CHARLES & HENRY GREENE: A HONDURAS MAHOGANY COUCH FOR THE LIVING ROOM OF THE ROBERT R. BLACKER HOUSE

Abell Auction Co. is honored to present a highly important Greene and Greene mahogany couch for the living from the Robert R. Blacker house in the upcoming May 23, 2021 Quarterly Fine Art Auction. The piece was executed in the workshop of Peter Hall, circa 1914.

 

Abell Auction is proud to present this spectacular Greene and Greene mahogany sofa from the living room of the Robert R. Blacker House in our upcoming May 23rd Quarterly Fine Art Auction. The piece comes out of an Arcadia, CA estate, after being purchased at a lawn sale at the Blacker House in the early 1950’s.

The Blacker House, Pasadena, CA / Photo credit: Flickr, Scott Weir

The Blacker House of Pasadena, California was built in 1907 for Robert Roe Blacker, a retired Michigan lumberman, and his wife, Nellie Canfield Blacker. This extravagant house was designed by the Pasadena architecture firm of Greene and Greene, and is particularly important because it was one of only five Greene & Greene designs that were carried out in entirety. The Greene brothers designed custom every single architectural aspect of this house, as well as furniture, including this couch, which was designed specifically for the Blacker House living room.

Shortly after the probate sale of the Blacker House in the late 1940s-early 1950s, its furnishings were sold off in now infamous “yard sales.” This couch was bought at one of those yard sales, and has stayed in the same Arcadia family until today. The matching couch was sold at Christie’s, New York on June 7, 2000 [Lot 222].

Preview of this extraordinary piece will be available from May 17-22 from 9 am to 3 pm PST at the Abell Auction gallery, located at 2613 Yates Avenue in Los Angeles. Register to bid at www.abell.com, or call 323-724-8102 for more information.

Charles and Henry Greene / Photo credit: The Gamble House