Esoteric Survey

In 1939, Isamu Noguchi designed a glass-top rosewood table for Conger Goodyear, then president of the Museum of Modern Art.  “Even the first table I made for Conger Goodyear was not exactly utilitarian. I thought of it as sculpture that was a table. After all, you can say that the earth is a table. We feast upon it. You can also say that it is utilitarian, this earth.” In 1933, Noguchi also did a bust of Conger, that can be seen here. Source:  Ezra Stoller photo, Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum via Phillips
Conger Goodyear House in Old Westbury NY, Architect: Edward Durell Stone  Photo: © Ezra Stoller / Esto via Phillips
Exterior of the Goodyear house Source: Daniella on Design
Noguchi at the Goodyear house Source:  Ezra Stoller photo, Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum via Phillips

Isamu Noguchi, 3 ideas for "Table" Source: Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum via Phillips
So, here is your chance to own the very first Noguchi coffee table. Source: Phillips
Great…

A Rudolph M. Schindler painted douglas fir and frosted glass floor lamp from the Wolfe House, which was demolished in 2002. 
It's part of the Bonhams: 20th Century Decorative Arts and Designauction.


Wolfe House
Source: Schindler by David Gebhard


Ethel Wolfe in her living room Source: The Furniture of R.M. Schindler by Berns/Gebhard
Charles Wolfe
Source: The Furniture of R.M. Schindler by Berns/Gebhard

The demise of the Wolfe house was a long and sad saga. David Leclerc recounts his experience with the house from 1996 to 2001, here.. The house was condemned by that time and was being used by squatters and such. The custom Schindler furniture was piled up in front of the house.  According to the description in the Bonhams catalog, the lamp was acquired from the Wolfe House (basically a dumpster dive).Ultimately, someone bought the house and scraped the land to built a piece of junk that can be seen here. Photo: LA Forum




The person who consigned all the Schindler lots lived in the Walker Hous…

Greta Grossman, 1953
The Architect, a sale at Phillips, created by Lee Mindel, FAIA
Franco Albini, c. 1940
Junzo Sakakura, 1956
The Japanese section of the 1960 Triennale di Milano, 1960
Jean Prouvé, 1944
 In situ, 1944
Carlo Mollino, 1949
 Mollino light in situ, 1949
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, 1923/1957

The sale is in London on April 29.   It includes a ridiculous amount of great design by the likes of Juhl, Wright, Aalto, Fuller, Ando, Niemeyer...  See it all here.
All images via Phillips

The Dorothy Weiss collection is part of the Bonhams 20th Century sale, which will be happening tomorrow.
Dorothy Weiss (on the left) was a mover and shaker in the art world, as evident in this picture where she's hanging out with Peter Voulkos. Source: Bonhams
Along with the amazing Voulkos pieces seen in the top photo, her collection included pieces by Jun Kaneko, Ruth Duckworth,  Rudy Autio, Viola Frey, the Natzlers, and Philip Cornelius (seen here). 
Ruth Duckworth
Dorothy had some amazing stuff, but she didn't have this one.  This is one of the two Jack Rogers Hopkins chairs in the auction. The piece on the wall is by Robert Arneson.  Jack Rogers Hopkins from the back.
Jack Rogers Hopkins #2

Cork top Sam Maloof table.
Eames and Nelson
A pair of Evelyn Ackerman mosaics among more Eames and Nelson.
That's Jerry Ackerman giving his seal of approval. He identified them as being later in production (meaning late 50s/early 60s) due to the construction of the frame. That guy remembers …