Art & Culture

Christie’s Auctions Pieces from Design Legend Charlotte Perriand’s Personal Collection

The family is selling prototypes and rare selections from the iconic architect’s Paris apartment to help fund the preservation of her work

By Jill Sieracki

May 25, 2022

Minimalist dining room with white walls, red accents, a wooden table, chairs, and a wall-mounted light fixture. — Swivel gallows (1938) made for the dining room in Charlotte Perriand’s Paris apartment. Photo: Julian Clobus

Among the 164 lots in today’s Design sale at Christie’s Paris, 15 of them carry a provenance unlike any other. Sourced directly from Charlotte Perriand’s apartment on Rue de Las Cases, they’re being brought to market by members of the legendary designer’s family in an effort to raise funds to further efforts to archive her work and promote the research into her creative process. Along with the pieces themselves, the Perriand family also shared related drawings, architectural plans, and other artifacts.

“She’s a pioneer and an icon and she had so many monumental projects,” says Flavien Gaillard, Director of the Design Department at Christie’s. “She was traveling to Africa, Japan, and Brazil with her husband Jacques Martin, who worked at Air France, and every time, she connected with the craft of the country. She was really a sponge taking in all that inspiration, the spirit of a place, a country, and rediscovering the tradition of making furniture around that.”

Modern wooden shelving unit with alternating black and white supports, featuring open and minimalist design against white background. — This bookcase prototype by Charlotte Perriand went for €252,000 in today’s Design auction at Christie’s Paris. Photo: Christie's Images

Modern minimalist living room with a black sofa, wooden paneling, and a wall-mounted lamp on a white background. — A 1938 lighting fixture, wood bench, and storage unit designed by Charlotte Perriand sold at Christie’s Paris. Photo: Christie's Images

Minimalist dining room with a light wood table, red alcove, and a wall-mounted lamp, featuring wooden chairs and a potted plant. — Swivel gallows (1938) made for the dining room in Charlotte Perriand’s Paris apartment. Photo: Julian Clobus

The sale is just the latest endeavor to further promote Perriand’s groundbreaking work, which was presented in a blockbuster 2019-2020 exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Some of the proceeds from today’s live auction will go towards helping bring the show to international venues.

Coming up for auction are unique pieces and unpublished prototypes, many Perriand created for her own use. Featured are a pair of 1938 lighting fixtures, estimated to bring between €120,000 and €180,000, of which only five examples are known. Also included are a desk, tables, seating, and various storage items which are emblematic of Perriand’s oeuvre.

Wooden cabinet with multiple shelves filled with stacked records and albums, showing a mid-century modern design. — This record table prototype, created by Charlotte Perriand for the apartment she shared in Tokyo with husband Jacques Martin sold for €182,700, far exceeding its €50,000 to €70,000 pre-sale estimate. Photo: Christie's Images

One of the highlights is a Gaillard favorite—a prototype storage console designed for records with beautiful proportions, block feet, and a perfect geometry of rectangular drawers and shelves. (Estimated to achieve between €50,000 and €70,000, the cabinet saw the hammer drop at €182,700.) “This is a little jewel,” says Gaillard. “I’m really in love with that piece in the auction.”

Architectural sketch with abstract human figures and structural details, showing measurements and design elements. — Archival drawing of large storage unit with four sliding doors, rue de Las Cases bedroom, 1965. Photo: Archives Charlotte Perriand

Mid-century modern living room with wooden furniture, decorative art pieces, and a model sailboat on display. — The storage unit realized carried a pre-sale estimate of €150,000 to €200,000. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's Images

The Perriand works join other stellar furniture, lighting, and accessories by her contemporaries such as Georges Jouvre, Eero Saarinen, Jean Prouvé, and Serge Mouille, among others. Ahead of the sale, Christie’s collaborated with Stockholm interior designer Fredrik Karlsson, who curated an exhibition of the selections. In his work, Karlsson regularly seeks out authentic, historical selections with provenance and patina. “When you have a thing that looks very simple in its design, but is timeless and has a patina and a really strong story, you have something that inspires you everyday—and that is very powerful,” Gaillard tells Galerie. “These are really timeless pieces. Charlotte had a very long way of thinking, and all the units she created during her life are easy to live with and mix with [items that appeal to] 20th- and 21st-century clients. That is why she’s so iconic, and one of the most famous women designers.”