George Tooker, Jean Dunand, and René Lalique Art Deco Headline Sire Records’ Seymour Stein Collection Sale

Rago’s next auction is a feast for the eyes and mind. The auction house presents property from the Collection of Seymour Stein. The influential music executive was the Chairman of Sire Records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. Along with music, Stein has a keen eye for art and anything artistic. His estate auction starts with George Tooker’s Sleep. The tempera on board shows a man sleeping on a comfortable-looking bed with his arm covering his eyes. The background also looks calming, but there is something about the sleeping man that makes the viewer feel like he isn’t entirely comfortable. Tooker spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn and Long Island, later graduating from Harvard with an English degree. However, it was the art he was interested in. Tooker’s works like Subway (1950) and The Waiting Room (1957) are influential for their haunting depiction of everyday urban life.

Another notable lot from Seymour Stein’s collection is a composition by Jean Dunand. This piece is stucco with gold leaf and lacquer over wood that depicts fishermen on a boat pulling the fish in. Jean Dunand was one of the few Western artists who mastered Japanese lacquer techniques. He created unique patterns called Dunand’s eggshell, an example of which is available in this auction. The catalog also offers floor lamps from Edgar Brandt, glass panels from René Lalique, vases from Charles Catteau, and cocktail shakers from J. A. Henckels. Find the listed items and the auction catalog by visiting Rago.