See What's Hot in Design in Dallas This July!

Marcus Wardell, ISA AM

Come to Dallas for the three-day Modernism: Design, Furniture and Decorative Arts course, July 26-28! Classroom time includes lectures, discussions, films, PowerPoint presentations, resource guides, and the opportunity to connect with old friends, new friends and appraisal colleagues.

Ettore Sottsass, Olivetti Valentine typewriter, 1969

This exciting course for appraisers will cover the history of modern design from the 1851 Crystal Palace Great Exhibition to the present day. It will provide an analysis of key designers and manufacturers of furniture and decorative arts during the Modernist period, with an emphasis on fair market values and replacement values. Socioeconomic and political factors, including World War II, the Cold War, and Sputnik I, will be discussed, as well as material technology and mass production manufacturing advances that have driven design trends and markets.

Eames plywood elephant child’s chair, 1945

In 2016, the European Fine Art Fair Report reported that the market for design items is surging at auction in the United States and Europe, with sales of $343.6 million last year.

There's been an explosion of design in the past 150 years, and this course will help you appraise all of it. Just think: An item designed in 1917 is now 100 years old and could be considered an antique!

Rendering of the
Red and Blue Chair by Rietveld

What else happened 100 years ago in 1917? Many crucial moments marking the beginning of the modern era and ushering in new and highly influential design and art trends, including:

1. The Russian Bolshevik Revolution
2. Architect and modern furniture designer Florence Knoll was born
3. Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass was born
4. Furniture designer Paul McCobb was born
5. De Stijl was founded
6. Gerrit Rietveld designed the groundbreaking Red and Blue Chair
7. Marcel Duchamp created his piece Fountain
8. Converse introduced the Converse All Star non-skid sneaker
9. Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen (the Red Baron) started flying the Fokker Dr.I triplane
10. Dallas Love Field airport was opened

Finally, in 2019, the Bauhaus will celebrate its 100 year anniversary since opening in Weimar, Germany. See how an understanding of the material culture of the past century can strengthen your appraising practice in Dallas this summer - register here!

- Marcus Wardell, ISA AM