Lot 97: ALBERT FREY

SOFA FROM THE RESIDENCE OF ELISE WOLFE, PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA white-washed plywood and fabric upholstery 29 1/4 x 143 1/8 x 30 1/4 in. (74.3 x 363.5 x 76.8 cm) 1949

Jennifer Golub, Albert Frey Houses 1 + 2, New York, p. 53 (for a related design from the architect's home)

Elise Wolfe, Palm Springs, CA Thence by descent

Albert Frey came to the United States in 1930, and during his first ten years took extensive trips crossing the country. During one such trip in 1932, he visited Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler, who alongside other European modernist architects, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier remained significant influences on his aesthetic. Frey viewed furniture as an extension of his architecture and thus each work is informed by a simple balance of shape, function and an awareness of nature and its surroundings. The two lots included in this auction were designed for the home of Elise de Wolf, Frey’s longtime companion.