Investing in Mid-Century Modern Furniture
By Richard Chang
Sunday August 18, 7:45 pm Eastern Time
Reuters Business Report
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Furniture from the 1950s is enjoying a revival as sitcom reruns and movies add luster to period decor, especially when rising values promise better returns than the stock market. ADVERTISEMENT
But at current prices, the style in homes that our parents and many of us grew up in is called "Mid-Century Modern."
Prices have gone up "astronomically," said Leslie Pina, author of "Fifties Furniture" (Schiffer, schifferbooks.com). "The economy is at a standstill, but I believe prices will continue to go up as it recovers, because there are more new collectors all the time, but there'll never be more goods."
As antique Chippendale, Queen Anne and Mission furniture has been priced out of reach for most collectors, post-World War II styles have become the next investment choice. Their clean, simple lines, which fit well in contemporary homes and offices, make them a logical choice.
"I don't think there's anybody who's 55 who doesn't remember 'Leave It To Beaver's' living room. Eventually the best of it will get up to Chippendale's level (in value)," said Terry Kovel, co-author of Kovel's Antiques and Collectibles (http://www.kovels.com).
Among the cream of the crop is furniture by Herman Miller (http://www.hermanmiller.com), a company in Zeeland, Michigan, that has commissioned many ground-breaking designs from architects and artists since 1923. The company, which began as the Star Furniture Co. in 1905, made only traditional wood furniture until the shrinking market during the Depression forced it to hire industrial designer Gilbert Rohde and take a chance with modern design.
Herman Miller entered the office furniture market in 1942, and when Rohde died in 1944 he was replaced by architect George Nelson, who created many icons from the period, including the Marshmallow Sofa that first came out in 1958. Original versions of the sofa, made up of double rows of round cushions for the seat and the back, now sell for $8,000 to $18,000.
One reason for the revival is the high price of new, upscale furniture; it may not be any cheaper than a lot of vintage classics, which attracts both serious collectors and people who are merely looking to furnish their home.
"It's a curious thing that a lot of the '50s and '60s classic designs are purchased as new furniture and as retro as well," Pina said. "It's half a century old and it's still modern."
"George Nelson's designs are most sought after right now by Europeans," said Lisanne Dickson, director of Modern Design at John Toomey Gallery (http://www.treadwaygallery.com) in Oak Park, Illinois. The gallery sold an oversized Marshmallow Sofa, custom-made for a New York lobby, for $60,000 in December 1998.
At a Philips auction in May, a rare one with white vinyl cushions -- found in a Florida dentist's office -- fetched a record $129,00.
Prices have softened with the economy, notably for designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, the husband-and-wife team whose stacking chairs made of molded fiberglass on a steel base became such a common sight in the second half of the last century.
A very rare Eames chair from around 1950, made of molded plywood upholstered with "slunk skin" from an unborn calf, sold for $35,000 in 1999, far above its estimate of $5,000 to $7,000.
"People are interested in top class examples across the period," Dickson said. "Those stay strong. But the mediocre, run-of-the-mill (pieces) are soft right now. They're not getting the kind of dealer support as in the past. We're seeing the effects of the market, the economy, but we're optimistic."
At the more affordable end of the scale, mass-produced Heywood-Wakefield furniture, along the lines seen in 1950s and '60s family sitcoms, has ascended from second-hand status to the collectible area. Dealers specializing in the style, made from 1936 to 1966, have sprung up around the country, supplying restored and refinished pieces of the blond wood furniture.
"Twenty years ago my parents were selling it as they found it. It wasn't worth the effort to restore it," said Harris Gertz, co-owner of CityBarn Antiques in the fashionable SoHo district in New York (http://www.deco-echoes.com/citybarn). A five-piece bedroom set cost $500 in the early 1980s, when the secondary market emerged, compared with an original price tag of about $200, Gertz estimated. The going price now is $3,500.
"It's so beautiful and so elegant without being frou-frou," said Sandra Forrest, a Heywood-Wakefield collector. "And the colors are wonderful. It still looks contemporary now."
Reproductions are being made by a Miami-Beach, Florida-based company that bought the rights to the Heywood-Wakefield name and eagle logo (http://www.heywoodwakefield.com) in 1992. However, purists say the quality and finish do not match up to the original, and it's unlikely that they will appreciate in value.
Even among authentic pieces, "most of the stuff is not collectible," said Chris Parody, who restores and sells Heywood-Wakefield furniture from Strictly hey-wake in Hagerstown, Maryland (http://www.strictlyheywake.com).
"Maybe only 25 percent may bring a high dollar. Fifty percent will bring enough money worth a dealer messing with. And 25 percent is amorphous to dealers."
[Harry: Trying to figure out what is an original is still the problem. Owing the odd piece of furniture from the era, I can't say I like the inflated prices. Most it is not all that collectible, despite what they say and the modern day editions are overpriced.] |
