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PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF ROBIN AND LUCIENNE DAY TO BE SOLD TO BENEFIT THE ROBIN AND LUCIENNE DAY FOUNDATION
Robin Day is a figure of singular distinction in the story of design in Britain. With self-assurance and good sense, and without ever falling for the temptations of stylistic ostentation, Day brought to furniture design a combination of clarity, practicality, and understated elegance that situates him as a notable exponent of the best principles of the modern movement.
Day's career enjoyed the early boost of winning first prize, in collaboration with Clive Latimer, in the New York Museum of Modern Art's 1949 competition for low-cost furniture. The winning design was a model of the elegant solutions to domestic and contract design and manufacturing challenges that were to define Day's career. The New York success led to the establishment of a long working relationship with furniture manufacturer Hille. Day's wife, Lucienne, meanwhile, won the Gold Medal at the 1951 Milan Triennale for her fabric design 'Calyx'.
The works presented here, consigned directly from the designers' estate, constitute key elements by both Robin and Lucienne of the furnishing of the homes they shared, first, for nearly half a century in Cheyne Walk, London, then, in the last years of their life, in a town house in Chichester. Photographs, most recently a series published in The World of Interiors (June 2011, pp. 146-153), show the pieces in situ- simple, functional, classic, clean-lined furnishings that have proved themselves timeless.
ROBIN DAY (1915-2010)
'FORUM' SETTEE, DESIGNED 1964
Details
ROBIN DAY (1915-2010)
'FORUM' SETTEE, DESIGNED 1964
manufactured by Hille, mahogany, with steel legs, rubber webbing and leather upholstery
26 in. (66 cm.) high; 80¾ in. (205.1 cm.) wide; 32 in. (81.3 cm.) deep
'FORUM' SETTEE, DESIGNED 1964
manufactured by Hille, mahogany, with steel legs, rubber webbing and leather upholstery
26 in. (66 cm.) high; 80¾ in. (205.1 cm.) wide; 32 in. (81.3 cm.) deep
Literature
L. Jackson, Robin & Lucienne Day: Pioneers of Contemporary Design, London, 2001, p. 53 for the present settee illustrated in situ, Cheyne Walk, London; p. 111 for an example of this design illustrated in a period advertising brochure;
World of Interiors, 'All in a Day's Work', June 2011, p. 148, for the present settee illustrated in situ, Chichester, Sussex;
D. Bradbury, Iconic Interiors: 1900 to Present, London, 2012, p. 265 for the present settee illustrated in situ, Chichester, Sussex.
World of Interiors, 'All in a Day's Work', June 2011, p. 148, for the present settee illustrated in situ, Chichester, Sussex;
D. Bradbury, Iconic Interiors: 1900 to Present, London, 2012, p. 265 for the present settee illustrated in situ, Chichester, Sussex.
Brought to you by
Erin Caswell