Bonhams & Butterfields, California’s oldest and largest auctioneer, is pleased to announce the September 24, 2009 cocktail reception “An Evening with John Nyquist.” Guests will have an opportunity to pose questions to two of the firm’s 20th Century Decorative Arts Specialists: Angela Past and Jason Stein, as well as mingle with noted California Studio Craftsman John Nyquist. Works from the September auction including items from Nyquist’s personal collection will be on view throughout the evening’s festivities.
“An Evening with John Nyquist” will be held at the company’s Sunset Boulevard gallery in Los Angeles. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested as space is limited and the firm anticipates a strong interest among the Southern California design community. For event inquiries, please contact Katie Nartonis at (323) 436-5445.
The cocktail reception will be held in conjunction with the 20th Century Decorative Arts auction on September 29, 2009. The Los Angeles sale will feature a diverse group of Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern, with a focus on Contemporary Studio artists and early California design. Highlights will include an important collection of furnishings from the personal collection of California Studio Craftsman, John Nyquist. (Please see separate press release)
Bonhams is pleased to celebrate the esteemed career of Nyquist in his 50th year as a designer by offering six pieces from his Long Beach, California home that date back half a century. All items of offer bear the designer’s branded signature, a hieroglyphic chair created by a “J” stacked on top of a “N”. As a designer, Nyquist favors exotic materials and richly colored wool fabrics for each of his handcrafted pieces creating a human connection between the materials and the user which does not typically occur in mass produced furnishings.
Highlights to be offered from the private collection of the California craftsman John Nyquist include two items that were originally exhibited in the California Design Ten exhibition of 1968. They are an Indian rosewood ottoman (est. $2,500-3,500) and a walnut magazine rack (est. $2,000-3,000). The now legendary California Design shows were a series of 13 exhibitions held at the Pasadena Art Museum (now Norton Simon) between the years of 1954 and 1976 that showcased the best of California Design. In addition, the group includes two prototypes, an ebonized walnut rocking chair with Larsen fabric from 2002 (est. $6,000-9,000) and a walnut armchair with black leather dated 2005 (est. $3,500-4,500). Also included is a walnut ladder back rocking chair with Larsen fabric (est. $5,000-8,000); and a lovely teak, Brazilian rosewood and ivory jewelry box (est. $3,000-5,000).
Property from The Private Collection of John Nyquist as well as other works from the 20th Century Decorative Arts sale will be on display following the cocktail reception from September 25-27. The illustrated catalogue will be available online for review and purchase at www.bonhams.com/us in the weeks preceding the auction.
http://www.bonhams.com/us20cdecorativeart
