Overvalued

Marc Newson, “Orgone Stretch Lounge” (1993)
Est. £400–600,000
Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Design, October 18, Lot 32

Newson, a darling of the design movement who is represented by Gagosian in the primary market, is best known for his riveted sheet aluminum “Lockheed Lounge” from 1986, a version of which sold for £748,500 at Christie’s London last October.

The Sotheby’s piece, made in 1993, doesn’t have quite the same gravitas, though Newsom has sung its praises: “The form is one that I was striving for when I made the ‘Lockheed Lounge,’ but in those days, I didn’t have the knowledge or the resources to make it.”

The current aluminum and enamel version, described in the Sotheby’s catalogue as the second artist's proof from an edition of 6, is a gorgeous object but too rich in expectations. In June 2006 at Phillips de Pury & Company in New York, another version from the same POD edition, number 3 of 6, fetched a whopping $520,000 (est. $300–400,000). It’s questionable whether an artist’s proof has the legs to hurdle this mark in a troubling climate.

Courtesy Sotheby's