So the appearance at Sotheby’s next month of getting on for 20 pieces designed especially by Breuer for a rare example of British modernism is something of an occasion.
Marcel Breuer arrived in Britain in the early 1930s after political pressures brought about the closure of the Bauhaus and joined forces with like-minded British modernist designers. In 1936 Dorothea Ventris commissioned him to produce pieces to furnish her apartment at High Point, Highgate, the famous modernist high rise designed by Lubetkin. Dorothea’s son Michael, who lived with her there, carried on the Modernist tradition when he moved to a 19 North End, Hampstead, his own house that he designed to incorporate the Breuer pieces that he inherited.
After Michael Ventris’ tragically early death in 1956, the house and contents were bought by a family friend, John Renton. Having decided to move to a new home Mr Renton has sold North End through Sotheby’s Realty and has decided to sell the Ventris commission (18 pieces by Breuer, three by Alvar Aalto and one unattributed design made by Isokon) in Sotheby’s July 3 decorative arts sale in London.
The Breuer designs include pieces such as corner cupboards and wall units made to fit specific spaces, plus one-off prototypes like the pair of armchairs shown in our illustration that incorporate looped armrests to hold drinks or a book and are estimated at £30,000-40,000 each.
Also illustrated is another highlight of the collection, a sideboard in sycamore veneered ply incorporating a wireless and a gramophone with a drop front cabinet for record storage – just right for a vintage collection of 78s – estimated at £15,000-20,000.
There are also wall shelves and units, benches and smaller cabinets/cupboards with more modest estimates in the £800-5000 range.
Riding the Marcel wave…
Marcel Breuer is one of the major names in furniture associated with the Bauhaus design school. When examples of his distinctive take on modernist furniture design come up for auction they regularly make substantial sums, but it is rare for an entire collection to find its way under the hammer especially a collection of specially commissioned pieces from a named provenance.
