The Etro auction celebrates the extraordinary item
Ponte sold 361 lots out of 558, totalling over 950,000 euros, against an estimated value of between 600,000 and 700,000. The top lot was ‘In the Artist’s Studio’ by the Latvian painter Janis Rozentals.
Key points
As we know, if a piece has a story to tell, this adds to its appeal when it comes to selling it. When the story behind it illustrates the life and eclectic passions of a sought-after designer, the narrative becomes even more compelling. These are the ingredients which, combined with modest estimates, ensured the success of the auction ‘Gerolamo Etro: A love affair», which, held at Il Ponte in Milan, raised more than 950,000 euros (from an initial estimate of 600,000–700,000). The auction took place over three days, from 22 to 24 September, involving the work of seven departments, and saw an average appreciation of 117 per cent across the lots, with a total of 361 lots sold out of 558.
The portraits
Portraiture achieved the best results, and the market focused on paintings that stood out – even those by less well-known artists – backed by the collector’s assured taste. Thus, the portrait of the Indian dandy ‘Edulji Dinshaw’, by John Wells from 1938, sold for 38,400 euros (estimate 33–35 thousand), whilst the portrait of ‘James Stuart in a red uniform’, from the 20th-century English school, soared from an estimate of €1,800–2,000 to a final hammer price of €28,160, whilst the portrait of ‘Dennis Cohen with white gloves and a walking stick’, rendered with expressive elegance by Glyn Warren Philpot in 1910, rose from 13–15,000 to 23,040 euros.
The top lot of the auction was a work by the Latvian painter Janis Rozentals, *In the Artist’s Studio*, estimated at 2,500–3,000 and bidding rose to 44,800 euros. Sports and pastimes of early 20th-century high society saw William Henry Margetson’s 1921 painting ‘Picnic’ fetch 19,840 euros (from 18,000–20,000), the emancipated female golfer with painted nails by John Dwight Bridge from 1936, which changed hands for 19,200 (from 2,800–3,000), and the elegant couple in ‘At the Exhibition’, painted by an anonymous English artist in the early 20th century, which exceeded its estimate of 3,500–4,000 to reach 10,240 euros.
However, no buyer was found for the 1903 ‘Casta Diva’ by Vittorio Matteo Corcos, estimated at 22–25 thousand euros, whilst amongst the Italian artists, Lionello Balestrieri stood out with his 1950 ‘Beethoven’, which sold for 25,600 euros (from just 550–600), and Alfredo Savini with ‘La ninfa’, with its Art Nouveau influence, for 14,080 (from 11–12 thousand).
The furnishings
In the field of furnishings, the popularity of Art Deco-style decoration saw a refined French centre-piece screen, decorated with geometric motifs and signed by Jean Dunand, soar from 2,500–3,000 euros to a final sale price of 20,480. The bidding war was fuelled by interest in this eccentric, out of the ordinary, such as the 1950s two-seater armchair shaped like a large handbag, which ‘soared’ from 900–1,000 euros to a final hammer price of 21,760. Even two early 20th-century shop counters, manufactured by the London firm that supplied the Harrods department store, were the focus of bidding and counter-bids, eventually selling for 4,864 and 6,400 euros, from initial estimates of 750–800 and 850–900 respectively.
