Crazy for...Art Deco

photo: Durston Saylor
Art Deco is timeless. This 2001 living room by Michael Rosenberg & Leonard Kowalski
 looks as chic today as the day it was designed. Courtesy of Architectural Digest.

Over the weekend, I saw the new Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, in which the protagonist, played by Owen Wilson, gets magically transported back to his favorite era, Paris in the 1920s: an intoxicating time to be sure, a moment when the arts flourished across all media. If you've never read Heminingway's, A Moveable Feast, I strongly encourage you to: it's a series of delightful essays about that city, that era. In one of them, Hemingway takes an improbable road trip with F. Scott Fitzgerald: buy the book for that essay alone.

Long, lean lines abound in this Glenn Gissler designed, 1960s redux.

Ah, but we're talking today about Art Deco, the distinct aesthetic movement that began in Paris at that time. Art Deco caught on like wild fire, viewed, as it was, as the essence of urbanity, modernity, tres au courant. So pervasive was its reach and strong its grasp, in fact, that its influence managed to continue on through the thirties and early forties--this despite the vastly changing cultural and political landscape.

A Jan Showers designed entrance hall.

What is Art Deco? Art Deco is streamlined shapes and geometric figures. It is steel and lacquer, chrome and shagreen. It is the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center. It is elegant, sophisticated and timeless. It blends well (see the Bunny Williams living room in the previous post, in which she seamlessly blends Art Deco chairs with pieces from other eras). Where can you get Art Deco?

Glad you asked. Because I'm now about to let you in on a little secret. Now, I seriously hesitated to tell you about this, I must confess, even though I love you, my dearlings, I really do, because this auction house is, well... hands down, one of my absolute favorites, and not just mine; this "find" was discovered long ago by dealers and is routinely mined by them. The $1,200 chairs I saw online that later appeared for $8,400 at a Greenwich antiques dealer? They were from here. It's been discovered, but that doesn't mean it isn't still an amazing place for great deals. So...without further ado, I bring you several pieces of Art Deco, and I bring you Kamelot Auctions, in Philadelphia.

1930s brass bed, at auction at Kamelot Auctions on June 11th, starting bid $500.
Just email the auctioneer to make sure you understand all the dimensions.
 And don't be put off by odd shapes: custom made mattresses are cheaper than ever thanks to, I'm not kidding, the proliferation of RV's, which frequently demand custom sizing.

Art Deco balcony railing. This would look great hanging above a sofa or bed,
at Kamelot, on June 11th, starting bid $400.

Kamelot is fun to browse even if you're not in the market for anything, which we all know we auction addicts love to do. That's because it has plenty of weird stuff along with the good stuff. It has the best photos of any auction house, so you really, really get a great feel for what something looks like (but not scale: always, always check scale against items you have at home). You can bid live or leave absentee bids for Kamelot at Live Auctioneers, which I recommend over leaving an absentee bid with the auction house itself, because, for some inexplicable reason, they post the current bid right underneath the photo. Privacy is key to capturing your treasures, so either bid with Kamelot via telephone, bid live online, or leave bids with L.A..

This Andre Arbus style game table has gorgeous wood and an elegant leather top,
at auction June 11th, starting bid $1,000.

It doesn't get more iconic Art Deco than these club chairs,
auctioned by Kamelot on June 11th, starting bid $1,000.

Of course, Kamelot isn't the only place with fabulous Art Deco pieces. Below, is an assemblage of other soigne snags I found pour toi, and a few things that would blend well with this style. So go, bid and be happy!

I love lions, I think its because I'm obsessed with my cats
but I can't bear cat art. This bronze lion fits the bill nicely, at New Orleans Auction Galleries on
June 4th, starting bid $80.

Tired of your little black dress? Add some Art Deco extravagance, such as this cute teeny pin, above,
at auction from Cordier Antiques & Auctions via Auction Zip on June 11th, minimum bid, $70.

...or this pretty linked circle sparkler (great anniversary present!),
at auction at Skinner, Inc. on June 14th, starting bid $1,000.

This enamel vase has a build in frog insert, allowing you to do more with less.
At auction on June 4th from Joan's Museum of Glass and Ceramics in Maine via Auction Zip,
 minimum bid, $50.

I feel as if I can see the Chrysler Building in this Durgin-Gorham sterling silver fruit bowl,
at auction at New Orleans Auction Galleries on June 5th, minimum bid $250.

This Karl Springer shagreen covered table is from the seventies,
but its influence? Pure twenties. At Rago in New Jersey on June 12th,
starting bid, $1,000.

I have a soft spot for kitsch, and Erte and Louis Icart are
two boudoir artists extraordinaire. The Erte above is a silkscreen,
at auction at Maynard's in Vancouver via Auction Zip on June 7th,
minimum bid, CAD 200.

And I'm really quite obsessed with this Erte, entitled, Mystere, because she looks like she just might be a very beleaguered (but elegant), wife and mother saying, "Silence! I demand silence!"
At auction at Cordier Antiques and Auctions in Pennsylvania  on June 12th
 via Auction Zip, minimum bid, $300.

Louis Icart's works are both beautiful and campy. What's not to love about that?
And, like Erte, he's eminently collectible, so your print is unlikely to ever lose value. Icart, "Dreaming," At Cordier in Pennsylvania via Auction Zip on June 12th, minimum bid, $1,000.

New Orleans Auction Galleries (great auction house!), also has these
fantastic walnut center tables, at auction June 5th, starting bid $1,000.

What a pretty father's day gift (to make up for all those ties)!
This dramatic archer is up for bidding from Mid-Hudson Auction Gallery on June 4th,
minimum bid $150. (It says "terra cotta." Looks like bronze. Email to check)

And finally, the height of chic: Karges parlor chairs at addict-loving estimates:
at the Potomack Companyin Alexandria, Virginia via Auction Zip on June 11th, minimum bid, $400.