NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announces a highlight of its upcoming Interiors sale on July 18, 19 and 20 is an extraordinary selection of original custom furnishings and decorative arts from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody, the late Los Angeles-based art collector and philanthropist. The Brodys celebrated collection of modern art made headlines in 2010 when it sold at Christie’s New York for a record-breaking $227 million, led by Pablo Picasso’s 1932 masterpiece Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust. The upcoming sale will feature an expansive collection of custom furniture, lighting, accessories and decorative arts from the Brody residence in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles, including one of the largest selections of items designed by the legendary Hollywood designer William “Billy” Haines. Over 100 items from the Brody collection will be featured in this special three-day Interiors sale, which is expected to yield a combined total in excess of $1.8 million.

For private collectors and members of the interior design community, the upcoming auction presents a rare opportunity to acquire the original furnishings from one of America’s most celebrated modern homes. As a young couple in 1949, the Brodys engaged Billy Haines and the legendary architect A. Quincy Jones to jointly design their home. In what became one of the innovative design partnerships of the era, Haines and Jones joined forces to create a tour-de-force of Modernist design, seamlessly blending the home’s layout and structure with uniquely crafted furnishings designed in Haines’s clean, minimalist style.

The upcoming sale marks the first time that Haines’s custom designs for the Brody House have ever been offered at auction. The home and its furniture have remained completely intact since the commission was completed in 1952, with occasional updates and fabric replacements performed over the years by Haines’ design firm. The selection of items includes dozens of one-of-a-kind pieces Haines built with draftsman and designer Michael Morris, from built-in, low-slung couches to tiered Lucite lamps specifically designed for the display of tabletop sculptures. Haines insisted on using only the finest materials, such as hand–tooled leather, special lacquers, custom fabrics and unusual woods.

Among the many brilliantly conceived design pieces in the collection is a matching set of wooden console tables with metal legs that Haines crafted with the home’s unique indoor-outdoor aesthetic in mind. Cleverly situated on either side of a sliding glass wall in the atrium, the two tables (pictured at left) gave the appearance of a single long table – a clever visual trick that blurred the lines between indoors and out. The two tables are estimated at $2,000-3,000 and $3,000 to $5,000, respectively.

Additional highlights of the Brody collection include:

ORIGINAL WILLIAM HAINES DESIGNS FROM THE BRODY COLLECTION

Lot 529
A BLEACHED PINE AND SLATE „BUBBLES‟
COFFEE TABLE
BY WILLIAM (BILLY) HAINES, CIRCA 1950
Estimate: $4,000-6,000

Lot 449
A PAIR OF VELVET -UPHOLSTERED AND
STAINED WALNUT HOSTESS CHAIRS,
BY WILLIAM (BILLY) HAINES, CIRCA 1950
Estimate: $3,000-5,000

Lot 463
SET OF SIX BRONZE, COPPER AND GILT
METAL CIRCULAR ASHTRAYS ,
BY WILLIAM (BILLY) HAINES AND MICHAEL
MORRISON, CIRCA 1950
Estimate: $1,200-1,800

Lot 453
GROUP OF THREE MIXED-METAL DISHES,
BY WILLIAM (BILLY) HAINES AND MICHAEL
MORRISON, CIRCA 1950
Estimate: $600-800

Lot 458
A PAIR OF OAK-MOUNTED SILVERED-METAL
TABLE LAMPS,
THE MOUNTS BY WILLIAM HAINES, CIRCA 1950
Estimate: $1,500-2,000

Lot 546
AN EBONI ZED OAK , BUTTON-TUFTED AND
QUILTED COTTON UPHOLSTERED CUSTOM DESIGNED LFORM
BANQUETTE,
BY WILLIAM (BILLY) HAINES, CIRCA 1950
Estimate: $4,000-6,000

Lot 476
A PAINTED WHITE EARTHENWARE VASE
ENTITLED „ARENA (ALAN RAMIE 406)‟ LATER
MOUNTED AS A LAMP,
THE VASE BY PABLO PICASSO, 1958,
THE MOUNT BY WILLIAM HAINES
Estimate: $3,000-5,000

Lot 524
A TIERED LUCITE TABLE LAMP,
BY WILLIAM (BILLY) HAINES, CIRCA 1950
Estimate: $600-800

Lot 536
A PATINATE D-METAL AND VINYL COVERED SOFA
BY WILLIAM (BILLY) HAINES, CIRCA 1950
Estimate: $3,000-5,000

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BRODY COLLECTION

Lot 564
THE MR. & MRS. SIDNEY F. BRODY ART
REFERENCE LIBRARY
MODERN, APPOXIMATELY 130 VOLUMES
including museum catalogues, artist
monographs, and other reference books on
paintings and sculpture
Estimate: $1,000-1,500

Lot 276
A MANABI-MANTANO STONE STELE,
ECUADOR, CIRCA 850-1500 AD
Estimate: $7,000-9,000

Lot 143
A SET OF FOUR GERMAN PORCELAIN
ITALIAN COMEDY FIGURES,
IMPRESSED SHIELD MARK FOR NYMPHENBURG,
VARIOUS INCISED NUMERALS, 20TH CENTURY
Estimate: $1,500-2,000

Lot 475
TWO AKAN-STYLE TERRACOTTA HEADS,
PROBABLY GHANA
Estimate: $600-800

In addition to furnishings from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody, the July Interiors sale features important works by the West Coast artists Charles Arnoldi, Larry Bell, and Peter Alexander, as well as a selection of Asian art, African and Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian works of art. The furniture and objects section includes a vast array of silver, English and American furniture, fine rugs, mirrors and lighting and small decorative items.

Auction: Interiors July 18-20, 2011
Viewing: Christie’s Rockefeller Center Galleries July 15-20, 2011

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.