Adventures in Style: Another Great Auction

I actually think that this auction, the auction of many of Hamish Bowles’ possessions, could be a lot more fun than Brooke Astor’s auctions. For those who don’t know, Hamish Bowles is Vogue Magazine’s International Editor and man-about-town. He lost the lease on his apartment in Paris several years ago, and put the possessions it contained into storage. But after they languished there for four years, he found that they didn’t suit his new place in Manhattan. So he’s auctioning them off at Bonhams.

Here are some pieces that caught my eye.

A Pair of Wingback Armchairs attributed to Jean-Charles Moreux circa 1940 oak with fabric upholstery
Estimate: US$ 8,000 - 12,000

A Group of Books by or Relating to Cecil Beaton, Many being first editions, mostly in dust-jackets, and including: Beaton, Cecil. Japanese. New York: 1959; Photobiography. London: 1951; Fair Lady. London: 1964; The Face of the World. New York: [c.1957.],The Book of Beauty, Duckworth, 1930, Cecil Beaton's Scrapbook, Batsford, 1937
Estimate: US$ 800 - 1,200

Piero Fornasetti for Fornasetti Milano, A Chinoiserie Printed Tray on Stand   1950s lithographically printed gold on metal, raised on a coral painted wood base; tray and base bearing original Fornasetti paper labels
Estimate: US$ 1,200 - 1,800

Paul Belvoir  A Pair of Andirons  2012  steel and rock crystal stamped BELVOIR
Estimate: US$ 12,000 - 16,000

A Méridienne attributed to Stephane Boudin for Maison Jansen  mid-20th Century  soft pink painted wood with light blue fabric upholstery Provenance The Duchess of Windsor, by repute
Estimate: US$ 1,200 - 1,800

Aesthetic Sabotage  Robert Dawson (b. 1942)  signed with initials and numbered RD 1/100 on the reverse transfer printed plate.
This work was designed for Wedgwood 
Estimate:  US$ 150 - 200

There is lots more to see and it’s fun to read the footnotes about some of the pieces. The catalogue is here, and a piece by Hamish Bowles explaining the auction is here.