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Mark Beard “Boxer After the Fight,” sold for $17,000 to a US private collector and was the top lot in the sale. The large oil on canvas painting did not bear a signature and was estimated at just $500/800.
Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Roland NY
GLEN COVE, N.Y. — At $510,000, Roland NY’s April 6 auction was the firm’s highest grossing sale of the year.
Presented was the personal collection of French architect/designer Thierry Despont, offering more than 200 lots of rare pieces from Despont’s collection, including artwork, furniture, rare books and sculptures.
Despont passed away at age 75 in August 2023 and his 10,000-square-foot Tribeca townhouse recently sold for $25 million. In the home were clubby Edwardian-style paneled rooms, iconic modern furniture, Constructivist art and architectural renderings and many old prints, along with Nineteenth and Twentieth Century drawings, as well as Despont’s own artwork.
Despont derived his renown when he worked on the 1986 renovation of the Statue of Liberty’s torch, crown and stairways, converted the Battery Maritime Building, did the interior design of 220 Central Park South and restored the historical Woolworth Building. He also renovated a $75 million mansion on London’s Kensington Palace Gardens, an East Hampton mansion previously owned by Calvin Klein and houses for Bill Gates, Conrad Black, Ralph Lauren and Michael Douglas. Despont became a Knight of the French Legion of Honor, a Knight of the Arts and Letters and a member of the Interior Design Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was entrusted with the interior renovation of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, as well as some of London’s top hotels, such as Claridge’s and the Dorchester, and Paris’ Crillon, Peninsula and Ritz Hotels.
Among a selection of Despont-designed furniture that performed well was this pair of Loro Piana upholstered Art Deco-style club chairs. They had an estimate of $400/600 but sold for $16,250.
Items in the April 6 auction mostly rose above their estimates, with Modern art and midcentury furniture featuring prominently in the winner’s circle. With a sell-through rate of 84 percent, the sale tallied just over 7,000 bidders registered between two online platforms and direct with Roland. A total of 93 percent of the bidders were from the United States on LiveAuctioneers, while Invaluable bidders were 82 percent from the United States.
Mark Beard’s heroically portrayed “Boxer After the Fight,” sold for $17,000 becoming the top lot in the sale, purchased by a private US collector. Beard (American, b 1950), also known as Bruce Sargeant, created artworks for Abercrombie & Fitch stores. The large oil on canvas painting did not bear a signature and was estimated at just $500/800.
“Los Angeles Freeway,” a large modern contemporary charcoal, crayon and watercolor on paper drawing by Joseph Stashkevetch (American, b 1958) depicting cars on an L.A. freeway, circa 1997, sold for $13,750.
A Tom Lovell (American, 1909-1997) oil on canvas scene of a barroom brawl, titled “Bar Fight,” earned $8,000 for the WPA-style artist, and an A.M. Wright framed WPA-style oil painting of an industrial scene with trains, signed lower right, sold for $5,937.
“Los Angeles Freeway,” a large modern contemporary charcoal, crayon and watercolor on paper drawing by Joseph Stashkevetch (American, b 1958), depicted cars on an L.A. freeway, circa 1997, sold for $13,750.
Beyond fine art, a selection of Despont-designed furniture performed well. A pair of Loro Piana upholstered Art Deco-style club chairs had an estimate of $400/600 but sold for $16,250. A pair of Despont Art Deco-style torchiere floor lamps with flared metal shades raised on ebonized wood columns with tripod bases realized $6,250, and a Loro Piana mohair upholstered red sofa designed by Despont was bid to $5,000. Also, a Despont Modern triangular-form side table in mahogany brought $4,062.
Midcentury modern highlights included a Bauhaus-style chrome lounge chair from the late Twentieth Century and after a model by Louis Sognot (French, 1892-1970). It featured chenille upholstered cushions and went out at $5,937. A modern four-piece Art Deco-style vanity suite in sycamore wood comprised a pair of nightstands, a vanity console table and a vanity stool. It found a buyer at $4,375. Attributed to Gio Ponti, a long lift top console table of polished walnut with angular tapered legs and glass cap ends took $5,000.
Additional highlights included an Art Deco-style brushed metal pendant fixture selling for $4,375 and a Midcentury Modern club armchair of classic design with green textured vinyl upholstery, also selling for $4,375.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For more information, www.rolandantiques.com or 212-260-2000.
