OAK PARK, IL.- On Thursday, August 26, Toomey & Co. Auctioneers will conduct its third Modern Design + Post-War & Contemporary Art sale of 2021, with well over 400 lots of art and design by leading figures from the mid-20th century to the present. The auction includes a wide range of prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture, ceramics, art glass, furniture, lighting, and more. Items up for bid are by individuals who have made a significant impact on their chosen fields both within America and abroad. Logistical details for the sale and bidding instructions are provided below the highlights.

Highlights of Modern Design + Post-War & Contemporary Art on August 26

Prints & Drawings

Among the important prints to be offered on August 12, the auction will feature French-American conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp’s Coeurs Volant (Fluttering Hearts), 1961 (estimate $6,000-8,000). The sale also has four conceptual works from Sol LeWitt, including two four-color drawings (higher $2,000-3,000). In American Pop art, two works will be available by Jim Dine, Multi-Colored Robe, 1977 and A Girl and Her Dog, 1971 (higher $4,000-6,000), along with five 3D mixed media compositions by James Rizzi (each $1,000-2,000) and two mask lithographs by Chicago’s Ed Paschke (each $800-1,200). Fine female renderings consist of two Richard Diebenkorn lithographs (higher $2,500-3,500) and a ballet-themed drawing by Julia Thecla ($1,500-2,500). Other notable artists with works on paper in the sale are Henri Matisse, Roy Lichtenstein, and LeRoy Neiman.




Paintings & Sculpture

With football season approaching, Dong Moy Chu Kingman’s surrealist cityscape watercolor, Pigskin Game, circa 1950, presents a fitting tableau ($4,000-6,000). Mid-century abstract oil paintings include an earth-toned work by Tetsuo Ochikubo and Medard Klein’s richly hued geometric Arrangement #22, 1940 (higher $3,000-5,000). Contemporary Chilean artist Francisca Sutil’s Mute, 2009 is a soothing, patterned watercolor ($1,000-2,000). Two sonambient, sounding sculptures with beryllium copper-rods by Val Bertoia will be featured (higher $5,000-7,000). Mexican artist Yvonne Domenge has a cape-form bronze in the auction that comes together with its plaster maquette ($3,000-5,000) and Salvador Dalí’s parcel-glazed bisque porcelain Ashtray for Air India will also be offered ($400-600).

Modern European Design

From Denmark, Ib Kofod-Larsen’s pair of rosewood Elizabeth lounge chairs with ottoman ($30,000-50,000) and teak credenza ($3,000-5,000) are very impressive examples. Sweden’s Bruno Matthson has an attractive beechwood Berlin daybed on offer ($3,000-5,000). Three rare lots from Italy’s Gaetano Pesce make a striking impression: a pair of blue silicone Senza Fine lounge chairs ($15,000-20,000); a white silicone Moss table lamp ($2,500-3,500); and a resin-and-steel Chiat Day advertising office desk ($4,000-6,000). Ettore Sottsass has designs for Knoll available, namely, a pair of Westside lounge chairs with ottoman and a pair of Eastside lounge chairs (higher $2,500-3,500). Multiple Gio Ponti lots are led by a pair of walnut stools ($5,000-7,000). Italian marble side tables include examples from Ignazio Gardella and Angelo Mangiarotti (highest $6,000-8,000). Murano art glass features works by Ercole Barovier, Paolo Venini, and Fulvio Bianconi (highest $3,000-5,000). French lighting in the auction includes a pair of Cachan wall sconces attributed to Serge Mouille and French-Canadian Roger Rougier’s Tube table lamp made from PVC pipe seen in films like Star Trek, Scarface, and The Hunger Games (each $4,000-6,000).

Modern American Design

Four lots from Frank Lloyd Wright will be available on August 12, including two Usonian tables (higher $4,000-6,000). Mira Nakashima’s walnut and rosewood occasional table is another fine woodworking example ($2,000-3,000). Vintage patio furniture by Walter Lamb for Brown Jordan will be auctioned as well as a dining set for Pacific Iron Products Co. (highest $5,000-7,000). Sculptor Isamu Noguchi’s Horn floor lamp will likely receive strong interest ($2,000-3,000). Former Herman Miller director Gilbert Rohde has a set of eight dining chairs in the sale and two iconic 670 / 671 lounge chairs and ottomans by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller will also be available (highest $2,500-3,500). From Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe, the auction features two Barcelona chairs for Knoll with matching ottomans (each $2,500-3,500). Finally, studio ceramics will include works by Otto Natzler, Rose and Erni Cabat, Beatrice Wood, and others (highest $4,000-6,000).