Gordon Watson auction

It’s especially timely, given the current debate of blurring boundaries between the worlds of art and design, that London auctioneers Sotheby’s are hosting an extravaganza of an auction: 20th Century Decorative Arts, selected by Gordon Watson. Following the exorbitant success of Watson’s single-owner sales last year, Sotheby’s approached the maverick collector to pool his resources, rifle through his contacts and badger his friends into giving-up some of their most precious wares.

The resulting collection is nothing short of a masterpiece. The diverse and eclectic hoard of over 250 lots spans eight decades of 20th century design including French Art Deco furniture from masters Pierre Chareau, Paul Dupre-Lafon and Jacques Adnet, Venetian glass by Carlo Scarpa and Fulvio Bianconi, and even a sprinkling of contemporary English silver from Paul Belvoir. In his own words Watson admitted ‘If this catalogue came through my door, I’d faint.’

We took the opportunity to grab a few minutes with the ebullient character to hear his thoughts on design in auction and find out how he went about scouring the globe in six months to pull it all together. Click here to read our interview with the man himself.

Click here to see a selection of lots from the auction.

25 September 2007 | Design