3.05.2011

modern is what mark mcdonald says it is....

I headed uptown to Sotheby's
today to preview my good friend
Mark McDonald's single owner sale.
Mark is truly a living legend in
in the field of 20th century decorative arts.
He and his partners at FIFTY/50 
were the first dealers to realize the importance of the 
post-war modernist movement.
He's the reason you are sitting on your Evans LCW.
(He's also the reason you had to pay so much for it....)
Seriously, he is The Man, and this sale is a beautiful expression
of all his years of hard work and connoisseurship.
Ok,
enough of the ass kissing bullshit!
Let's look at some junk!

Poster of the catalog in elevator.

James Zemaitis and his team at Sotheby's
did a fantastic job with the layout.

 I'm not going to tell you what everything is,
just go HERE
and start exploring.
The catalog has lots of cool stories from the 
"good olde days" too,
make sure to click on the
"catalogue notes and provenance"
button when you see it, that's where the stories are....
Or order the CATALOG,
it's beautiful, and sure to be a collectors item....

No, you are not dreaming, this is real....
This is the piece I would most want to take home.

This Gio Ponti conference table is 
SICK!

There go Mark and James....
Both are always on the hunt,
even when the prey is already in captivity!

The light was so beautiful at times today in the showroom.

Love this.
Mark looks good in front of it too!
Nice picture Dwayne!

Lots a legs....

Mark holding court next to an amazing
"Sombrero" Arredoluce lamp.

Nanna Ditzel "Pit Group"

Mao, Doris and Ditzel

This frigging Greta Jalk sofa/daybed is SO KILLER!
The back opens up for blanket and pillow storage.
It is going to fly....

I sold Mark the huge Leza McVay in the back.
Or did we consign it to auction and he bought it there?
Anyway, Mark ended up with it, as he did with most great pieces
of Leza over the years.

This is going to do well.

Love me some Ponti.
I had this chair once, kinda wish I had kept it.

This is probably the rarest piece in the show.
I watched Mark buy it.
I knew it had to be bought,
even though at the time it was 
really, really expensive.
Too bad I was broke, 
but it went to a good home.

Lots-o-Eames
Mark and his good friend Ray Eames in 1987.
You know Ray, the other Eames brother....

Some Cali-Modern with some Goff power thrown in.

Scandi-Town

When's the last time you saw one of these?
Probably never....

It's not all from the 50s.
Mark has a great eye for contemporary designers.
I think he bought this new.

Killer screen by Ali Tayer.
Ali designed the gate at Mark's Gansevoort Gallery
in the Meatpacking District
back in the day.
I think the gate is still there....
This is it, amazing....

If you are in NYC,
you MUST check out the sale,
previews continue thru Wednesday,
the sale is on Thursday, March 11th at 2pm.
Be there or be square....

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2 comments:

  1. totally mind-blowing. really. mark is awesome.

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  2. It shall be interesting to see the results. A lot of the stuff is no longer "hip". But, it's all about condition and rarity, so there may be some surprises. I know I kept my best shit and it's in storage till next time....

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