Gerald (1886) Summers Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Gerald (1886) Summers Art Value Price Guide

Nov. 01, 2024
§ GERALD SUMMERS (BRITISH 1899-1967) FOR MAKERS OF SIMPLE FURNITURE
Est: £4,000 - £6,000
GERALD SUMMERS (BRITISH 1899-1967) FOR MAKERS OF SIMPLE FURNITURE OCCASIONAL TABLE, DESIGNED 1933-4 birch plywood 40.5cm high, 73cm diameter (16in high, 28 ¾in diameter) Private Collection, London. English designer Gerald Summers and his partner Marjorie Butcher opened their London shop, Makers of Simple Furniture, in 1931. The firm’s proprietors saw themselves as outsiders, with a mission to create simple and functional furniture responsive to the requirements of the modern home. Confidently employing Summers’ rational approach to design with an emphasis on function, materials, and methods of manufacture, he produced more than 200 designs during its short tenure, before it closed in 1940. Conceived, in Gerald’s words, as “furniture for the concrete age,” these pieces helped shape the notion of the modern interior in Britain.Makers of Simple Furniture’s products found an enthusiastic audience among forward-thinking members of the British public. Department stores and furnishing shops in London, such as Heal’s, carried many of the firm’s stock designs, and pieces were placed in progressive design exhibitions. Today, as more of his designs come to light, we, too, can experience firsthand the rare combination of simplicity, utility, and beauty that distinguishes Gerald’s work in its entirety and makes his furniture as compelling to us in the twenty-first century as it was to the avant-garde in the 1930s.
Lyon & Turnbull
Nov. 01, 2024
§ GERALD SUMMERS (BRITISH 1899-1967) FOR MAKERS OF SIMPLE FURNITURE
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
GERALD SUMMERS (BRITISH 1899-1967) FOR MAKERS OF SIMPLE FURNITURE ARMCHAIR, DESIGNED 1934 birch plywood 75cm high, 59.5cm wide (29 ½in high, 23 3/8in wide) Private Collection, London. English designer Gerald Summers and his partner Marjorie Butcher opened their London shop, Makers of Simple Furniture, in 1931. The firm’s proprietors saw themselves as outsiders, with a mission to create simple and functional furniture responsive to the requirements of the modern home. Confidently employing Summers’ rational approach to design with an emphasis on function, materials, and methods of manufacture, he produced more than 200 designs during its short tenure, before it closed in 1940. Conceived, in Gerald’s words, as “furniture for the concrete age,” these pieces helped shape the notion of the modern interior in Britain.Makers of Simple Furniture’s products found an enthusiastic audience among forward-thinking members of the British public. Department stores and furnishing shops in London, such as Heal’s, carried many of the firm’s stock designs, and pieces were placed in progressive design exhibitions. Today, as more of his designs come to light, we, too, can experience firsthand the rare combination of simplicity, utility, and beauty that distinguishes Gerald’s work in its entirety and makes his furniture as compelling to us in the twenty-first century as it was to the avant-garde in the 1930s.
Lyon & Turnbull
Nov. 01, 2024
§ GERALD SUMMERS (BRITISH 1899-1967) FOR MAKERS OF SIMPLE FURNITURE
Est: £2,000 - £3,000
GERALD SUMMERS (BRITISH 1899-1967) FOR MAKERS OF SIMPLE FURNITURE FRINTON PARK FOLDING TABLE, DESIGNED c.1935 birch plywood 72cm high, 110.2cm diameter (28 3/8in high, 43 3/8in diameter) Private Collection, London. This folding dining table was made for the Show Home at the Frinton Park Estate which was designed by the Architect Oliver Hill. This was a Modernist self-contained seaside estate of 200 acres. Each site was planned to give un-interrupted views over the cliffs to the sea and the Show Home had a wide curved window on both the ground and upper floor with sweeping views over the water.The most innovative designer in Britain in the 1930's Gerald Summers' significance is only now being appreciated as emphasis has heretofore been placed upon the achievements of European and Scandinavian designers and because 'Makers of Simple Furniture' was a small company, producing mainly to order, without the publicity machine of larger workshops.Originally offered through Heals, Harrods and select department stores in the US, examples of Summers' designs are now held by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.This table is featured together with other Summers' designs at the Frinton Park Estate Show Home in the "Home of the Month" article - October 1935 issue of The English Home. Literature:The Design History Journal 1992 Vol.5 No.3 - precis of Masters' thesis by Martha Deese, Metropolitan Museum New York;Design for Today, 1934;Furnishing the small Home published London and New York 1930's by the Studio Ltd.;Ostergard, Derek E. (ed.), Bent Wood and Metal Furniture 1850-1946 University of Washington Press.Exhibited:Arts Council of Great Britain, London, Thirties British Art and Design before the War, 1979; Crafts Council Gallery, London, Constructivism in Art & Design, 1988;Victoria & Albert Museum: Summers work is now included in the new 20th Century Furniture Galleries which opened at the V & A in November, 2012;Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Magic of Plywood, 2014. Another example of this table is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York.
Lyon & Turnbull
Oct. 27, 2023
Gerald Summers (British 1899-1967) for Makers of Simple Furniture Rare Coffee Skid / Table, circa 1933-6
Est: £10,000 - £15,000
Gerald Summers (British 1899-1967) for Makers of Simple Furniture Rare Coffee Skid / Table, circa 1933-6 birch plywood (45.4cm high, 87.7cm long, 40.5cm deep (17 7/8in high, 34 1/2in long, 16in deep)) Literature Decoration, December 1936, illustrated. Until this point, this rare coffee skid has only been known from contemporary sources, with a drawing of the table, dated March 1933, in the firm's archive, and an image of an example of this model in Summer's flat and showroom in Charlotte Street in London. An example was illustrated in Decoration magazine in 1936 priced at £5 5s. "This is life, it's about space light and colour." (Gerald Summers) We would like to thank Martha Deese for her assistance in cataloguing the current work.
Lyon & Turnbull
Apr. 27, 2023
Gerald Summers 'TV-T' table, 1950s
Est: £800 - £1,200
Gerald Summers 'TV-T' table, 1950s Oak-veneered wood, oak, anodised aluminium. 46 x 33.5 x 33.5 cm Underside moulded GERALD SUMMERS/REGISTERED DESIGN/No. 871987.
Bonhams
Oct. 04, 2022
Gerald Summers Unique mirror, circa 1939
Est: £4,000 - £6,000
Gerald Summers Unique mirror, circa 1939 Sycamore-laminated plywood, painted plywood, mirrored glass. 74 x 85 x 13 cm Manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture, London, United Kingdom. For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Sep. 21, 2021
Gerald Summers, 1899-1967 | TV table
Est: £800 - £1,200
Gerald Summers 1899-1967 TV table the underside of the top stamped 'Gerald Summers / Registered Designs' with number oak and cast aluminium together with the original top courtesy of the Summers family 46cm. high, 33cm. wide, 33cm. deep; 1ft. 5in., 1ft. ¾in., 1ft. ¾in. Conceived circa 1950.
Sotheby's
Sep. 21, 2021
Gerald Summers, 1899-1967 | D-end Desk
Est: £4,000 - £6,000
Gerald Summers 1899-1967 D-end Desk manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture Ltd., London birch plywood with integral storage, removable glass top 71.5cm. high, 133.5cm. wide, 53.5cm. deep; 2ft, 3½in., 4ft, 3¾in., 1ft. 7½in. Conceived circa 1930.
Sotheby's
Sep. 29, 2018
Gerald Summers 1886-1969. The Caravan c.1914, Framed & Glazed with Gallery Label to reverse.
Est: £50 - £80
Gerald Summers 1886-1969. The Caravan c.1914, Framed & Glazed with Gallery Label to reverse.
Belgravia Auctions Ltd
Dec. 10, 2014
Gerald Summers (British, 1899-1967) Stool, design
Est: £400 - £600
Gerald Summers (British, 1899-1967) Stool, designed 1954 ash and painted metal the circular top with a birch veneered inset marked 'Gerald Summers, Registered Design, No. 871987' 46cm high, 33cm across.
Mallams
Dec. 10, 2014
Gerald Summers (British, 1899-1967) Drop leaf tab
Est: £800 - £1,200
Gerald Summers (British, 1899-1967) Drop leaf table laminated plywood 73cm high, 121.5cm across.
Mallams
Dec. 10, 2014
Gerald Summers (British, 1899-1967) Desk, circa 1
Est: £800 - £1,200
Gerald Summers (British, 1899-1967) Desk, circa 1935 produced by Makers of Simple Furniture laminated plywood the top drawer inset circular Heals ivorine label (the disc worn) 71cm high, 132cm long, 53cm deep. The Makers of Simple Furniture, under Gerald Summers, was a short-lived but innovative British design company of the 1930s which focussed on the use of plywood being bent or shaped. Comparable to to Scandinavian design and particularly the work of Alvar Aalto, Summers designs were internationally recognised and placed Britain at the forefront of modern design for a short period. His works are now seen as design classics.
Mallams
Oct. 07, 2012
Gerald Summers, One-piece lounge chair
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
One-piece lounge chair
Los Angeles Modern Auctions
Oct. 25, 2008
Set of four side chairs, ca. 1938
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Set of four side chairs, ca. 1938 Bent laminated birch plywood, fabric. Each 26 in. (66 cm) high. Manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture, UK (4).
Phillips
Mar. 20, 2008
- Gerald Summers (1899 - 1967) , A set of five modular bookcases
Est: £5,000 - £6,000
circa 1930 oak, each of angular stepped form and with four divisions Quantity: 5
Sotheby's
Mar. 20, 2008
- Gerald Summers (1899 - 1967) for Makers of Simple Furniture Ltd. , A dinner wagon
Est: £1,500 - £1,800
circa 1930 venereed plywood, the rectangular top above a drawer, on angular supports joined by an undertier, on castors underside indistinctly stamped '***Laminador Acador***'
Sotheby's
Mar. 20, 2008
- Gerald Summers (1899 - 1967) for Makers of Simple Furniture Ltd. , A dinner wagon
Est: £2,500 - £3,500
circa 1930 venereed plywood, the rectangular top on angular supports joined by an undertier, on castors
Sotheby's
Mar. 20, 2008
- Gerald Summers (1899 - 1967) , A stool
Est: £1,200 - £1,800
circa 1930 veneered plywood, the hoop-shaped seat on curved supports indistinct branded mark to underside '***428'
Sotheby's
May. 20, 2007
Gerald Summers
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
towel rack Makers of Simple Furniture United Kingdom, c. 1938
Wright
Dec. 14, 2006
Rare plywood chair
Est: $14,000 - $18,000
Manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture Ltd., UK.
Phillips
Sep. 28, 2006
GERALD SUMMERS
Est: £1,000 - £1,500
OCCASIONAL TABLE designed circa 1934, manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture, walnut 50cm. high x 61cm. diameter
Christie's
Jun. 28, 2006
GERALD SUMMERS
Est: £1,500 - £2,500
CABINET designed circa 1935, for Makers of Simple Furniture, painted wood 30in. (76cm.) high, 33in. (84cm.) wide, 16 1/2 in. (42cm.) deep
Christie's
Jun. 09, 2002
Gerald Summers
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
armchair Makers of Simple Furniture England, 1933
Wright