EILEEN GRAY (1878-1976) - Lot 42

EILEEN GRAY (1878-1976) Glace-escalier, 1919-1924, possibly a one-off from Galerie Jean Désert Hanging vanity mirror. The base, evoking a double-flight staircase, is made of sycamore veneer; the central part accommodates a projecting drawer; each end features a recess with a lighting system. The curved top features an original beveled mirror encircled by a wide brown lacquered molding. The back has a removable back and a wall-hanging system. Condition and restorations. Height: 53.3cm - Length: 71.5cm - Depth: 20cm Provenance: Our work was most probably among those dispersed when Galerie Jean Désert closed in 1930 (cf. inventory of stock that year). The artist herself organized the dispersal, bringing together clients and friends to acquire the works on preferential terms. Bibliography: - Wendingen - Eileen Gray, meubelen en intérieurs - N°6 of 1924. Our Glace-escalier, or an identical model, reproduced on page 17. - Henri Verne and René Chavance - Pour comprendre l'art décoratif moderne en France - Éditions Hachette, Paris, 1925. Our Glace-escalier, or an identical model, reproduced on page 209. - J. Stewart Johnson - Eileen Gray, designer - Catalogue accompanying the exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (February 6 - April 1, 1980), Debrett's Peerage Ltd. publishers, London, 1979. A Glace-escalier referenced on page 31 in the 1930 inventory of the Jean Désert boutique. - Brigitte Loye - Eileen Gray 1879-1976, architecture design - Éditions Analeph/ J. P. Viguier, 1983. A Glace-escalier referenced as number 83 on page 154 in the 1930 inventory of the Jean Désert boutique. - Peter Adam - Eileen Gray, Architect / Designer - Éditions H. N. Abrams, New York, 1987. A mirror-hairdresser cited on page 99-101 as part of the decoration for Madame Mathieu-Lévy's bedroom-boudoir in her apartment on the rue de Lota (no photograph), the work also referenced under number 180 in the catalog raisonné, page 390.