With his love of natural materials and his deep understanding of the need for furniture to be functional as well as beautiful, Hans J. Wegner (1914–2007) made mid-century Danish design popular on an international scale. He began his career as a cabinetmaker in 1931 and subsequently entered the Copenhagen School of Arts & Crafts. After receiving his architectural degree in 1938, he worked as a designer in Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller’s architectural office before establishing his own office in 1943.

With more than 500 different chair designs Wegner is the most prolific Danish designer to date. His international breakthrough and greatest sales success came in 1949 when he designed the Round chair. The American magazine Interiors featured the chair on the cover and referred to it as “the world’s most beautiful chair”. The chair rose to stardom when used in the televised presidential debates between Nixon and Kennedy in 1960 and has since been known simply as “The Chair”.

The real beauty of Wegner’s genius must be seen in context with his collaboration with master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen. The attitude with which Johannes Hansen accepted the young designer’s ideas was the perfect combination between designer and craftsman. Their collaboration went on for many years, and they presented their work at the Cabinetmaker’s show every year from 1941–1966.

Wegner’s design went on to win worldwide recognition through the 1950’s and 1960’s and his furniture, in particular his chairs, are to be found in the permanent collections of the world’s most prestigious museums.

New arrival a wonderful Chodoff Coffee Table 

Mr. Chodoff's shop on East 57th Street was opened in the early 1950's and was among the first to introduce the furniture of some of the great designers of the 1930's to this country -the bronzes of Diego Giacometti, the white plaster lamps and furniture of Jean-Michel Frank and the lacquers of Eileen Gray.

Mr. Chodoff also sought or designed furniture for customers' homes, often selecting what he found amusing. For the Rome apartment of the fashion designer Valentino, Mr. Chodoff found horn furniture amusing. For the home in Portugal of Antenor Patino, heir to a tin-mining fortune, it was Indian furniture, and for Jane Fonda's house outside Paris, Mr. Chodoff uncovered some fanciful lamps.

Mr. Chodoff closed his shop in 1979. He continued to make his own designs under the name Chodoff Ltd.

   Horace Farlowe's recent works represent the culmination of thirty-seven years of stone carving and painting research. The sculptures, in particular, are an evolution toward a complex goal of spontaneity. Success for this sculptor is defined by the hard appearing easy, by the illusion that the laborious is easy. A sculpture may be carved from many blocks of marble which are then combined, juxtaposed and assembled, suggesting in the result of almost spontaneous generation. The paintings, like many of the sculptures, are about passageways, archways, bridges and windows. The journey for the perceiver is a round trip from the real to the imaginary and illusory and back. There is an interplay of architectonic form and free space (a comfortable atmosphere)."

Dr. William Squires Professor of Art Criticism Lamar Dodd School of Art The University of Georgia

HORACE L. FARLOWE OBITUARY

April 8th has marked the passing of two great artists, Pablo Picasso in 1973 and most recently my father Horace L. Farlowe. was born in 1933 in Robbins, a small town in North Carolina. Even as a small child he felt compelled to draw. In 1953, after one semester at Appalachian State University, Dad joined the marines and was sent to Korea. After returning home in 1957, he studied architecture at North Carolina State University. The architectural concepts acquired during those years in Raleigh would continue to play recurring roles in his work throughout his life. In 1961 Dad transferred to Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) in North Carolina. His decision was driven by his desire to study under the painter Russell Arnold. Also during this period Dad became heavily influenced by the work of Willem de Kooning, Richard Diebeikorn, and Constantin Brancusi. During graduate school at East Carolina University from 1963-1964, Dad turned his attention to sculpture. In particular, he experimented with carving marble, the process and material which would dominate the rest of his life. In 1979, after several previous academic appointments,  accepted a teaching position at the University of Georgia in order to develop a stone carving program. After retiring Professor Emeritus in 2000, he worked full-time in his studio.He literally ate, slept, and breathed art. Commissions, teaching appointments, and marble quarries determined each place he called home or vacationed. In essence, for art was not only a lifestyle, but also a religion. He firmly stood behind his motto that in order to be an artist you must work! His paintings and sculpture in public and private collections scattered throughout the United States and abroad are his legacy. They were his way of giving back to the world. Each of those pieces speaks volumes about their creator. 

I want to continue the discussion,What is an Antique", centered around my previous posting in June which ended at the beginning of the 20th century, 'What is an Antique". The turn of the 20th century had many different movements, from the At Nouveau, Bauhaus, Edwardian and the Modern Movement, almost all of it derived from previous movements ,including the notion of anti anything previously . Most of the art and antiques from the past up to and including Mid-Century/Modern follow the sociai movements of the times, but that would take a few volumes and is not suitable for this genre.

I want to look at a few pieces off of my new website, especially under  the new category that we just developed called Mid-Century/Modern The first item is item 1191 A pair of Robsjohns-Gibbings style benches
Robsjohns-Gibbings was inspired from the Greek Classism and looking at his 1950's designed benches its very easy to see how stylistically they feel and look and could have easily been found in ancient times in Greece or buried under the ashes of Pompeii, yet they have there own modern twist to them, but made in Greece in the 1950's. The present benches have no label affixed to them so there is no way of knowing if they were indeed made in Greece. Antique benches, "NO", but the inspiration "YES"!
Now l want to look at at one more item , item number 1282 Large Spanish Wooden Wall Hanging. The star-bust wood and gilt hanging is definitely influenced from centuries much earlier yet this particular item made in the 1960's in Spain and signed by the artist is truely a piece that transitions all styles. Some top designers have taken memos on this item both to use in and antique setting, a mixed setting and a total now/modern setting.

"What is an Antique", the question transends time and today is probably a subjective question and a philosophical one, although I to tend to think of items at they very minimum being from the 19th century. I would rather have a find piece both in design and craftsmanships from the 20th and 21st century, than something poorly designed and poorly made from older centuries.

Please feel free to comment on this Blog or any other topics related to design and art.

Thanks,

Jeffrey Raphael

Welcome to our new website. We have put a lot of thought into the design in what we think will make your browsing experience a great one. We have also cross referenced many items into more than one category. You may find as an example item 1287:
under both Mid-Century/Modern and also listed listed in the Antique area under Dining Room Tables

   http://www.jeffreymarieantiques.com/antiques/furniture/tables/dining-room-tables-1/modern-horace-farlowe-table

Chandeliers by example are all listed under Antique Chandeliers and if they are also Mid-century/Modern they would also show in that category, by example item 1264

 http://www.jeffreymarieantiques.com/antiques/mid-century-modern/mid-century-italian-chandelier

I hope you enjoy the new website and do not forget to registar and log-in to see List Prices.

 How old is an Antique?

Legally for import purposes, objects 100 years and older are not subjected to any Tariffs. A law was passed in 1930 establishing this precedent, which applies today. The law at that time considered the beginning of the “Machine Age”which was 1830, hence anything made before 1830 by hand was considered an antique. Lets look at anything over 100 ears old, including copies, intentional fakes, intentionally modified pieces and restored pieces

“How old is antique”, is as old as recorded time itself. The Romans copied the Greek Statues and at the time sold them to their citizens as “real” Greek statues. Now today we consider the 2000-year-old statues that were made then and copied after the Greek highly desirable and I might add very costly. We have an Italian bust item number 1269 on our website which is 17^th/18^th century. Busts such as these were made for the elite of the “Golden Age” of antiques, the late 17^th and on into the 18^th century. There have been well-documented stories of antiquity dealers breaking up Roman statues into parts where the parts are worth more than the sum.

“How old is an antique” becomes more of a question of a philosophical nature with more questions. A piece made in the 18^th century that had a marble top and which was perhaps also later changed in the 18^th century because it was either broken or the color of the marble was changed to match a fireplace in the room bears the question of a modified piece in the 18^th century and if its authentic. Obviously anyone would rarely care as long as the changed marble still was hand cut and still followed the lines and the decoration of the piece. The question still goes on, what if the piece was modified in the 18^th century either because something happened in its moving or perhaps it did not quite fit into the scale of another room and better yet, what if the piece was made by a master and yet altered by another master some 30 years later. Pieces such as these are sitting in museums today. Look at my website item number 088, a 18^th century South German Commode that has never been touched since its birth in the 18^th century, a pure and fine piece in the truest sense. I examined it for 30 minutes before I bought it, as I could not believe its untouched condition.

The question continues, “How old is an antique”, once a piece was made as in my first example of Greek Statue, these pieces were continually made up to and including today. The19th century is filled with some very fine copies of the 18^th century pieces, but there are some tell tale signs that they are not 18^th century. These tell tale signs take years in some cases of looking, touching and comparing, but today these 19th century 100 year old pieces are still considered antiques, but in the “style” of their earlier counterparts.

Years ago I was at a restorer’s work shop in Manhattan and he pulled open a draw and low and behold there they were, the stamps of some very famous 18^th century cabinetmakers. Look at my chair item number 1270 to see a real 18^th century French chair with its original stamp.

The question “how old is an antique” continues and will always continue because you always want to get what you are paying for whether it’s a 2000 year old Roman copy of a Greek marble statue or a 19^th century copy of an 18^th century chair. Dealers that are knowledgeable and honest are always willing to share their knowledge with their clients.

I will continue this discussion at a later date as we get into the 20^th century and  including the mid 20^th Century (see our item number 1282), which is considered fine rare vintage. Today is tomorrow’s antiques.

Please be on the lookout for the recently published article in Luxe magazine featuring myself and Jeffrey Marie Antiques. 

Friday, March 05, 2010 from Allison Palidino noted Palm Beach interior designer:

Interior designer Allison Paladino of Allison Paladino Interior Design in Palm Beach is one of Antique Row’s local champions. “I shop many different cities, including New York and New Orleans,” she says. “We are so lucky to have Antique Row in our own back yard, with a diverse crowd of dealers and many fine antiques with a lot of character that don’t cost an arm and a leg”

“She also enjoys shopping at Jeffrey-Marie ………. There are antiques right here that are just as good as Kentshire,” she says, referring to the well known New York antiques house.”

By RITA KONIG  | FEBRUARY 2, 2010, 12:44 PM

“…………..Across the street are some slightly more serious antiques shops, like Jeffrey-Marie Antiques Inc. at 3720, and Wilson Antiques at 3716. Jeffrey-Marie has beautiful chandeliers and furniture, while Wilson has a courtyard in back full of potential garden furniture, some great lamps and extremely kitsch tole pineapple wall hangings. I’m seeing a pineapple theme!”