Frank Maraschiello, Vice President and Director of 20th Century Decorative Arts, North America, announced the appointment of Dan Tolson as Director of 20th Century Decorative Art and Design in Los Angeles.
Frank comments, “We welcome Dan Tolson to our Los Angeles office and 20th Century Decorative Art and Design Department. His strong knowledge in the broad range of decorative art and design that Bonhams offers compliments those of the Department perfectly, and we look forward with great pleasure to working with him.”
Dan joins the US team with a broad range of expertise from over 15 years of specialist auction experience in the field of 20th century decorative art and design in both Europe and the United States. He has spent the past year and a half since his arrival from London as Director of 20th Century Design at a boutique auction house in Los Angeles. During his time there, he instigated an exhibition of auction highlights at Paul Smith, Los Angeles. Dan has also written widely for specialist publications including articles in both Modern and Modernism magazines, has contributed to the Miller’s 20th Century Design guides and is co-trustee of the Pearson Silver Foundation.
Dan started his career by founding the Modern Design department at Phillips Auctioneers in London in 1998. The following year he orchestrated a 20th century design auction and selling exhibition held at Liberty & Co in London, the first and only occasion in the stores 130 year history. During his time at Phillips he made a significant contribution in the establishment of the market for works by numerous key designers from the second half of the 20th century including Serge Mouille, Jean Prouvé, Finn Juhl, Hans Wegner, Fontana Arte, Poul Kjaerholm, Mark Brazier Jones and Ron Arad.
In 2002 Dan accepted a position at a major international auction house in London, where under the role of Associate Director he helped develop the 20th Century Decorative Art & Design department as well as making a valued contribution to the markets for works by key designers from across the 20th century such as Emile Gallé, René Lalique, Josef Hoffmann, Carlo Bugatti, Jacques le Chevallier, Gio Ponti and Marc Newson. He also played a leading role in the resurgence of the art deco sculpture market, providing expertise and advice to colleagues in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. Traveling widely across Europe, he garnered prominent collections and developed relationships with key clients and institutions.
The department is presently accepting consignments for its spring 2014 auctions in both Los Angeles and New York. More information on the department is available at www.bonhams.com/anu.
