Lot 169: Berthold Lubetkin (Russian 1901-1990), A unique sofa for the penthouse at Highpoint Two, designed and executed 1938, Made by Berthold and his wife Margaret using hand-selected materials; Norwegian pine frames and stitched Argentinian cowhide 219cm x

Berthold Lubetkin (Russian 1901-1990), A unique sofa for the penthouse at Highpoint Two, designed and executed 1938,
Made by Berthold and his wife Margaret using hand-selected materials; Norwegian pine frames and stitched Argentinian cowhide219cm x 86.5cm x 72cm

Provenance: The Lubetkin family by descent.Bertold Lubetkin was a pioneer of the Modern Movement in England. He, and his architectural practice, Tecton were responsible for many of the landmark buildings of the 1930's including the Penguin Pool at London Zoo.In his acclaimed book, John Allan describes the making of the furniture for HIGHPOINT TWO thus: "No longer content merely to revere the grand tradition of architects who design their own furniture...he now steps up to join in. The low chairs (and sofa) were unique pieces of soft sculpture made personally by Lubetkin and his wife Margaret from hand-chosen lengths of Norwegian yew and cow hide from Argentina. The tactile sand-blasted pine panelling was sawn from individually selected logs also fetched from Norway by Gerhard Rosenberg, an assistant in Tecton at the time."The present sofa, three chairs and a daybed formed this unique group.A pair of chairs were sold earlier this year, see Bonhams IMPORTANT DESIGN 25th April 2018, lot 110.The third chair from HIGHPOINT TWO was recently acquire by the V&A for their permanent collection. Further Reading: John Allan Bertold Lubetkin: Architecture and the tradition of progress pp 296-307.