A Pair of Italian Painted and Parcel Gilt Lyre-Back Armchairs

18th Century

Height 38 inches.

Property from the Estate of Frank McIntosh, Greenport, New York

Frank J. McIntosh, homeware and accessories merchant and merchandiser, entered the New York retail scene in the early 1950s as the protégé of philanthropist and socialite Pauline Vandervoort Hoving, wife of Walter Hoving, chairman of the board of Tiffany & Co., with whom he traveled the world attending trade shows and honing his eye for fashion and the decorative arts. He was later hired by Henri Bendel as a merchandiser, where he was tasked with creating displays for the luxury retailer's famed "Street of Shops." In this role, McIntosh is credited as having introduced numerous renowned designers to the American retail market, including Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Karl Springer, Alessi and others.

McIntosh gradually transitioned into the tableware sector in the 1970s and established his own company in a leased partnership with Henri Bendel, which he eventually expanded to several other cities around the country. A pioneer in the world of tableware and home accessories, McIntosh’s eponymous line presented an eclectic array of accessible yet sophisticated table settings. Among his most noted designs were table linens manufactured in the United States and abroad. Numerous items from Frank McIntosh's personal collection of furniture and decorative arts are included throughout this auction and in our upcoming Chicago Collections auction.

Seat height (without cushions) 16 3/4 inches. Seat depth 19 x seat width 18 inches. Sturdy and usable but needing light conservation for stability and to protect the painted finish, which is somewhat fragile and flaking. Worm holes, age cracks, small chips and paint losses throughout, with exposed gesso, as is typical. Caning intact but older and somewhat delicate. Seat cushions are stained and worn. Decorative end caps missing from the hand holds of the arms.

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Please email for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Corbin Horn

Vice President, Head of Department, European Furniture & Decorative Arts

[email protected]312.334.4214

Mr. Horn joined the firm in 2009 and has directed numerous sales of important collections, including those of Lilly Pulitzer, Lord Anthony and Lady Jacobs, Lars Bolander, Casa de Sueños in Miami Beach, and Villa Massei in Lucca, Italy. He has also achieved record results for consignments from prominent institutions, including the Toledo Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Minnesota Historical Society. Mr. Horn is a member of the Antiquarian Society of the Art Institute of Chicago and is an alumnus of the Attingham Trust.

European Furniture & Decorative Arts

A Pair of Italian Painted and Parcel Gilt Lyre-Back Armchairs

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