Sothebys : Claude Lalanne's Record "Crocodile" Bureau Tops Sotheby's $26.4 Million Design Auctions in NY

New York | +1 212 606 7176 | Darrell Rocha |Darrell.Rocha@Sothebys.com | Alexandra Fizer |Alexandra.Fizer@Sothebys.com

SOTHEBY'S DECEMBER DESIGN AUCTIONS ACHIEVE MARKET-DOMINATING $26.4 MILLION

A Trio of Claude Lalanne's Coveted "Crocodile" Masterworks

Sell for $4.3 Million

Two Dedicated Sales of Tiffany Studios Total $12.4 Million

Led By a Rare "Cobweb and Apple Blossom" Lamp,

Sold for $1.2 Million

Six Leaded Glass Windows by Frank Lloyd Wright Bring $2.1 Million

NEW YORK, 15 December 2017 - Sotheby's December auctions of 20th

Century Design concluded this week in New York with a market-dominating total of $26.4 million - far outstripping the series' high estimate of $19.4 million, and with a robust 87.5% of lots sold across the trilogy of auctions.

Wednesday's sales began with our annual December auction of Important Design, whose remarkable $13.9 million result ranks as the highest-ever total for a various-owner Design auction at Sotheby's worldwide. The afternoon offered two dedicated sales of important works by Tiffany Studios works, whose combined result of $12.4 million marks Sotheby's highest-ever total for a day of Tiffany sales. These results punctuate an outstanding

fall season for Design at Sotheby's worldwide, with record-breaking auctions in Paris that included the personal collection of celebrated interior designer Jacques Grange.

"Bureau Crocodile" Estimate $350/500,000

Sold for $ 2.2 Million Auction Record for the Artist's

"Crocodile" Series © 2017 Damien Hirst / Artists Rights

Society (ARS), New York, NY

Below is a look at the important pieces and collections that drove this week's sales in New York:IMPORTANT DESIGN Auction Total $13.9 Million

84% Sold by Lot

The morning auction was led by a suite of three works from Claude Lalanne's highly-coveted "Crocodile" series, all emerging from the same Important Manhattan Collection. The group was highlighted by a "Bureau Crocodile" desk (estimate $350/500,000), which sold for $2.2 million - a new auction record for any "Crocodile"

work by Lalanne and the artist's second highest price at auction. The trio's two "Crocodile" Armchairs sold to the same bidder for $1.2 million and $975,000, respectively (estimates $300/500,000 each). Cast by Lalanne from a live model of the animal, the trio epitomizes the Surrealist influence that defines the artist's work and exhibits one of her most masterful interpretations of the form, as well as her acute dexterity and poetic imagination.

A landmark offering of leaded glass windows from two of Frank Lloyd

Wright's seminal early commissions also highlighted the sale. Marking one of the most exciting moments in recent Wright scholarship, two rediscovered Important and Rare "Sumac" Windows - featured in a historic exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1907 - each achieved $435,000 (estimates $200/300,000, respectively).

Designed for the Darwin D. Martin Complex in Buffalo, New York, one of Wright's greatest architectural triumphs, An Important and Rare "Tree of Life" Window (estimate $200/300,000) brought $435,000.

TIFFANY: DREAMING IN GLASS

Auction Total $5.1 Million

93% Sold by Lot

Our various-owner sale of Tiffany Studios designs was led by An Important and Rare "Cobweb and Apple Blossom" Table Lamp, which brought $1.2

2

million (estimate $700,000/1 million). Featuring a rare mosaic glass "Wheat" base, the work is one of three known lamps executed in this intricate motif and highlights two of Tiffany's most ubiquitous inspirations: insects and nature.

An Important "Wisteria" Table Lamp was also among the sale's top prices, fetching $975,000 (estimate $600/800,000). Painterly yet sculptural, impressionistic yet conventionalized, the piece represents a multitude of influences drawn from art and the natural world. Comprised of nearly 2,000 individually cut and selected glass tiles to articulate the shade's dripping wisteria blossoms, the work's complex design afforded Tiffany's glass selectors with ample opportunity to experiment with color.

MASTERWORKS BY TIFFANY STUDIOS: THE WILLIAM A RICHARDSON COLLECTION

Auction Total $7.3 Million

98% Sold by Lot

Sotheby's was honored to present 42 works from the collection of Mr.

William A. Richardson, which was led by a superb Hanging Head "Dragonfly" Floor Lamp that fetched $675,000 (estimate $300/500,000). The lamp embodies Tiffany craftsmanship with its striking, sublime color palette. The shade is accented with large cabochon jewels whose colors oscillate between shades of radiant blue and violet, changing with one's view point. Tiffany achieved this dynamic effect by adding a second layer of ultramarine blue glass behind the opalescent cabochons.

Among Tiffany's most artistic and complex floral designs, a "Poppy" Chandelier (estimate $200/300,000) achieved $615,000.

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*Estimates do not include buyer's premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer's premium and are net of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.

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