Architect Lee F Mindel’s design collection will go under the hammer on 13 December, including lots by Jean Prouvé, Ettore Sottsass and Pierre Jeanneret.
Mindel amassed his eclectic cache of furniture and objects – set to be auctioned by Phillips – over three decades. The cofounder of Shelton, Mindel & Associates housed them within his New York property, an ‘aerie’ atop a former hat factory in Chelsea, which is also up for sale for $9.65m via Corcoran.
Lee F Mindel’s penthouse apartment in New York. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
Robert Cloutier and Jean Cloutier, Untitled (heads), 1950s. Estimate: $8,000 – 10,000 each. Jean Prouvé, ‘Cafétéria’ table, model no. 511, c. 1950. Estimate: $10,000 – 15,000. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
Vico Magistretti, ‘Giunone’ floor lamp, designed in 1970. Estimate: $2,500 – 3,500. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
Jean Prouvé, ‘Guéridon’ table, model no. 401, circa 1951. Estimate: $50,000 – 70,000. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
Shelton, Mindel & Associates, unique dining table, 1995. Estimate: $8,000 – 12,000. Josef Hoffmann, set of 14 dining chairs, 1980s. Estimate: $6,000 – 8,000. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
Arne Vodder, prototype armchair, 1950s. Estimate: $8,000 – 12,000. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
Ilmari Tapiovaara, pair of ‘Crinolette’ chairs, 1962. Estimate: $6,000 – 8,000. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
Shelton, Mindel & Associates, pair of prototype easy chairs, designed for Knoll, 1995. Estimate: $6,000 – 8,000. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
Charlotte Perriand, free-form dining table, c. 1959.
Estimate: $100,000 – 150,000. Photography: courtesy of Michael Moran/OTTO
‘It is bittersweet for me to say good-bye to this collection,’ said Mindel in a statement. The architect is now moving to a new building designed by Herzog & de Meuron. ‘I am anxious to investigate a new type of case-study residence when I move down to 56 Leonard Street. I don’t view this as anything but an opportunity to look to the future and to continue to pursue the unique challenge of integrating architecture, interiors, context, and design.’
Among the 140 lots is a sculptural love seat by Antoni Gaudí, a totem by Ettore Sottsass and a mahogany dining table by Charlotte Perriand – one of the most expensive items, with an estimate of between $100,000 and $150,000.
‘The whole ensemble that he collected in his four-bedroom loft represents a Modernist utopia, a short course in the history of decorative arts, and a small city of icons that echo the urban icons outside the skyline,’ wrote design critic Joseph Giovannini in the Phillips catalogue.
One of the first pieces Mindel bought that was ‘any good’, as he puts it, was a screen by Piero Fornasetti, with an Escheresque feel. Within his New York apartment – which he designed for himself in the mid-1990s with Reed Morrison – Mindel juxtaposed the screen with Modernist and contemporary furniture and objects that are in dialogue with the architecture.
‘Nobody in the field of design so wholly understands the synergy between architecture, interiors and furniture the way Lee does,’ says Ambra Medda, founder of Design Miami.
No single sensibility dominates the collection, which is full of surprises. The auction, titled ‘Light & Aerie: The Collection Of Lee F Mindel, FAIA‘, starts at 2pm on 450 Park Avenue, NYC.
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