PROPERTY OF A NEW YORK COLLECTOR
Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in the body of work of the fashionable New York interior decorator and designer James Mont. A contemporary of Donald Deskey, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Tommi Parzinger, and Samuel Marx, Mont had a style all his own. Otherwise known as the bad boy of American mid-century high style, Mont created furnishings and room interiors that are as colourful and exotic as his own checkered life. Born Demetrius Pecintjoglu in Constantinople in 1904, he studied art and architecture in France and Spain before emigrating to the United States in 1922. Shortly after settling in Brooklyn where he ran an electrical supply shop, a customer (and legendary underworld Kingpin), Frankie Yale, presented the young Turk with his first residential commission. By the early 1930s, with financial backing from reputed gangsters, the decorator opened a showroom on Fifth Avenue and assumed the business name James Mont. Despite alternating periods of prosperity and destitution, name changes and relocations (Mont set up shop as far away as Greece in the 1970s), his career spanned more than forty years.
Mont's custom-made creations stand out for their originality in style, sumptuous wood finishes, Asian-inspired carvings, luxuriously textured upholstery, and ambitious proportions. He gained popularity during Prohibition by designing miniature, and sometimes collapsible, home bars and catered not only to affluent socialites but to bootleggers and speak-easy proprietors as well. His unique designs were as irresistable as his charismatic yet volatile personality. Eventually, his explosive temper altered the course of his career and in 1940 Mont was convicted of assaulting a female business associate. The event was widely publicized, with the victim committing suicide in the midst of court proceedings, and Mont was sentenced to five-to-ten years of incarceration in Sing-Sing. He spent much of his four and a half year prison term designing and developing sophisticated techniques for wood finishes and decorations. After his release he brought these ideas to life. During a 1947 interview Mont described his approach as "modern with a high-collared look: formal but comfortable." His distinguished clients included Irving Berlin, Bob Hope, John Barrymore, Lana Turner, Frank Costello, and "Lucky" Luciano.
Lots 173-189 are pieces designed for a New York collector between 1946-1947, the years of Mont's repentance and 'rebirth'. It is a collection that embodies the spirit of James Mont, rich in history and panache.
A CARVED, BLACK AND ORANGE LACQUERED POPLAR CONSOLE
JAMES MONT, CIRCA 1946-47
Details
A CARVED, BLACK AND ORANGE LACQUERED POPLAR CONSOLE
James Mont, Circa 1946-47
The rectangular top above conforming apron incised with stylized bamboo leaves, raised on twin urn-shaped supports carved with a bamboo leaf openwork motif, with an ebonized and salmon-colored finish
30in. (76.2cm.) high, 54in. (137.2cm.) wide, 14in. (35.6cm.) deep
James Mont, Circa 1946-47
The rectangular top above conforming apron incised with stylized bamboo leaves, raised on twin urn-shaped supports carved with a bamboo leaf openwork motif, with an ebonized and salmon-colored finish
30in. (76.2cm.) high, 54in. (137.2cm.) wide, 14in. (35.6cm.) deep