NEW YORK – Wright’s record-breaking auction for the furnishings of the Four Seasons restaurant on Tuesday totaled $4.1 million, over four times the estimated value.
Buyer’s participated from all over the world to buy every lot in the 650-lot sale.
Thousands of bidders participated in the auction, which began at 10 a.m. and ended after midnight. Held at The Four Seasons restaurant, hundreds of people were in attendance and bidders remained in the landmarked Grill Room and Pool Room, bidding until the early hours of the following morning. With active bidding lasting 10 minutes, the capacity crowd watched the first lot of the sale, the bronze sign from the lobby entrance, sell for $120,000.
“The response to this auction is a testament to the beloved icon that is the Four Seasons and to the owners, Alex von Bidder and Julian Niccolini, who have operated the restaurant for over 40 years,” said Richard Wright, founder and president of Wright.
Highlights of the sale included all the custom furnishings from interior. From the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona furniture in the lobby (sold in three lots for a total of $50,000), the bar stools surrounding the famed bar of the Grill Room (sold in 10 lots for a total of $183,750), and a single bronze table in the bar that sold for $50,000 to the curved banquette and table 35 from the center of the Grill Room Power Lunch scene ($62,500).
All prices quoted are inclusive of the buyer’s premium.
$62,500 per set. Wright image
From a set of ashtrays selling for $12,500 to a collection of stemware that brought $35,000, all of the iconic table settings were in high demand throughout the day. Plates emblazoned with the famous Four Seasons logo were sold in small and large sets bringing as much as $11,250 for 24 examples.
The auction even included the cotton candy machine, used one last time by owner Julian Niccolini, who handed out the treat during the sale. Later that evening it sold to a new owner for $7,500.
“It was an emotional day,” responded Niccolini. “We can sell the furnishings but we will always have the memories.”