This December, Sotheby's will present a landmark auction featuring the world-class Design collection from the famed American businessman and renowned collector Ronald O. Perelman. This wide-ranging and comprehensive assemblage represents one of the most significant collections of French Design to ever appear at auction. Featuring superlative examples of French Art Deco and modernist Design from the early 1920s through the 1940s, this curated body of work from the Perelman Collection tells the story of a quintessential period shaped by experimentation, innovation and a quest for modernity, highlighting the connections and intersecting trajectories uniting the key artists and patrons that shaped it. These pieces, brought together in this exceptional auction event, represent the highest standard of artistry, craftsmanship and provenance.
Meticulously assembled by their owner since the 1980s, this world-class collection features masterworks of Design not seen on the market in decades – including works by Eileen Gray, Pierre Legrain, Alberto and Diego Giacometti, Eugène Printz, Jean Dunand, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Paul Dupré-Lafon, Jean-Michel Frank and Pierre Chareau, among others. Among the sale’s many highlights is an exceptional range of rare designs by Eileen Gray, including an important lacquered table from the artist’s personal residence, unique works by Pierre Legrain from the Jacques Doucet and Jeanne Tachard commissions, two magnificent sculptural sideboards by Eugène Printz, an extraordinary vanity table and mirror by Armand-Albert Rateau, important furniture and lighting by Alberto and Diego Giacometti, as well as comprehensive surveys of masterworks by Jean Dunand, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Paul Dupré-Lafon.
Highlights from The Perelman Collection will be on view at Sotheby’s York Avenue during our marquee sale exhibitions of Modern and Contemporary Art in New York from 4–17 November ahead of Design Week in December.
