Esoteric Survey

JF Chen Collection at 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 th

Allan Gould Genaro Álvarez Arthur Umanoff Lamp John Follis for Architectural Pottery Clay Martz lamp Wayne Chezem

Neutra VDL studio and house .  Originally built in 1932 and reconstructed after a fire in 1963, the h ouse was designed for Neutra and his family. It was named the VDL Research House because it financed with a no interest loan from Cees H. Van der Leeuw, a Dutch industrialist. On Saturday evening,  Bonhams presented Le Corbusier's Baigneuse, barque et coquillage (Painted between 1934 - 1947). Head of Modern & Impressionist Art, India Phillips spoke about the painting. It will be up for sale in March at the  Impressionist & Modern Art auction in London.  Tackett! As you can see in this 1966 photo with Richard Neutra, this section of the roof was once a "cooling roof". If you look close, you can see the Tackett pot back there.  Photo: Julius Shulman Neutra stairs are some of the best. Le Corbusier through the window. Cell phones aren't the best for night photos. 

 Demolition of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Lockridge Medical Clinic building in Whitefish, Montana. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1958 ands completed after his passing. It was listed on the  National Register of Historic Places. Photo: Matt Baldwin It's the first usable Wright-designed building to be demolished in over 40 years. It was initially designed as a medical clinic, then it became First State Bank, and more recently it was an attorney's office. Source: Wikimedia Mick Ruis, a developer, agreed to sell the 5,000-square-foot building for $1.7 million, $100,000 more than what he bought it for. He made this offer after preservationists heard of the demolition plans.  Ruis ultimately rejected the offer from an LLC set up by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. This was d espite receiving his asking price of $1.7 million and a deposit.  He kept changing his terms and demanded a deposit that was 50% higher, and non-refundable. He al

String Chair by Robert J Ellenberger for CALFAB Milo Baughman for Glenn of California Have I ever mentioned that I like iron? Italian ceramic

Medical office in Tucson by Scholer Sakellar and Fuller (1954) Wild, right?

Martin Perfit for Rene Brancusi table,  Earthgender pot and magazine holder by  Tony Paul for Woodlin-Hall Jack Boyd Good California paper stack There's something important hiding back there. John Follis file Eames Very serious stuff

I stayed at a geodesic dome home in Santa Fe. The architect built the dome in 1979 for his parents. It is constructed of two thin layers of concrete over a steel frame.  The passive solar design with what seems like incredible insulation made for a toasty stay. That's coming from a thin-skinned San Diegan who is not used to 30 degree temperatures.  Dome door