Tour the Glass House: An Icon of Mid-Century Modern Design

The Glass House designed by Philip Johnson, New Canaan, Connecticut

“I have very expensive wallpaper,” Philip Johnson said of The Glass House, an iconic mid-century modern building he designed in New Canaan, Connecticut. Indeed, the “wallpaper” is the vast, unfolding landscape outside the clear glass walls of the house, featuring a pond, tall pines, and meandering stone walls.

The Glass House is just one of several structures Johnson designed on the site, but it’s certainly one of the most striking. Standing inside of a building with nowhere to go where you can’t be seen (except the bathroom) is both an unsettling and inspiring experience.

We visited on a lovely sunny spring day, but wondered what it might be like to shelter inside the glass house during a thunderstorm or a blizzard. Nothing but a sheet of clear glass would separate you from the drama of nature outside.

That very same glass created a puzzle when it came to lighting choices. At night, the clear glass became a mirror reflecting any indoor lights. On Philip Johnson’s first night in the house, he said, “I turned on the lights and all I see is me, me, me, me, me!” After that, outdoor lighting was installed to light the trees and surrounding area, and only a few small lights remain on the inside. High school students in New Canaan created a fascinating video of how the Glass House changes from evening into night time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOzimeZDFKo

Glass House | Sculpture Gallery | Frank Stella - Raft of the Medusa

Raft of the Medusa by Frank Stella at the Glass House Sculpture Gallery

Another favorite stop on our tour was the Sculpture Gallery, where works by Frank Stella, Robert Morris, Andrew Lord, and George Segal play with light and shadows streaming in from the greenhouse-like ceiling. The Painting Gallery just down the path displays works by Andy Warhol and Julian Schnabel on huge, rotating walls that allow you to rearrange the art however you’d like.

Read more in a New York Times article that came out soon after the house opened to the public.

The only way to truly experience the Glass House is to visit it in person, and I highly recommend that you go! The site is open during the summer from May through November, any day of the week except Tuesdays. Plan your visit on the Glass House website.

We were thrilled to have a chance to experience Johnson’s vision.

This post was co-authored by Jane Prentiss, Director of 20th Century Design, and Kathryn Gargolinski, Web Marketing Specialist at Skinner, Inc. after a visit to the Glass House and Noyes residence on a tour organized by the Boston Architectural College.

Guide to Buying Antique and Modern Furniture: Why is Joinery Important?

Guide to Buying Furniture | George Nakashima

Beautiful butterfly joints in a large English oak burl and walnut table by George Nakashima (1905-1990). Auctioned for $204,000

How a piece of furniture is put together indicates how long that piece of furniture will stay together. For example, when I am shopping for a piece of furniture, I always check out the drawers and how they are constructed. Why chance having all your belongings fall out of your nightstand because the drawer bottom was stapled in and simply couldn’t hold together for very long?

Understanding how a piece of furniture was made before you buy can prevent you from having to replace or repair the piece. In the long run, this knowledge can save you money and time.

For centuries, craftsmen constructed furniture using hand tools and different methods of joining together the various parts to create a whole. Hide glue, nails, and wood joints were popular and practical methods used to hold a piece of furniture together.

Dovetail Joints

This is one example of dovetail joinery commonly used in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The dovetail joint functions to keep the parts together as the wood expands and contracts with changes in moisture and temperature.

Note the scribe line marking the joint line–this shows that the maker used hand tools. If you feel tool marks on the underside of the drawer, this means it was hand -planed. Machine -planed wood has a smooth surface and does not leave the ridges that hand tools leave.

With the advent of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, machines became a popular way to make furniture parts and join those parts together. Nobody expected to see the joinery, and it was typically seen as an engineering solution, not an element of design.

Through Tenon Joints

By the early 20th century (c. 1900) the Arts and Crafts Movement pushed back on the frenzy of the industrial revolution. Joinery came to the forefront and became a design principle offering strength, comfort and beauty.

As can be seen in this Arts and Crafts Morris chair, the through tenon joins the leg to the wide arm. The corbel below, which is joined to the post and supports the wide arm, provides additional support. In this chair, joinery is an essential element of the design. It’s exposed and not hidden.

Finger Joints

The 20th century continued to embrace exposed joinery not only for its strength but as a design element, as can be seen in this mid-century modern chair from Denmark.

The curvilinear chair back continues through to the arm. The use of a finger joint keeps the parts together, providing an elegant solution as well as strength and stability.

Butterfly Joints

The Studio Furniture movement started in the last quarter of the 20th century and is still thriving today. George Nakashima (1905-1990) designed his furniture based on the natural form of a piece of wood using minimal joinery. His sensitivity to the craft resulted in pieces where the wood seems to come alive. His daughter Mira Nakashima continues crafting furniture with the same intuitive gift.

This is a fine example of furniture crafted by George Nakashima. A slab of old growth burled hardwood became the table top, and the natural fissure in the wood is held together with a butterfly joint. This functional joint provides minimal ornament. The through joint at the base provides strength and support for the large free edge top.

If you are shopping for a piece of furniture, paying attention to the joinery can tell you a lot about how a piece was made, when it was made, and how long it might stay together. Good joinery and design stand the test of time.

AD 20/21 in Boston, Part I: Art & Design Come Alive

Inside the Cyclorama building

If you love art and design, or if you’re looking for decorative accessories for your home, AD 20/21: Art & Design of the 20th & 21st Centuries is the place to be this weekend. The show is open from March 15– 18, 2012 at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Ted Landsmark, president of the Boston Architectural College, and Tony Fusco of the Fusco & Four Marketing Agency always do a fabulous job putting this show together, and I look forward to it each year as a way to kick off the spring season.

Almost all of the dealers, designers, and artists at the show come from New England. It’s heartening to see fabulous art and design coming from the Boston area, and meeting the artists who make it happen. Even more interesting to me than the individual pieces of art is how designers choose to place different pieces together in mock room set-ups or arrangements. I love seeing how 20th Century Design pieces can be mixed with contemporary art and other unique accents.

The show takes place in the Cyclorama, a round building that was originally constructed in 1884 to house a 360-degree painting of the Battle of Gettysburg by French artist Paul Philippoteaux. People visiting the painting would stand on a platform, and turn to see the painting all around them. Real cannons, fences, and stone walls took up the space between the viewer and the painting, creating an almost virtual reality experience.

The design of the building provides a wonderful context in which to view the art and decorative pieces on display.

The Skinner American & European Works of Art Department attended as well, and they share their thoughts on the show here.

Booths at AD 20/21

How to Buy Antique Furniture made from Wood, Part I

Choosing a piece of antique furniture for your home can be a genuinely rewarding experience, But it can also be a challenge to select the right piece with so many options and limited time to consider them. Many antiques are one-of-a-kind pieces and once someone else has snapped one up or it’s gone through auction, you’re out of luck. The best strategy is to understand exactly what you’re looking for before you go shopping.

Antique Wooden Furniture | George Nelson Chest of Drawers

If you want to buy a wooden dresser, you have a huge range of options. Which do you prefer: this modern chest of drawers by George Nelson, or this late 18th century tiger maple tall chest?

Here is the list of things I think about when I’m searching for antique furniture made from wood. I find the search is most successful when I have a solid idea in mind for two or three of these criteria, and then remain flexible for the rest. For example, I might know that I want a mahogany table with specific dimensions, but I’m flexible when it comes to style and finish.

1. What’s the purpose?

Ask yourself, why am I buying a piece of furniture? Perhaps the piece will have a specific function—you might need a new dining room table. Or maybe you want something decorative to go with the modern style of your new home.

2. Know your style

It can help narrow down the choices if you define the style you’re looking for, but I suggest keeping your mind open. Sometimes you’re drawn to the design of a piece without knowing why, and these are the purchases that will help to develop your unique, personal style.

3. What’s your budget?

Make sure you know how much you’re willing to spend before you start looking. This is especially important at auction, where it can be all too easy to get carried away and overlook the buyer’s premium. It’s also important to research the value of a piece of furniture so you can recognize if a piece is selling for a reasonable price.

4. Make sure it fits!

We’ve all made this mistake at least once. You go to a showroom or an auction preview and fall in love with a piece of furniture, and then you bring it home. And it’s the wrong size. Even after you remove a door to try to get it in the house, it still doesn’t fit! So be sure to write down the dimensions you’re looking for – height, length, and depth.

5. Look at the design of the whole room

Even if the piece of furniture fits physically into the space you have in mind, that doesn’t mean it will fit visually or artistically. Take pictures of any other pieces of furniture, rugs, wallpaper, or other accessories you plan to place in the same space. You can create a collage online using OlioBoard to see how everything works together before you buy.

6. Oak, walnut, or mahogany… what’s the difference?

Look at wood samples in a hardware store to help figure out which materials appeal most to you. Some common options are oak, walnut, mahogany, pine, teak, cherry, and other more exotic woods. Some of the pricier antiques you’ll find are made from historic old growth wood (that may even be extinct) rather than new growth wood.

7. How is the surface finished?

The surface of antique wooden furniture may be painted, stained, fumed, oiled, or lacquered. A surface in original condition is always of more interest to collectors. You’ll find both real wooden furniture and wood veneer, and it’s important to know the difference.

8. Consider the hardware

The knobs, hinges, and drawer pulls on a piece of furniture can change its whole appearance. Some historic pieces of furniture have handmade hardware and many antique furniture collectors find this quite appealing.

9. Recognize well-crafted joinery

Be sure to inspect the joinery on a piece of furniture. Failure to do this is like buying a car without looking under the hood. Joinery is important. It can make all the difference in the longevity of a piece of antique furniture. I’ll explain how to recognize different types of joinery in a future blog post.

10. What’s the story?

The great thing about buying antique furniture at auction is that pieces often comes with a story or history—who owned it, where and when it was made, and the historical trends that contributed to its style and design. The provenance of a piece of furniture can make a big difference in how much it appeals to collectors.

My colleagues and I would be happy to help you explore woods, joinery, historic styles, and more at a Skinner auction preview. After over forty years in the auction business, we have seen some of the most interesting pieces of furniture ever made.

My next few posts in this series on buying wooden furniture will cover joinery, finish, and different wood choices. Please leave a comment if you have a specific question about wooden furniture that you’d like to see addressed.

A Tiffany Favrile Vase Finds a New Home

Last week LaGina Austin, our Director of Appraisal & Auction Services, and I represented Skinner at the 46th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning in Orlando, Florida. Heckerling is the “Super Bowl” of estate planning conferences, and Skinner has had a booth there for each of the past fifteen years.

In past years we’ve seen our fellow exhibitors raffle off everything from lobster dinners to bottles of champagne to all sorts of electronic gadgetry. We joined the fray this year but decided to do so with a different twist. Our giveaway was an example of the wares we bring to auction regularly: a beautiful piece of modern design in the form of a Tiffany favrile vase offered in our recent 20th Century Design auction.

Jane Prentiss, our Director of 20th Century Design, wrote the following comments about the piece and the process by which it was made:

Prior to the turn of the 20th century, Louis Comfort Tiffany’s “Quest of Beauty” led him to develop Tiffany favrile Glass. Hand-wrought, this early glass was called fabrile after the French for “made by hand.” It later became known as “favrile,” as the glass developed a radiance and richness.

One of the most striking characteristics of favrile glass is its iridescence. This is achieved by exposing the glass to metallic fumes while still hot, creating a surface that plays with light. Pulling the hot glass creates the form and undulations on the surface, giving the glass vitality. Timeless in its beauty, Tiffany favrile glass is as highly admired now as ever.

The bottom of this gold iridescent vase is finished with a button pontil. The pontil is a remnant from where the glass rod held the vase while it was being manipulated in the furnace by the glass blower. The vase carries the L.C.T mark (for Louis Comfort Tiffany) and is numbered 2243. It was created circa 1900 for collectors and lovers of art.

Apparently, there were a number of art lovers and perhaps even collectors at Heckerling this year, as our fishbowl held almost 150 business cards by the end of the conference. Jane Prentiss drew one of them, and the vase is now on the way to its new home with the lucky winner!

Should you be headed to Heckerling next year, please visit our booth – we’re planning to have an equally interesting and beautiful object available as our prize drawing. And if you’re a fan of Tiffany or art glass in general, watch for the catalogue for our next 20th Century Design sale, coming up on June 23rd.

Guide to Dedham Pottery: Modern Antiquity in Blue and White

Dedham Pottery Scottie Dog Plate, Est. $700-900, Lot 33 in the December 17, 2011 auction

I have worked in the world of antiques and modern design for over three decades and have learned to love many styles. But as a life-long lover of both nature and the arts, I continue to be inspired by works from the Arts & Crafts movement, when artists took their cue from the natural world around them.

Nature’s inspiration is especially evident in pottery from the Arts & Crafts era. One of my favorites is Dedham Pottery, which was founded by Hugh C. Robertson as Chelsea Pottery in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1891, before moving to Dedham, Massachusetts in 1896.

Fall in love with the crackle glaze and a variety of animal designs

Though made in the modern era, Dedham pottery is traditional in its design, resembling the look of antique Chinese export porcelain. It’s easily distinguished by its blue and white crackle glaze, and cobalt blue decorated borders, which feature a repeating pattern of animals, birds, fish, plants and flowers. Ironically, Robertson happened upon the crackle look accidentally, when experimenting with new glazes and cooling techniques, but since the design was a near-instant hit within the Arts & Crafts community, the look stuck, and it’s still drawing in collectors today.

Dedham’s most recognizable pattern is the Dedham Rabbit, which eventually became the firm’s logo, but they created dozens of other animal borders including elephant, polar bear, lion, dolphin, swan, owl, duck, chicken, turkey, Scottie dog, crab, lobster, turtle, and butterfly patterns. Plant and flower patterns included clover, magnolia, iris, horsechestnut, grape, orange tree, snow tree, water lily, and azalea borders.

Dedham’s designs were hand-painted, not stenciled, so pieces have a whimsical nature to them. Some decorators became well known for their beautiful work and even signed their wares. These pieces are highly collectible and often fetch top prices in today’s competitive collectibles market.

Dedham Turtle Pottery, Est. $700-900, Lot 24 in the December 17, 2011 auction

Find affordable Dedham pottery at auction

I love Dedham pottery because it’s not only fun, it’s highly functional. Full lines of dinnerware were made, plus candlesticks, coffee pots, tea services, sugar and creamers, bread and butter dishes, soup bowls, salad plates, bacon rashers, cups, pitchers, platters, vases, and decorative figures. One of my favorite offerings is Lot 21, a Dedham day/night pitcher, meant to rest on a bedside nightstand. It features a rooster on one side and an owl on the other.

Best of all, Dedham pottery is fairly easy to find at auction, and it’s still a great value and surprisingly affordable, even for beginning collectors. Estimates on the pottery in the December 17th auction of 20th Century Design range from $125-175 for a single piece to $700-900 for a set. For more detailed information on Dedham Pottery’s history and patterns, search online and at your local library. When you’re ready to buy, remember that with pottery and all other ceramics, condition is paramount, so ask the experts at auctions and in shops for their best advice on which pieces to buy.

To see some great examples of Dedham pottery, preview the December 17th auction of 20th Century Design online or join us in person at Skinner’s Boston Gallery, December 15th, 12 to 5 p.m., December 16th, 12 to 7 p.m., or December 17th, 8 to 9 a.m.

Dedham Elephant Pottery, Lots 28-29 in the December 17, 2011 auction

Dedham Chick Pottery and a Day/Night Pitcher, Lots 19-21 in the December 17, 2011 auction

The Charles Rohlfs Desk: An Exploration of Mystery and Intricate Beauty

Charles Rohlfs Desk | 20th Century Furniture Design

Lot 100: Rare Charles Rohlfs Carved Drop-front Desk with Swivel Base, Est. $40,000-60,000

The desk in this day and age has become a flat, nondescript surface where you place a laptop computer, and perhaps a lamp and a few pens. Gone is the need for numerous tiny compartments holding notepaper, envelopes, ink, blotters, bills, and other paper documents.

While I adore the simplicity and sleek lines of later 20th century furniture designs, I am also drawn in by the mystery and intricate beauty of this early modern desk by Charles Rohlfs.

It’s almost impossible to walk past this desk without stopping for a closer look. The intricate closures and clasps beg to be opened, and the fanciful designs make you wonder what could be kept inside. It makes you feel almost like a child again, like this is a desk that would belong to a hero in a fantastic adventure. To further add to the wonder, the desk swivels on its footed base, allowing you a variety of possibilities for display and design.

The original desk and a matching desk chair were made in 1898-1899 in Buffalo, New York. Called “Graceful Writing Set,” the pair of unique pieces became Rohlfs’ most well-known work. The chair has the same fanciful and fantastic qualities as the desk.

It’s likely that Rohlfs designed the desk and chair in collaboration with his wife, the novelist Anna Katharine Green, as noted in an article by Joseph Cunningham in The Magazine Antiques.

The desk Skinner is offering is marked on the interior with the date it was made: 1900. Looking at it, you can tell it was a much loved feature of the owners’ household furnishings over the course of the 20th century.

When the Rohlfs desk first arrived at Skinner I told everyone to come and look at it, saying that it might be the only chance to see this desk in person. You can see it too as it will be sold in the next 20th Century Design auction on December 17, 2011. Come see it during the free public previews on December 15th through 17th in Boston.

This detail of one of the Charles Rohlfs Desk closures shows the fanciful design

The desk is inscribed with the date, 1900, and the Rohlfs mark

My Three Favorite Modern Design Websites

George Nakashima Lounge Chair, at Auction December 17, 2011 in Boston

As I catalogue modern furniture, art glass, and other great design pieces for my December 17th Modern Design auction, I try to take a moment here and there to appreciate the pieces individually and think about where they could end up. How will the buyer place this Nakashima chair in her small apartment? Will this delicate art glass lamp end up in a place of honor in a collector’s living room?

One of the best ways to feel more inspired about objects and design is to see examples of beautifully designed rooms and elegantly solved design problems. I’ve always enjoyed magazines and books on design, but of course nowadays there’s also a wealth of information online.

These wonderful sites will inspire you to take some time out of your busy day and dream about what could be possible in your own home.

1. Apartment Therapy

If you haven’t seen this site yet, you’re in for a treat. The tag line is: “Saving the World, One Room at a Time,” and I have to say that this site very well could accomplish that goal. With posts on everything from color and kilims (Persion rugs) to toilet paper roll covers, you’ll find solutions and creative ideas for both large and small design projects. You can even post your own questions and seek the advice of other visitors to the site.

2. Arts & Crafts Collector

The elegant yet simple design of Bruce Johnson’s site mimics the style of the Arts & Crafts movement. I recommend signing up for the newsletter to receive regular updates including practical tips and history about Arts & Crafts objects. Bruce Johnson also runs the annual Arts & Crafts Conference in North Carolina.

3. Design Milk

This widely popular site aims to bring readers “what’s fresh and new in art, architecture, interior design, furniture and decor, fashion, and technology.” Scroll through the posts to find ingenious, simple, and innovative designs. You’ll find everything from furniture collections to individual pieces of art to a fish tank that looks like it’s about to fall off the table.

What design blogs and websites do you turn to when you’re seeking inspiration?

Why is New England Stuck in the Past? Modern Design in Boston is Here to Stay

Grueby and Bigelow & Kennard Table Lamp, Pottery and art glass, Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1904. Auctioned for $21,330

When you think of history and art in Boston, I’m sure you’re seeing visions of the Revolutionary war, Revere silver and Simon Willard clocks.

Despite our provincial and traditional reputation, Boston’s history didn’t end in 1899. The city thrived through 20th century design movements; you can find evidence of modern design and beautiful modern architecture throughout Boston.

I came across some of this marvelous history while doing research at the BPL (Boston Public Library). I walked up to one of the top floor and found a little red-covered book that listed the members of the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts alongside their disciplines.

To my surprise, the list was extensive. All of these artisans worked in Boston, and embraced modernism in metalwork, pottery, art glass, textiles, and cabinetmaking. Further research led me to a wealth of history starting over a hundred years ago and continuing to this day.

Fenway Studios

We all know Fenway for its famous ball park, but starting the 1900s, artists worked there as well. The Fenway Studios building is a National Historic Landmark, and the oldest continuously functioning space for artists in the country. Its Arts and Crafts design was inspired by the Aesthetic movement. Famous artists who worked here include Frank Weston Benson, Edmund Tarbell, and Joseph DeCamp.

The Saturday Evening Girls Club

Helen Storrow and the founders of the Saturday Evening Girls Club sought to bring a voice to girls and women by teaching pottery and selling the club’s handiwork. By 1911, 72 girls worked in the studio making Paul Revere Pottery, named for their location near Old North Church in Boston.

Bigelow, Kennard & Co.

Boston had dozens of studios devoted to the art of glass making. Bigelow, Kennard & Co. was one of the leading merchants, selling silver, glass, and clocks in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Many objects that were designed and made in Boston come through Skinner auctions. It always makes me smile when I find an interesting, local, art object to present in a 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts auction.

Modern design in Boston is here to stay, and we gain new fans every day.

Top 5 Fine Art & Antiques Blog Posts of the Summer

It’s hard to believe that summer is already over. In the midst of vacations and appraisal house calls, Skinner antiques & fine art experts found the time to write intriguing and informative blog posts. These are the top 5 most popular articles from June, July, and August. Read them for the first time or enjoy a re-read, then join the conversation by leaving a comment.

#5 Pointed Caps and Silver Hat Bands: Intriguing Finds in an Important Penobscot Indian Collection

by Douglas Deihl, Director of American Indian & Ethnographic Art at Skinner, Inc.

The rare peaked cap you see here was once worn by the Penobscot woman Mary Molasses. The cap is part of Dr. Frank T. Siebert’s extensive collection of Penobscot Indian material, which has been exhibited in museums and will be offered at auction on September 24th.

#4 How to Decorate with Art Deco Glass

by Jane Prentiss, Director of 20th Century Design at Skinner, Inc.

This summer, Jane Prentiss began a series of blog posts about the mid-century modern period, great design, and decorating with antiques. Which of the four Art Deco vases pictured in this post do you love most, and where would you place it in your home?

See the Vases

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#3 Why People Want More Fashion & Jewelry at Museums

by Gloria Lieberman, Vice President and Fine Jewelry expert at Skinner, Inc.

It seems as if fashion and jewelry are among the new trends for museums. The Alexander McQueen exhibit drew huge crowds in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston became one of the first museums to devote an entire gallery and curator to Jewelry. Gloria Lieberman writes, “It can inspire your own wardrobe and fashion choices, and that’s one reason these exhibits are so popular.”

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#2 Antique Weathervanes, Part I: Horses, Roosters, and Cars… Oh My!

by Stephen Fletcher, Vice President and Director of American Furniture & Decorative Arts at Skinner, Inc.

A veritable menagerie of weathervanes was available at the August 14th American antiques auction. Horses, roosters, cows, fish, stags, and more caught the attention of folk art collectors. Stephen Fletcher writes, “Collectors are most attracted to antique weathervanes that still have their original surface, and these are the most valuable weathervanes.”

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#1 Selling Antique Books, Part I: How to Tell a Rare Book From an Old Book

by Stuart Whitehurst, Director of Books & Manuscripts at Skinner, Inc.

Do you have a ton of old books? Old books aren’t necessarily rare books. These three tips will help you start to sort out those that are potentially valuable. When you’ve finished this post, read Part II for eight more tips on what factors influence a book’s value.

Read Part I

Auction Punk!

Beats the odds and get the deal!

Category Archives: Jane Prentiss