Sold at auction: Paul Evans coffee table

Following on the heels of yesterday's Paul Evans post, you might recall my post about another Paul Evans coffee table we had in the store not too long ago. We sent it to the Wright Design auction, which was held December 12. It was our first time to send a piece to that house, and we were pleased with the result. To see all the beautiful pieces that kept our little table company on the auction floor, including the gorgeous and very rare Isamu Noguchi Cloud ottoman that sold for $170,500 and the Maria Pergay banquette that sold for $158,500, visit the Wright site. You'll be in for a treat.

Isamu Noguchi Cloud ottoman, 1948
Lot 120
wright20.com

Maria Pergay banquette, 1968
Lot 256
wright20.com

Paul Evans coffee table, 1967
Lot 311
wright20.com

In the store: Cityscape makeover

A few weeks ago, my SIL picked up several pieces from the Cityscape collection that Paul Evans designed for Directional. Two of the benches needed a bit of a pick-me-up, and they're back from the upholsterer with beautiful new navy blue mohair velvet cushions. I think they look absolutely luscious.

Taking a shine to Paul Evans

Several pieces of the polished chrome and brass Cityscape series that Paul Evans designed for Directional...a coffee table, a console table and a bench...are the latest additions to the store, in all their shiny glory. The bench still has its original lavish velvet upholstery by famed textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen. It doesn't get much more glamorous than this!

Paul Evans Cityscape coffee table for Directional

Cityscape coffee table signature

Cityscape console table

Cityscape console table signature

Cityscape bench

In the store: Paul Evans table

Having an honest-to-goodness, signed Paul Evans piece became something of a Holy Grail for us early on when we were new to this business. So did having a Wegner Papa Bear chair. As the months and years passed, lots of great pieces came and went, but those two pieces remained on our list of things to buy.

Well, the Papa Bear has likewise come and gone, selling while we were in the pop-up shop. Now a beautiful Paul Evans side table is sitting on the showroom floor. It's one of his gorgeous, highly textured painted pieces, and we love it.

Paul Evans table between two Milo Baughman scoop chairs

Fantastic colors

Fantastic textures

Update: Here are a few more images taken in our photo booth for use on our website, after the temporary piece of glass shown above was replaced by a more appropriate size.

Initials "PE" and date

Pssst...They're called plinths.

A plinth is a type of furniture base that sits directly on the floor, rather than having legs. I'd be willing to bet that if you stopped 50 people on the street, most of them would say that mid-century furniture has tapered legs, but a number of MCM designs incorporated plinth bases.

Edward Wormley side table
griffintrading.com

Gilbert Rohde Paldao table, with one leg and one plinth base
treadwaygallery.com

Harvey Probber night stand
1stdibs.com

Milo Baughman night stands
metroretro.com

Renzo Rutili credenza
metroretro.com

T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings double plinth base table
1stdibs.com

Peter Hvidt chest
lookmodern.com

Paul Lazlo cabinet
1stdibs.com

Paul Evans credenza
galere.net

Paul Evans sofa
galere.net

Milo Baughman chairs
1stdibs.com

Vladimir Kagan Serpentine sofa
edition20.com

This is a contemporary sofa designed by Vladimir Kagan in 1999, but I just had to include it in this post.  The piece may not fall into the mid-century time frame, but Kagan opened his first shop in 1949 and has been designing gorgeous furniture for decades. Since this sofa appears to be a variation on his 1950 Serpentine sofa, it definitely deserves a look, in my opinion.

Bilbao sofa by Vladimir Kagan
1contemporary.com

Phillip Lloyd Powell

Phillip Lloyd Powell (1919-2008) was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He studied engineering at Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University) before being drafted. During World War II he served as a weather forecaster for the Army Air Corps and was stationed in England.

After the war, he settled in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He bought a book on building houses and then constructed his own home.  In 1953 he opened a showroom in New Hope and sold Herman Miller furniture and Noguchi lamps.

My SIL discovered Powell's designs and told me about him. My first reaction was, "Wow, that's like a cross between Nakashima and Paul Evans." 

Much to my delight, I found that I was right on the money; he knew both men well. George Nakashima was a neighbor and was the person who encouraged Powell to start designing his own furniture, while Paul Evans was his protégé. In the mid-1950s, a 20-year-old Paul Evans came into Powell's shop and admired his work. Powell, 14 years Evans's senior, became his mentor. They shared a studio and worked together for roughly ten years, during which time they collaborated on furniture and accessories. (Powell shared an anecdote about taking the young Evans to Sears to buy tools. Evans was denied credit, so Powell had to get friends to donate tools so Evans could work.)

It is clear that Nakashima's work had a strong influence on some of his pieces, and he and Evans shared a love for metal and wood designs. However, other pieces have Powell's own unique sense of modernism...a sort of undulating, streamlined organic beauty that is his alone.

Powell's work is known for its beautiful hand carving and for its unique detail. Often his cabinets will open to reveal an interior of silver leaf or fine fabric. Sometimes he incorporated found objects or artwork into his pieces. For a more in-depth look at the man and his work, I found John Gehri Zerrer's site quite worth a look.

From nytimes.com and 1stdibs.com

Table, in collaboration with Paul Evans
1stdibs.com

Chair
1stdibs.com

Screen
artvalue.com

Table lamp
okoloweb.cz

Walnut and slate side tables
1stdibs.com

Sculpture
1stdibs.com

Sofa
1stdibs.com

Cabinet, with steel and gold leaf
1stdibs.com

Coffee table
1stdibs

Marble side tables
1stdibs.com

Sofa with marble table
christies.com

Powell at his New Hope home
jzerrer.com

This photo inspires a sense of wonder at Powell's magical silo home with the breathtaking door and spiral staircase he built by hand. However, it likewise evokes a bit of sadness, as Powell fell to his death from that staircase coming home late one night during a rainstorm in 2008. He was almost 90 years old at the time and had, from all accounts, lived a full and joyful life.

If money were no object

While sitting around the shop yesterday, my SIL and I played one of those "what if" games...about what pieces of furniture we'd have in our own homes if money were no object. I was surprised to find out that it would be tough to make decisions if I actually had the money in my hand and could buy anything I wanted.

We agreed that we'd have to have a Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair. It's kinda like the Holy Grail of chairs for us (although I openly pine for one of his Ox chairs, as well as a Saarinen Womb chair and a Juhl Chieftain). Since we were talking about pricing yesterday, I asked him what he'd sell a Papa Bear for if he got his hands on one. He looked at me like I had suddenly lost my mind, and said, "Sell it? You think I'd sell it?"

Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair
classicchair.net

We both insisted that we'd have to have a group of George Nelson lamps hanging somewhere in our houses. My SIL wanted some dramatic Danish floor lamps too, while I wanted a large Poul Henningsen PH-5 lamp hanging somewhere...and a Sarfatti or a Geller or a Thurston on my desk...and, of course, a Noguchi Akari light or two somewhere. See what I mean? Narrowing it down gets harder and harder as you try to figure out exactly where you'd put the pieces in your home and which ones you'd use together in groupings. So much to choose from...so little space.

George Nelson bubble lamps
georgenelson.org

Poul Henningsen PH-5
designer-lighting.com

Gerald Thurston tripod lamp
1stdibs.com

Noguchi Akari lights
noguchi.org

When it came to choosing our all-time favorite sofas, it was even more difficult. We realized that that we love so many sofas, it's impossible to pick just one. My SIL is a real admirer of Finn Juhl, but there's something about the drama of Paul Evans that fascinates him. (I told him I'd be afraid to sit on a Paul Evans sofa. The term "Brutalist" conjures up images of being bitten on the posterior by some wild, metal creature, although the one he chose was fairly tame by Evans's standards.)

Finn Juhl sofa
danish-furniture.com

Paul Evans sofa
redmodernfurniture.com

I immediately thought of a Florence Knoll sofa, but I'm not crazy about the metal legs. OK, maybe a Wegner or a Grete Jalk. But in the end, I was true to my real love, the wonderful Mr. Risom.

Florence Knoll sofa
1stdibs.com

Hans Wegner sofa
scandinavianmod.com

Grete Jalk sofa
1stdibs.com

Jens Risom sofa
1stdibs.com

By the time I finished weighing the pros and cons of all my favorite sofas, the SIL had changed his mind. He decided to go for comfort, and since he's decided that the Adrian Pearsall gondola we have is the best thing he's ever stretched out on, that was his final choice.

Adrian Pearsall gondola sofa
livinghomefurniture.com

Dining room furniture was a bit of a challenge too. We tossed around the ideas of a Platner set or a Noguchi Cyclone table but decided we'd rather have the smaller rocking stools. There were several Scandinavian sets my SIL liked, so he really couldn't make up his mind. I finally decided that the only thing I'd give up my Drexel Profile set for is a Brasilia Cathedral table in mint condition, with the glass in the center without a scratch and the ceramic bowl without a chip (which is so rare I couldn't even find a good picture of one). Oh, and did I mention that the fabric would have to be the original bird pattern without a spot? Otherwise, I'd hang on to what I have.

Noguchi rocking stools
designmuseum.org

Warren Platner dining set
deconet.com

Credenzas were a little easier. My SIL decided again to go for the drama with Paul Evans, while I decided that I'd keep my Jens Risom credenza, if only for sentimental reasons, even if money were no object. It was my first really nice designer piece, and I doubt that I'll ever let it go.

Paul Evans credenza
worthpoint.com

My Jens Risom credenza

So what would your dream home have in it?  Trust me, this isn't as easy as it sounds.


Update: 5/4/2014...Three years later - Looking back at this early post was a real eye-opener. In the years since I wrote it, pieces that seemed almost impossible to attain when we first went into business have come and gone. We've sold several Papa Bear chairs, as well as dining sets and sideboards by Hans Wegner. We've had Nelson bubble lights, Noguchi cyclone tables and rocking stools and tables by Warren Platner. We've sold many Adrian Pearsall chairs and sofas and tables, as well as quite a few Paul Evans pieces. We had a Grete Jalk sofa in turquoise that was just like the orange one, and we have a Knoll sofa in the store now.

The Henningsen and Thurston lamps have remained elusive. They're still on our list of things to find, along with many items we've added along the way. I'm sure if we played "what if" today, the thing on our lists might include quite a few new pieces.

I still have my Jens Risom credenza and John van Koert china cabinet, but I've moved on and sold the dining set. Things change...but that's what makes life exciting.