A Minguren II coffee table by George Nakashima is to headline a design auction at Sotheby's New York on December 18 with a $100,000-150,000 valuation.
The Modern Design Visionaries sale will see the auction of the Yurcik Collection, amassed by Joseph and Sheila Yurcik in the 1990s.
 Nakashima produced the Minguren II bench in 1980 |
Nakashima (1905-1990) was one of the most significant carpenters of the 20th century and a leading member of the American Arts and Crafts movement.
Along with many other Japanese-Americans, he was imprisoned in an internment camp in Idaho after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.
It was here that he met Gentaro Hikogara, a cabinet maker versed in the Japanese woodworking tradition, leading to the development of his idiosyncratic approach to furniture design.
The record for his work was set in 2006 for a redwood burl and black walnut dining table, designed for Arthur and Evelyn Krosnick, which sold for $822,400 at Sotheby's New York.
In October of this year a Nakashima walnut bench made $71,297 at a sale at Piasa in Paris.
Sculpture Front Cabinet (1969) by Paul Evans (1931-1987) is valued at $100,000-150,000.
 The cabinet was made at Evans' studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania |
Evans' metal-sculpted furniture draws from the American craft tradition in its emphasis on the furniture as a functional sculpture.
His limited edition, handmade pieces used unconventional, industrial materials including steel, bronze and welded aluminium that pushed the boundaries of furniture design.
His work grew in popularity throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and he exhibited widely during his lifetime, including at the Museum of Art and Crafts in New York.
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Images: Sotheby's
