THE ART OF DESIGN

THE LEX AITKEN & ALFREDO BOURET GONZALEZ COLLECTION

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

&

SIBYL COLEFAX & JOHN FOWLER

39 BROOK STREET, MAYFAIR

AT CHRISTIE’S SOUTH KENSINGTON ON 4^th JUNE, 2014

Judging by the reaction shown to previous blogs many of you are interested in interiors and this sale certainly fits the brief and I hope will inspire you.

The Yellow Room, SIBYL COLEFAX & JOHN FOWLER, 39 BROOK STREET, MAYFAIR

Following on from the success of their collaboration last July, Christie’s have once again asked the firm of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler to take part in this sale. The result is a very well selected group of some sixty lots that totally symbolises the elegance and style of this internationally highly regarded firm. Furniture, lighting, pictures and mirrors amply reflect the élan of their interiors. Their Associate Director Daniel Slowik says “Taste for antiques has changed considerably over the last 10 years. There are various pieces in the sale that represent the growing demand for good quality 20th-century interpretations of the original: in the manner for instance of Maison Jansen. The Empire Revival desk (lot 27) being a good example. Traditionally, a guarantee of antique authenticity had been required, but today it is positively beneficial for a piece to be from the 1940s or 50s!  Less surprising when we see the quality of design being produced.”

An Interior View, THE LEX AITKEN & ALFREDO BOURET GONZALEZ COLLECTION FROM SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

The other portion of the sale is the collection of Lex Aitken and his partner Alfredo Bouret Gonzalez. Although as an interior designer Aitken had an international clientele one can see a taste of London influence in his work. Not surprising really as in the early 1960s he had opened Lex Aitken Limited at 84 Pimlico Road, which then as now, was an area noted for designers. Gonzalez was a fashion illustrator and designer and opened the boutique ‘Mexicana’ that sold Mexican peasant shirts and other clothes to fashionable London. After they retired they moved back to Aitken’s homeland of Australia.

WWW.CHRISTIES.COM

Lot 36, SIBYL COLEFAX & JOHN FOWLER, 39 BROOK STREET, MAYFAIR
A giltwood and parcel-gilt tole ten-branch chandelier, mid-20th century
Estimate: £2,000-3,000

http://www.sibylcolefax.com

All images courtesy of CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2014