The auctioneer had said hello, walked out the door, closed it and then came right back in again. You like a mystery, he said to me in more a statement than a question.
I come to auctions for the excitement of discovery, and now he was about to set me off on the trail of something or somebody. Tim the auctioneer told me that he had furniture that day by an artist named Stewart Paul from the 1970s and 1980s. The auctioneer knew little else about Paul.
The pieces had been brought in by a consigner who had bought them directly from the artist. “It’s really neat stuff, but he’s kind of obscure,” Tim said.
He told me that the furniture was in a far corner of the room, and from where we stood by the door, I could make out a huge wooden plaque-like sculpture on a wall. So I made my way over to Stewart Paul’s corner of the auction house and saw some very beautiful modern furniture like the small handsomely crafted boxes I drool over at craft shows because I can’t afford them.
Eight pieces of furniture and sculptures were situated in the space, some pieces sitting on top of a long sideboard. One was a coffee table with wings, another a side table with odd-shaped legs. Up close the huge panel (that’s how it was described in the bid sheet) looked like a butterfly. Alongside it was a modest-sized panel in the same style.
I was curious to know more about Paul, so I began my sleuthing on the internet during some downtime at the auction as I awaited a “We Shall Overcome” record album to come up for bids.
I could find very little about him via Google. I did stumble on a piece of furniture on one online site, but when I tried to find it again, it had disappeared. Undeterred, I continued my search later. Google kept giving me results for the name Paul Stewart, likely because even its computer brain was more familiar with that juxtaposition of the two words.
I found some examples of Paul’s furniture from the 1970s on artnet.com, which said the pieces had been sold at auctions. They included several items that resembled those from this auction, including a side chair (sculpted circa 1980-1985) and what it referred to as a lidded box (1975). Others included a chest (1975), screen (1980-1989) and coffee table (1975). The site had no bio info on Paul.
Another website showed that the coffee table (likely the same one on the artnet site) sold for $3,500 at a Chicago auction house in 2007.
Here’s what the Paul pieces sold for at the auction I attended, minus the buyer’s premium of 20 percent. None were signed. The descriptions are from the bid sheet, and some of the pieces had very minor marks or damage:
Sculpted panel sculpture, benge and birch, deeply carved. 82″ x 82″. $2,750.
Sculpted paldao sideboard cabinet, two doors, carved sides. 26″ x 64″ x 20″. $2,200.
Stacked laminate winged table, sculptural form with raised center. 21″ x 46″ x 22″. $1,000.
Natural form sculptural table, stacked laminate cherry. 20.5″ x 30.5″ x 20″. $500.
White oak side table, arched drawer with sculpted sides. 28″ x 25″ x 20″. $500.
Sculptural side chair, free-flowing, cherry. 32″ x 16.5″ x 19″. $375.
Sculpted wall panel sculpture, butterscotch maple. 43″ x 40″. $300.
Sculptural box with sliding lid, paldao and maple. 10″ x 12″ x 11″. $200.
The pieces were a big hit at the auction, and I’m still curious to learn more about Paul. If you have any information, you can contact me through the Comments box below.
