The news from several art publications is filled with reports that are probably a surprise to the traditional, wealthy collector. An article in Art Daily reports that Barnebys design report proves that furniture by top designers rivals art (oil paintings, etc.) as an investment. We have noticed furniture by Isamu Noguchi or Paul Evans is selling for higher prices every year for the last five to ten years. Bloomberg just reported that Renoir, Van Gogh and other late 1890s to early 1900s paintings are going down in price. Since the 1950s, design that is three-dimensional, made for the room not the wall, has been going up in price and when sold, brings a profit. But most collectors of moderate means like to keep their collections and add to them. It isn’t decorating, it’s an emotional attachment. We hope it’s true. We are three-dimensional collectors. We don’t buy many flat, wall-hung two-dimensional prints or pictures. We do not buy art as an investment; we buy it to live with and enjoy. But how can we explain the 1982 Jean Michel Basquiat painting that just sold for $110.5 million to set a record for the highest priced painting ever sold in the United States? A table designed by Noguchi sells for about $5,000. Is the painting more important than 22,100 Noguchi tables?
dyoungrusch- Your problem although understandable is one for a personal contents appraiser who has knowledge and resources that the average consumer wouldn’t. How do I know this? Because that’s what I do and that’s what I tell my clients. There are many reasons why an appraiser is contacted from insurance reports to curiosity. An appraiser would examine your pieces from a photo or in person to look for hallmarks and condition and research would then be conducted and a verbal approximation or written report would be submitted. A work file is always kept. Please look for an appraiser that is USPAP compliant and with an accredited organization. Do your due diligence like you would to find any other professional. Good luck. Please contact me if you would like more resources.
The Theirot chair is a Michael Taylor designed chair. Thonet made Bentwood. Michael Taylor has that chair listed on line on his site.
My problem is that the value of contemporary designer furniture is sometimes very difficult to determine. I have around a dozen matching, original Theiriot bentwood chairs (have labels), but I cannot even find an image of them online. Thus, collecting becomes more difficult.