JF Chen Collection / Christie's


Joel was born in Shanghai, grew up in colonial Hong Kong, went to school in Great Britain and then moved to Los Angeles for college. It was in Los Angeles where he stumbled into the antique business. Here we are 40 years later and he is at the top of the trade. He currently has three galleries filled to the gills will the best design around. He's actually a really nice guy too.

Joel has a lot of chairs. I was at his shop after Christie's left with their 300 lots. They didn't even make a dent!


Dan Johnson

This is a very uncommon version of the cobra lamp by Greta Grossman. It was produced by Middletown Manufacturing Co. in New York, versus the usual west coast Ralph O. Smith. The brushed brass might be something they could only handle in the blingy east coast.

Lester Geis T-5-G Table Lamp for Heifetz

Joel has nice stuff at home too, like his second Geis lamp.

The online sale is February 7-14 and the live auction is February 13. The lots will be on view at Christie’s New York. It is broken into sections: Chairs, Lighting, Tables, Fine Art, and Decorative Objects.

Learn more and watch a video, here