Esherick during which he created the Flat-Top Desk and Chair which now reside at the Wharton Esherick Museum and a Victrola Cabinet for one of his most important patrons, Helene Koerting Fischer. The “Thunder Table”, perhaps more than any work Esherick created for Hedgerow Theatre, speaks to the enormity of the Theatre’s influence on him and his attempt to return to the Theatre, in this table, an expression of a shared endeavor of a life in the arts.
Above, left: Actors Smith Dawless and Dudley Vaughn in Hedgerow’s production of “Thunder on the Left”, 1929 Hedgerow Theatre Company collection, 1901-2016, Ms. Coll. 1321, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Above, right: Detail of “Thunder Table” top, showing Esherick’s carving depicting the lead actors in “Thunder on the Left” Opposite: The Thunder Table as shown in the Green Room at Hedgerow Theatre, 2020
43 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
The Important “Thunder Table” for Hedgerow Theatre Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1929 Oak Carved signature, date and inscription: “WE + HEDGEROW MCMXXIX” H: 28 3/4, L: 118, W: 29 1/2 in. provenance
Made by the artist for Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, 1929 The Hedgerow Theatre Collection published
Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 106-107 literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 59-60, 106, 108-109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 30-35, 112-127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the present lot in situ at Hedgerow House) $150,000-250,000
SPIRAL STAIRCASE FOR H E DG E ROW TH E ATR E Wharton Esherick’s staircase designs are among his most recognizable and celebrated works, perhaps none more than the spiral staircase constructed for his hand-made studio in 1929 on the hill overlooking his farmhouse on Diamond Rock Hill in Paoli, Pennsylvania. That staircase, famously selected by Philadelphia architect George Howe to be showcased among an exhibition of Wharton’s work entitled “A Pennsylvania Hill House” at the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair, was removed for the occasion. Exposure to the audience of over 200,000 visitors gave Esherick well-deserved recognition. Esherick built only a handful of staircases for select clients, most notably the staircase he created for the Curtis Bok residence in Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania with fanning stairs similar to the present lot. Wharton Esherick crafted two spiraling staircases for Hedgerow Theatre. One set, made in 1934, was completely destroyed in a fire at the Theatre in 1985. The present lot, also built for Hedgerow Theatre in the mid-1930s remains extant. It replaced an existing set of Arts and Crafts stairs in the Theatre’s lobby in order to create more room for the box office. Esherick salvaged pine timber from a covered bridge that spanned the Delaware River for its construction. He subsequently sculpted and stacked the stairs, fanning them out from a two-foot central column. The stairs lead to the theatre’s balcony, where Esherick spent countless hours sketching actors on the stage. Because of the idiosyncratic and experimental design, the stairs have never
adhered to local fire code. As a result, he was tasked with creating a “do not enter” sign to keep the Theatre’s patrons at bay. A figural statuette, emblazoned with the word “NO” in large letters, sat at the foot of the present lot for many years.
44 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970) Staircase for Hedgerow Theatre circa 1935 Comprising thirteen stairs Painted pine. H: 107, W: 34, D: 77 in. (overall) provenance
Made by the artist for the Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, circa 1935 The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 59-60, 106, 108-109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 30-35, 112-127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) $20,000-30,000
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
Jasper Deeter (left) and Rose Schulman (center) pictured with other company members, circa 1958 From the Hedgerow Theatre Collection, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University
THE SAWBUCK TABLE FOR HEDG EROW H O US E The present lot, produced in June of 1934 for Hedgerow House utilizes the vernacular form of a sawbuck table, adapted from European antecedents found commonly in Pennsylvania German communities of the region. The mass of the table’s top, comprising two large pine timbers, rests on X-frame legs. The table’s size and structure reflects its permanence and intended use as a utilitarian piece of furniture at Hedgerow House, around which actors and company members ate and conversed. Esherick carved his signature to the table top with his hallmark, gouged “WE” and the table’s creation date in Roman numerals “XXXIV”. The selling price of the table in 1934 was $100. The table has remained in loving use at Hedgerow House since its creation, first in the House’s common room, before then moving to the porch where it has remained for several decades.
45 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970) The “Sawbuck” Table for Hedgerow House Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1934 White pine Carved signature: “WE XXXIV” H: 28, L: 117 1/4, W: 27 1/2 in. provenance
Made by the artist for Hedgerow House, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, 1934 The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 59-60, 106, 108-109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 30-35, 112-127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) film
The Hedgerow Story, a documentary film produced by the U.S. State Department, 1948 (showing the present lot in situ at Hedgerow House) $40,000-60,000
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
46
TRESTLE TABLE
Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
FO R HE D G E ROW T HE AT R E
Trestle Table Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1924-1938 White pine. H: 28, L: 77, W: 34 1/2 in. provenance
Made by the artist for the artist’s home, Sunekrest, Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1924 Re-designed by the artist, 1938 Sold to Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylania, 1940 The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 59-60, 106, 108-109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 30-35, 112-127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre and illustrations of related works) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre) $10,000-20,000
This pine table, said to have been constructed utilizing the base of an old piano as the table’s top, was crafted by Esherick in 1924. The table is thought to have been used by Esherick at the family’s home Sunekrest prior to 1938. That year Esherick removed the original, low-relief carving he had inscribed to the table’s edges and enhanced the table’s form by reshaping its legs, thus simplifying the design and removing surface ornament. The selling price of the table was $125 and it eventually found its way to Hedgerow Theatre in 1940. The table has resided in the Theatre’s Green Room for many years, but surely functioned in other spaces as well. The hourglass-form legs reflect the artist’s turn from earlier, angular forms to the curvilinear shapes which became the hallmark of his designs from the 1940s through the 1960s.
47 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970)
A Book of Drawings Titled “High Point Barnegat” 1945 Eighteen pages containing sixteen sketches, most titled Pencil and ink on paper, laid to paper The book signed, dated, and inscribed: "To the ocean at Barnegat-- after rehearsal of 'Sea Gull' at Hedgerow-- Go-Rose, Mima, Buzzie, Ruth, Dolores, Frank, Wharton, for relaxation-- or sunburn-- or-- just to see how elusive a sea gull can be. September 1945" and "To Hedgerow Theatre. Wharton Esherick Paoli 1945" provenance
The artist, 1945 Gifted from the above to Hedgerow Theatre, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania The Hedgerow Theatre Collection literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, pp. 17, 32, 35-36 and 38 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 59-60, 106, 108-109, 120, 123, 131-136, 162-164 and 239 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern, Eisenhauer and Farrington, pp. 30-35, 112-127 (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre) Drawings by Wharton Esherick, Rochberg, introduction (for a discussion of Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 56-61, 66-78, and 98-105 (for drawings related to Hedgerow Theatre), nos. 62-65 (for related drawings done at Barnegat) $400-600 END OF COLLECTION
T H E H E D GEROW T H EAT RE CO L L EC T I O N
48 Wharton Esherick (American, 1887-1970) Music Stand Paoli, Pennsylvania, 1962
Cherry Signed and dated: “WE 1962” H: 44, W: 19 3/4, D: 20 in. provenance
By descent in a Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania literature
Wharton Esherick, Studio & Collection, Eisenhauer, p. 91 (for an illustration of the model) Wharton Esherick, The Journey of a Creative Mind, Bascom, pp. 198-199 (for an illustration and discussion of the form), 261 (for an illustation of the model in situ at the Wharton Esherick Musuem) $20,000-30,000
49 Rudolph Condon (American, 1904-1976) A Dining Table and Bench Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, circa 1960
Cherry, walnut, stained oak Each with branded mark: “R. CONDON VALLEY FORGE” H: 29 1/2, L: 80, W: 36 1/2 in. (table), H: 20, L: 54, W: 22 in. (bench) $4,000-6,000
50 Robert Whitley (American, b. 1924) A Rocking Chair New Hope, Pennsylvania, circa 1960s Walnut Carved signature: “WHITLEY” H: 40 1/2, W: 25 1/2, D: 32 in. $1,500-2,500
51 Phillip Lloyd Powell (American, 1919-2008) A Bench or Coffee Table New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1960s American black walnut. H: 14, L: 73, W: 19 1/2 in. provenance
Private Collection, Penn Valley, Pennsylvania $3,000-5,000
52 Phillip Lloyd Powell (American, 1919-2008) A Unique Dining Table New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1960s
Stack-laminated American black walnut, American black walnut, gold and silver leaf. H: 28 1/2, L: 64 1/2, W: 40 1/2 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, New Jersey $15,000-25,000
53 Paul Evans (American, 1931-1987)
A “Sculpted Bronze” Wall-Mounted Cabinet New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1969 Bronze-patinated resin, slate. Signed and dated: “PE 69 GF” H: 25 1/4, W: 75, D: 20 in. provenance
Gifted by Paul Evans to his studio assistant, George Fry Jr. The Fry Family Collection literature
Paul Evans Designer and Sculptor, Head, pp. 52, 55, 59-62, 86-94 (for illustrations of related works from the series) Paul Evans Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism, Kimmerle, pp. 26, 199 (for a discussion of the Sculpted Bronze technique), pp. 171, 178, 182-185 (for illustrations of related works from the series) $6,000-8,000
54 Paul Evans (American, 1931-1987)
An Exceptional “Sculpted Bronze” Wall-Mounted Cabinet New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1970 Bronze-patinated resin, slate Signed and dated: “PE 1970 GF” H: 22 1/2, W: 102, D: 21 in. provenance
Gifted by Paul Evans to his studio assistant, George Fry Jr. The Fry Family Collection literature
Paul Evans Designer and Sculptor, Head, pp. 52, 55, 59-62, 86-94 (for illustrations of related works from the series) Paul Evans Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism, Kimmerle, pp. 26, 199 (for a discussion of the Sculpted Bronze technique), pp. 171, 178, 182-185 (for illustrations of related works from the series) $15,000-25,000
55 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Pair of “Cushion Lounge” Chairs New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1959 American black walnut, upholstery. H: 31, W: 24, D: 33 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Collection, Greenville, Delaware note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original order card from George Nakashima Woodworker. $6,000-8,000
56 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A “Cushion Lounge” Chair New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1954
American black walnut, upholstery. H: 30 1/2, W: 24, D: 34 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker. $2,000-3,000
57 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Pair of Settees New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1954
American black walnut, upholstery. H: 31, W: 48, D: 31 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima. $8,000-12,000
58 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Special “Triple Cabinet with Sliding Doors” New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1971 Fit with twelve drawers American black walnut, walnut plywood, oak Signed with client’s name: “NEMIROFF” H: 32, L: 100, D: 22 1/2 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, Massachusetts note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original sketch, signed and dated by George Nakashima. $30,000-50,000
59
60
George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990)
George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990)
American black walnut. H: 21, W: 26 1/2, D: 21 in.
American black walnut. H: 13, L: 58 1/2, W: 18 3/4 in.
provenance
provenance
note
note
$4,000-6,000
$8,000-12,000
A Pair of “Wohl” Tables New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1954
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Collection, New Jersey This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima.
A “Slab II” Coffee Table New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1954
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Collection, New Jersey This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima.
61
62
George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990)
George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990)
American black walnut, sea grass. H: 27 1/2, W: 24, D: 19 in.
Cherry wood. H: 28 1/2, Dia: 60 in.
provenance
provenance
note
note
A Set of Four “Grass-Seated” Chairs New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1954
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, New Jersey This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima. $6,000-8,000
A “Round Turned-Leg” Dining Table New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1960
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker. $6,000-8,000
63 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Pair of Chests of Drawers New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1974
American black walnut Signed with client’s name: “GORDON” H: 32, W: 36, D: 20 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Princeton, New Jersey Gifted from the above Thence by descent in a Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original sketch, signed and dated by George Nakashima. $8,000-12,000
64 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A “Hi Boy” Tall Chest of Drawers New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1974
American black walnut Signed with client’s name: “GORDON” H: 52 3/4, W: 36, D: 20 1/4 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Princeton, New Jersey Gifted from the above Thence by descent in a Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original sketch, signed and dated by George Nakashima. $7,000-9,000
65 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990)
A Pair of “Pitcairn Type” Bedside or Sofa Tables New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1956 American black walnut Each signed with client’s name: “Cucci” H: 21, W: 20, D: 20 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima. $5,000-7,000
66 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Queen-Size “Storage” Headboard New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1964
American black walnut. Signed with studio notation: “#2471” H: 38, W: 68, D: 12 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original order card from George Nakashima Woodworker. $3,000-5,000
67 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Wall Mirror New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1974
American black walnut, mirrored glass. H: 40, W: 22, D: 3 1/2 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Princeton, New Jersey Gifted from the above Thence by descent in a Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original sketch, signed and dated by George Nakashima. $1,000-1,500
68 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A “Double Sliding Door” Cabinet New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1956 American black walnut, oak. Signed with client’s name: “Cucci” H: 34 1/2, W: 60, D: 20 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice and order card from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima. $6,000-8,000
69 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A “Double Sliding Door” Cabinet New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1956 American black walnut, oak. Signed with client’s name: “Cucci” H: 34 1/2, W: 60, D: 20 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice and order card from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima. $6,000-8,000
70 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Set of Six “Grass-Seated” Chairs New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1957
Cherry, American black walnut, sea grass. H: 27 1/2, W: 23 1/4, D: 19 in. provenance
Private Collection, New York note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original order card from George Nakashima Woodworker. $8,000-12,000
71 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Special “Hanging Wall Case” New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1961
American black walnut, pandanus cloth Signed with client’s name and studio notation: “Cucci #957” H: 18 1/2, W: 72, D: 16 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original order card from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima. $15,000-25,000
72 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Fine “Conoid” Dining Table New Hope, Pennsylvania, circa 1970 Walnut, rosewood. H: 29, L: 92 1/2, W: 44 1/2 in. provenance
Anthony DeLorenzo, 1950 Gallery, New York Acquired from the above, 2000 Private Collection, Arizona literature
George Nakashima, studio catalogue, unpaginated note
This lot is accompanied by a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima. $15,000-25,000
73 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A “Single-Arm Lounge” Chair New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1958
American black walnut, upholstery Signed with client’s name: “LARKIN” H: 31, W: 34, D: 36 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker. $6,000-8,000
74 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A “Hi Boy” Tall Chest of Drawers New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1961
American black walnut. Signed with studio notation: “Lot 33 #206” Signed with client’s name: “Wolf #758” H: 57, W: 36, D: 21 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original order card from George Nakashima Woodworker. $8,000-12,000
75
76
George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990)
George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990)
American black walnut, sea grass. H: 17, W: 16, D: 18 in.
American black walnut, sea grass. H: 27 1/2, W: 23 1/2, D: 19 in.
provenance
provenance
note
note
$3,000-5,000
$4,000-6,000
A Pair of “Grass-Seated” Stools New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1954
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, New Jersey This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima.
A Pair of “Grass-Seated” Chairs New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1954
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Collection, New Jersey This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima.
77 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Special Design “Slab-Type” Coffee Table New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1955 American black walnut. H: 13, L: 49, W: 18 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker and a letter of authentication from Mira Nakashima. $8,000-12,000
78 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Pair of “Pedestal” Bedside Cabinets New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1974 American black walnut. H: 25 1/2, W: 19, D: 20 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Princeton, New Jersey Gifted from the above Thence by descent in a Private Family Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original sketch, signed and dated by George Nakashima. $4,000-6,000
79 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A Single Chest of Drawers New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1955
American black walnut Signed with client’s name: “Grimes” H :36 3/4, W: 36, D: 20 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent to Private Collection, New Jersey note
This lot is accompanied by a photocopy of the original order card from George Nakashima Woodworker and letter of authenticity from Mira Nakashima. $3,000-5,000
80 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) A “Grass-Seated” Stool New Hope, Pennsylvania, circa 1961 American black walnut, sea grass. H: 12 1/2, W: 16, D: 18 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania note
This lot is accompanied by an invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker for the re-seating of this stool, dated 1994. $1,000-1,500
George Nakashima’s storied career as a woodworker and guru was punctuated through the decades following the Second World War with periods of great creation, but perhaps none more poignant than his encounter with a superlative and unusually large slab of walnut in 1984. As the story goes, Nakashima had a revelation as he awoke from the anesthesia that accompanied a surgical procedure. From that slab of wood he would create “The most extraordinary piece of furniture ever made…a symbiosis of nature and man in the deepest spiritual sense.” From this idea, he developed the design and concept for an “Altar for Peace,” the first of six such tables he sought to install on every continent. In 1986 his first Altar was indeed completed and brought to St. John the Divine in New York City, where it remains today. The Peace Altar project begun in 1984 ran concurrently, of course, to Nakashima’s domestic furniture commissions. That year, he was approached by a D.C. architect, David A. Holtz, to create a dining table to serve as a truly spectacular piece of art in Mr. Holtz’s Potomac, Maryland home. For the project, Nakashima selected a “very fine slab of Claro walnut,” thick and heavily figured. To support the large, triangular piece of Claro walnut, Nakashima turned to his “Minguren”-type base, named after the association of designer-craftsmen in Japan. The same base design was then also being modified for use in his Peace Altar, a shaped, single support previously found only on Nakashima’s “Minguren” desks. Correspondence with David Holtz and a series of sketches completed through the winter of 1985, reveal modifications in the design of the table top, most notably three prominent rosewood butterfly keys, opened knots, bark pockets and a unique, fitted and removable Claro walnut panel to fit within the natural recess of the tree’s major dividing branches, thus expanding the table’s seating area. This extraordinary table was unlike any Nakashima had completed up to that date, save his Peace Altar completed that same year. As a result, Nakashima named all future tables of the same design “Holtz” for the original table’s owner. George Nakashima Woodworker estimates no more than six such tables have ever been created. The present lot was the first.
81 George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) The Important “Holtz” Table New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1986
Claro walnut, American black walnut, rosewood. H: 29, L: 92, W: 65 in. provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Potomac, Maryland literature
Nature Form & Spirit, Mira Nakashima, pp. 236-242 (for a discussion of the Peace Altar forms) note
This lot is accompanied by photocopies of a series of sketches signed and dated by George Nakashima along with photocopies of typed correspondence between George Nakashima and David Holtz beginning March of 1984. $75,000-100,000
82 Albert Paley (American, b. 1944) “Interlace” Rochester, New York, 2006
Patinated bronze Signed and dated: “ALBERT PALEY 2006” With custom base and plinth. H: 38 1/2, W: 46, D: 10 in. (sculpture only), H: 80, W: 60, D: 20 in. (overall, with base and plinth) provenance
Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico Acquired from the above, 2011 Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania $25,000-35,000
83 Michael Graves (American, 1934-2015) Two Rings circa 1992
Sterling silver Intaglio ring marked: “SS” Ring with vase marked: “Graves 925” size: 3.25 (intaglio ring, left), size: 4.25 (ring with vase, right), combined weight: .31 ozt provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection $600-800
84 Michael Graves (American, 1934-2015) A Cuff Bracelet circa 1992
Sterling silver Marked: “925” Width: 2 1/4 in., Interior circumference: 6 3/4 in., opening: 1 in., weight: 5.0 ozt provenance
Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection $700-900
85 Bruno Romeda (Italian, 1933-2017) A Coffee Table Italy, 1985
Patinated bronze, glass. Frame with impressed signature and date: “ROMEDA 85” H:14, W: 59 1/2, D: 30 1/2 in. provenance
Private Collection, New York, New York $6,000-8,000
86 Ueli Berger (Swiss, 1937-2008), Eleanora Peduzzi-Riva (Italian, b. 1936), and Heinz Ulrich (German, b. 1942) A “DS600 Organic” Sofa De Sede, Switzerland, designed 1972
In twenty-two sections Black leather, felt Signed with applied foil label: “Stendig Made in Switzerland” and paper label: “Stendig Inc.” H: 30, L: 223, D: 40 in. provenance
Private Collection, New York, New York $7,000-9,000
87 Ueli Berger (Swiss, 1937-2008), Eleanora Peduzzi-Riva (Italian, b. 1936), and Heinz Ulrich (German, b. 1942) A “DS600 Organic” Sofa De Sede, Switzerland, designed 1972 In fifteen sections Brown leather Applied manufacturer’s logo: “S” H: 30, L: 135, D: 40 in. provenance
Private Collection, New York, New York $3,000-5,000
88 Gio Ponti (Italian, 1891-1979 )
A Wall-Mounted Bookcase and Sideboard Cabinet Singer & Sons, Italy, circa 1951 Walnut, lacquered wood, brass, glass. Back of sideboard with stenciled markings: “M” and “6” H: 26 3/4, W: 78 3/4, D: 17 5/8 in. (sideboard), H: 48 3/4, W: 78 3/4, D: 13 3/4 in. (bookcase) literature
“Modern by Singer,” Domus: Volume III, 1950-1954, Fiell, p. 239 (for an illustration of the model) $20,000-30,000
89 M. Singer & Sons A Side Table Italy, circa 1950
Walnut Pencil marking below lower shelf: “12521189” H: 24 7/8, W: 31 5/8, D: 28 5/8 in. $2,500-4,500
90 Carlo de Carli (Italian, 1910-1999) A Pair of Side Chairs Singer & Sons, Italy, circa 1950
Walnut, upholstery. Each with applied retailer’s paper labels below seats: “Star Table Co. Bklyn NY Jan 13 1953” H: 34, W: 18, D: 21 in. literature
“Modern by Singer,” Domus: Volume III, 19501954, Fiell, p. 239 (for an illustration of the model) $3,000-5,000
91 Gio Ponti (Italian, 1891-1979) A Coffee Table Singer & Sons, Italy, circa 1950
Walnut, brass, glass The base with stenciled marking: “MADE IN ITALY” The glass with acid-etched manufacturer’s mark: “RAGAZZI TEMPERATO” H: 14 1/2, Dia: 39 3/8 in. $10,000-15,000
D IREC TORY
O FFICERS
D EPART M E NTS
S PEC I A L I S T DE PA RT M E NTS
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REPRESENTAT IV ES
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British & European Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction May 21, 2020 Tessa Laney | 215.940.9826 tlaney@freemansauction.com
An Egyptian bronze figure of a seated cat Late Period, circa 664-332 B.C.E. $30,000-50,000
Modern & Contemporary Art Auction May 14, 2020 Dunham Townend | 267.414.1221 dtownend@freemansauction.com
Pietro Consagra (1920-2005) Sogno di eremita sand-casted and welded bronze on wooden base sculpture: 28 7/8 x 26 13/16 x 1 1/4 in. $40,000-60,000
T E RM S & CO NDITIO NS All property offered and sold (“property”) through Samuel T. Freeman & Co, (“Freeman’s”) shall be offered and sold on the terms and conditions set forth below which constitutes the complete statement of the terms and conditions on which all property is offered for sale. By bidding at the auction, whether present in person or by agent, by written bid, telephone, internet or other means, the buyer agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions.
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all Property will be offered by Freeman’s as agent for the Consignor. 2. Freeman’s reserves the right to vary the terms of sale and any such variance shall become part of these Conditions of Sale. 3. Buyer acknowledges that it had the right to make a full inspection of all Property prior to sale to determine the condition, size, repair or restoration of any Property. Therefore, all property is sold “AS-IS”. Freeman’s is acting solely as an auction broker, and unless otherwise stated, does not own the Property offered for sale and has made no independent investigation of the Property. Freeman’s makes no warranty of title, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, or any other warranty or representation regarding the description, genuineness, attribution, provenance or condition to the Property of any kind or nature with respect to the Property. 4. Freeman’s in its sole and exclusive discretion, reserves the right to withdraw any property, at any time, before the fall of the hammer. 5. Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer at the time of sale, all bids are per lot as numbered in the printed catalogue. Freeman’s reserves the right to determine any and all matters regarding the order, precedence or appropriate increment of bids or the constitution of lots. 6. The highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer shall be the buyer. The auctioneer has the right to reject any bid, to advance the bidding at his absolute discretion and in the event of any dispute between bidders, the auctioneer shall have the sole and final discretion either to determine the successful bidder or to re- offer and resell the article in dispute. If any dispute arises after sale, the Freeman’s sale record shall be conclusive in all respects. 7. If the auctioneer determines that any opening or later bid or any advance bid is not commensurate with the value of the Property offered, he may reject the same and withdraw the Property from sale. 8. Upon the fall of the hammer, title to any offered lot or article will immediately pass to the highest bidder as determined in the exclusive discretion of the auctioneer, subject to compliance by the buyer with these Conditions of Sale. Buyer thereupon assumes full risk and responsibility of the property sold, agrees to sign any requested confirmation of purchase, and agrees to pay the full price, plus Buyer’s Premium, therefore or such part, upon such terms as Freeman’s may require. 9. No lot may be removed from Freeman’s premises until the buyer has paid in full the purchase price therefor including Buyer’s Premium or has satisfied such terms that Freeman’s, in its sole discretion, shall require. Subject to the foregoing, all Property shall be paid for and removed by the buyer at his/her expense within ten (10) days of sale and, if not so removed, may be sold by Freeman’s, or sent by Freeman’s to a third-party storage facility, at the sole risk and charge of the buyer(s), and Freeman’s may prohibit the buyer from participating, directly or indirectly, as a bidder or buyer in any future sale or sales. In addition to other remedies available to Freeman’s by law, Freeman’s reserves the right to impose a late charge of 1.5% per month of the total purchase price on any balance remaining ten (10) days after the day of sale. If Property is not removed by the buyer within ten (10) days, a handling charge of 2% of the total purchase price per month from the tenth day after the sale until removal by the buyer shall be payable to Freeman’s by the buyer. Freeman’s will not be responsible for any loss, damage, theft, or otherwise responsible for any goods left in Freeman’s possession after ten (10) days. If the foregoing conditions or any applicable provisions of law are not complied with, in addition to other remedies available to Freeman’s and the Consignor (including without limitation the right to hold the buyer(s) liable for the bid price) Freeman’s, at its option, may either cancel the sale, retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by the buyer(s), or resell the property. In such event, the buyer(s) shall remain liable for any deficiency in the original purchase price and will also be responsible for all costs, including warehousing, the
expense of the ultimate sale, and Freeman’s commission at its regular rates together with all related and incidental charges, including legal fees. Payment is a precondition to removal. Payment shall be by cash, certified check or similar bank draft, or any other method approved by Freeman’s. Checks will not be deemed to constitute payment until cleared. Any exceptions must be made upon Freeman’s written approval of credit prior to sale. In addition, a defaulting buyer will be deemed to have granted and assigned to Freeman’s, a continuing security interest of first priority in any property or money of, or owing to such buyer in Freeman’s possession, and Freeman’s may retain and apply such property or money as collateral security for the obligations due to Freeman’s. Freeman’s shall have all of the rights accorded a secured party under the Pennsylvania Uniform Commercial Code. 10. Unless the sale is advertised and announced as “without reserve”, each lot is offered subject to a reserve and Freeman’s may implement such reserves by bidding through its representatives on behalf of the Consignors. In certain instances, the Consignor may pay less than the standard commission rate where Freeman’s or its representative is a successful bidder on behalf of the Consignor. Where the Consignor is indebted to Freeman’s, Freeman’s may have an interest in the offered lots and the proceeds therefrom, other than the broker’s Commissions, and all sales are subject to any such interest. 11. No “buy” bids shall be accepted at any time for any purpose. 12. Any pre-sale bids must be submitted in writing to Freeman’s prior to commencement of the offer of the first lot of any sale. Freeman’s copy of any such bid shall conclusively be deemed to be the sole evidence of same, and while Freeman’s accepts these bids for the convenience of bidders not present at the auction, Freeman’s shall not be responsible for the failure to execute, or, to execute properly, any pre-sale bid. 13. A Buyer’s Premium will be added to the successful bid price and is payable by the buyer as part of the total purchase price. The Buyer’s Premium shall be: 25% on the first $300,000 of the hammer price of each lot, 20% on the portion from $300,001 through $3,000,000, and 12% thereafter. 14. Unless exempted by law from the payment thereof, the buyer will be required to pay any and all federal excise tax and any state and/or local sales taxes, including where deliveries are to be made outside the state where a sale is conducted, which may be subject to a corresponding or compensating tax in another state. 15. Freeman’s may, as a service to buyer, arrange to have purchased property posted and shipped at the buyer’s expense. Freeman’s is not responsible for any acts or omissions in packing or shipping of purchased lots whether or not such carrier is recommended by Freeman’s. Packing and handling of purchased lots is at the responsibility of the buyer and is at the entire risk of the buyer. 16. In no event shall any liability of Freeman’s to the buyer exceed the purchase price actually paid. 17. No claimed modification or amendment of this Agreement on the part of any party shall be deemed extant, enforceable or provable unless it is in writing that has been signed by the parties to this Agreement. No course of dealing and no delay or omission on the part of Freeman’s in exercising any right under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver of such right or any other right and waiver on any one or more occasions shall not be construed as a bar to or waiver of any right or remedy of Freeman’s on any future occasion. 18. These Conditions of Sale and the buyer’s, the Consignor’s and Freeman’s rights under these Conditions of Sale shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Consignor and Buyer agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
PURCHASE REMOVAL, SHIPPING & OFF-SITE STORAGE INFORMATION
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR BUYERS
To ensure the safety of your property Freeman’s requests removal within 10 business days of the sale date. Collection hours are Monday–Friday, 9:30am–4:30pm. For larger items, please email Megan Latona at mlatona@freemansauction.com to schedule a loading dock appointment. For purchase release to persons not listed on your contract or invoice, 3rd party authorization is required. Please mail or fax, 215.599.2240, a signed letter stating receipt/ item(s) or sale/lot(s) and name of third party collecting property.
All potential buyers must register for the sale prior to placing a bid. Registration information may be submitted in person at our reception desk, by fax or through our website at www.freemansauction.com. We will require proof of identification and residence and may require a credit card and/or a bank reference. By registering for the sale, the buyer acknowledges that he or she has read, understood and accepted Freeman’s Terms and Conditions of Sale.
Freeman’s does not handle packing or shipping. The shippers listed have worked with Freeman’s clients in the past and will be happy to provide you with quotes for the packing and shipping of your property. Annie Hauls Michael Topley Lambertville, NJ 08530 609.577.5133 annie@anniehauls.com *East Coast deliveries only
Crozier Fine Arts ‡ Catherine Erickson New York, NY 10011 212.741.2024 Fax: 212.741.5513 shipping@crozierarts.com
Art In Transit Nick Clarke 2052 Coral Street Philadelphia, PA 19125 540.550.7080 nclarke@artintransit.net
Mr. C’s Charles Cohen 1615 North 10th Street Philadelphia, PA 19122 267.977.9567 mrcees61@gmail.com
Atelier Art Services ‡ Katie Campbell 1330 North 30th Street Philadelphia, PA 19144 215.842.3500 Fax: 215.235.0421 estimates@atelierfas.com
Malca Amit ‡ Christine Duke 153-66 Rockaway Blvd New York, NY 11434 718.525.6100 Fax: 718.425.3703 maa.nyc@malca-amit.com
Aiston Fine Art Service ‡ Mark Aiston P.O. Box 3434 Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163 212.715.0629 Fax: 718.361.8569 info@aistonart.com
A. Mastrocco Jr. Moving & Storage Roseanne Gebler 1060 Louis Drive Warminster, PA 18991 215.491.0346 Fax: 215.444.9327 mastroccomovers@snip.net
Broad Street Movers Jesse Jones 997 North Marshall St Philadelphia, PA 19123 215.275.1924 info@broadstreetmovers.com
The Packaging Store ‡ Alex Long 1513 Gehman Road Harleysville, PA 19438 215.361.6940 Fax: 215.361.6941 hello@packandshipnow.com
Cadogan Tate Fine Art ‡ Stacey Ferguson Cadogan House 41-20 39th Street Sunnyside, NY 11104 718.706.7999 Fax: 718.707.2847 s.ferguson@cadogantate.com Craters & Freighters of Philadelphia ‡ Laura Rutherford, Gisele Minnich, Bob Erwin 1461 N. Gravel Pike Perkiomenville, PA 18074 215.234.8090 philly@cratersandfreighters.com
U.S. Art ‡ Jessica Pierce 37-11 48th Avenue Long Island City, NY 11101 800.472.5784 Fax:718.472.5785 jpierce@usart.com Furniture & Large Items For larger pieces where delivery time is not the primary concern, we suggest getting your items freighted: plyconvanlines.com freightquote.com ‡ Shippers that can fulfill international deliveries
Registration
Buyer’s Premium A Buyer’s Premium will be added to the successful bid price and is payable by the buyer as part of the total purchase price. The Buyer’s Premium shall be: 25% on the first $300,000 of the hammer price of each lot, 20% on the portion from $300,001 through $3,000,000, and 12% thereafter. Sales Tax All items in the catalogue are subject to the 8% Pennsylvania and Philadelphia sales tax. Dealers purchasing for resale must register their tax numbers on current PA forms. Forms should be submitted to our Client Services office. Catalogue Descriptions All item descriptions, dimensions and estimates are provided for guidance only. It is the buyer’s responsibility to inspect all lots prior to bidding to ensure that the condition is to their satisfaction. If potential buyers are unable to inspect lots in person, our specialists will be happy to prepare detailed Condition Reports on individual lots as quickly as possible. These are for guidance only, and all lots will be sold “as is” as per our Terms and Conditions of Sale. Bidding At the sale Registered bidders will be assigned a bidder number and given a paddle for use at the sale. Once the first bid has been placed, the auctioneer asks for higher bids in increments determined by the auctioneer. To place your bid, simply raise your paddle until the auctioneer acknowledges you. The auctioneer will not mistake a random gesture for a bid. By phone A limited number of telephone lines are available for bidding by phone through a Freeman’s representative. Phone lines must be reserved in advance. Requests must be submitted no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled start of the sale. In writing Bid forms are available in the sale room and at the back of the catalogue. These should be submitted in person, by mail or by fax no later than one hour prior to the scheduled start of the sale. The auctioneer will bid on your behalf up to the limit. On the internet A fully-illustrated catalogue is available on-line at freemansauction.com. Registered bidders may leave absentee bids through the website and will receive email confirmation of their bid. Freeman’s is not responsible for errors or failure to execute bids. Payment Payment is due within ten (10) working days of the sale. Lots purchased will not be released until we have received full payment. Payment may be made in cash, by check, money order, or debit card. Payments by check must clear the bank before goods will be released. Removal of Purchases Deliveries will not be made during the time of the sale unless otherwise indicated by the auctioneer. All items must be paid for and removed within ten (10) working days of the sale. Purchases not so removed may be turned over to a licensed warehouse at the expense and risk of the purchaser. Shipping and Packing Responsibility for packing, shipping and insurance shall be exclusively that of the purchaser. Upon request, Freeman’s will provide the purchaser with names of professional packers and shippers known to us. Endangered Species Lots marked * are manufactured in whole or in part of restricted materials that may include tortoiseshell, ivory, mother-of-pearl, coral, rhinoceros horn, whalebone or marine ivory. Such materials may require specific licenses, certificates, or CITES documentation for import, export, moving between states in the U.S., or resale. Obtaining these documents may require scientific, laboratory or other expert analysis, in order to establish which species or genus the material came from. Freeman’s is unable to provide this information, and the obligation is on the purchaser of a lot containing any of these materials to ensure that they are able to obtain all the necessary or required documents should they need to, prior to bidding on the lot. If proper documentation or licenses etc. cannot be obtained for a purchased lot, the purchaser will still be required to make an on time payment for the lot as per our standard terms and conditions. Freeman’s cataloguing of the lots marked with this symbol * represents the best of our opinion, and the absence of this symbol from any lot description does not form a warranty that the lot will be free from any licensing or certification restrictions.
2400 Market St
Philadelphia PA
freemansauction.com