American design legend Bill Blass, of whom it was once said, "he was able to charm the clothes right onto a woman's back," was at the forefront of fashion for over 40 years. Born and raised in Indiana, Mr. Blass came to New York after high school in the summer of 1940 to study at the McDowell School of Fashion and work as a sketch artist for $35 per week. Having served for three and a half years in the Army, he returned to New York after World War II and joined Anne Klein as an assistant and, soon after, Anna Miller. There he stayed through the merger of Miller's business with that of her brother, Maurice Rentner. He became head designer. and his work was broadly recognized during this time. By 1970, Bill Blass' name was on the label, and he bought out the company to form Bill Blass Ltd.
In 1973, he was among the five American designers invited to participate in a fashion show at the Palace of Versailles, the first time American fashion was presented to a global audience. The recipient of countless awards over the years for his women's and men's fashion designs, Mr. Blass was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1987 and was the first recipient of its Humanitarian Leadership Award in 1996. His success was only matched by his generosity. In 1994, he gave $10 million to the New York Public Library and was an early supporter of AIDS programs, organizing benefits for AIDS care at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.
His classic fashions, beautifully executed, were always in vogue, and he was adored by his clients who wore them. As Brooke Astor once noted, "I always was so happy when I sat next to him at dinner. I knew it would be a fun evening."
During his life, Mr. Blass also was an avid collector who put together a substantial collection of furniture, paintings, sculpture and antiques that reflects the chic and glamour that fueled his brilliant design career. As he noted in his 2002 memoir, Bare Blass, "To me, one of the most critical aspects of judging a room is whether it belongs to the person in it. There has to be a connection between the choices and the personality of the owner." Mr. Blass' apartment on Sutton Place with its large-scale, light-filled rooms was an elegant home, with a disciplined neutral palette. He chose to furnish it with the most beautiful objects, including English furniture, Old Master paintings, Italian bronzes, fine European paintings and antiquities. "By the time I bought One Sutton, I had the confidence -- and, quite honestly, the means -- to do the kind of apartment I wanted…" *
Highlighting the collection are two wonderful works of art: Pablo Picasso's “Ne couche” from 1932 which is currently part of the landmark Matisse-Picasso exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art; and Jacobus Biltius's “Muskets and Standards,” dated 1666.
Among the high-style furniture from the Sutton Place apartment is a pair of Regency Parcel-Gilt painted and carved daybeds, a Regency brass-mounted and ebonized collector's cabinet, a pair of George III grain-decorated wood stools, and a William IV circular mahogany library table that took center stage in the master bedroom. Mr. Blass filled his home with a vast, eclectic collection of eye-catching fine art, ranging from a large bronze, “Napoleon I on Horseback,” by Henri-Marie-Alfred Jacquemart, executed circa 1864; to early 19th century architectural studies and modern works such as Isamu Noguchi's “Cross Form, Beginning Dance” executed in white Greek marble, 1955-58, to contemporary works such as “White Package,” 1967, by Chilean artist Claudio Bravo.
Bill Blass' house in New Preston, Connecticut, was originally built in 1770 as a tavern on the old Albany Post Road. This is where Mr. Blass spent much of his time, especially in later years. "…the Connecticut house suits me to the ground…it has gone through various transformations, some more subtle than others, but all connected to the reinvention processes."* As with the Sutton Place apartment, it too had a feeling of edited elegance with carefully curated rooms and floors stripped to show the beauty of the wood -- a perfect backdrop for the objects and artwork Mr. Blass chose to live with which included antique maps and nautical charts, folk art, walnut and oak furniture, and other fine and decorative arts. Just a few of the highlights include a George I walnut architect's table, a Trompe l'Oeil still life signed and dated 1762 by Thomas Keyse, a set of four black and white engraved maps with hand coloring from the mid-18th century, and a French Provincial carved and painted oak-glazed secretaire.
The garden in New Preston was a beautiful and serene place, naturally landscaped and graced with wonderful statuary, ranging from a set of six carved Sandston Herm figures from the late 19th century, to a white marble sculpture by Igor Mitoraj from 1983 entitled “Disc Shaped Torso.”
Sotheby's will offer The Bill Blass Collection in a single owner sale beginning on the evening of October 21, 2003, and continuing October 22 and 23. A total of over 1,000 items will be offered from Mr. Blass' apartment in New York and house in Connecticut, representing the synthesis of Blass' lifetime of selecting objects to enhance the environment in which he lived. A special exhibition designed as room vignettes to display the fashion legend's remarkable eclectic taste, which embraced the classic, the modern and the offbeat with the same inimitable style that marked his design career, will be mounted in Sotheby's 10th floor galleries prior to the sale. Additionally, several important works of art will be offered in other Sotheby's sales, including Pablo Picasso's “Nu couche” from 1932. This work, which is estimated to sell from $5/7 million, will be sold in Sotheby's sale of impressionist and modern art in November 2003. In total, the collection is expected to bring more than $10 million, with estimates ranging from just a few hundred dollars to over one hundred thousand. Proceeds will go to benefit the New York Hospital AIDS Care Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"We are delighted to offer Bill Blass' Collection. His impact on 20th century American style is unforgettable and simply unmatched," commented James G. Niven, Vice Chairman of Sotheby's. "What's even more remarkable was his kindness and generosity. The idea of giving back to the community was rewritten by Bill, and his support of such worthy institutions as the New York Public Library, New York Hospital, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art serves as a model for the world to follow."
Elaine Whitmire, Sotheby's expert in charge of the sale, commented, "He was a man who truly understood the meaning of style and celebrated the beauty of objects. The fine art, furniture and decorations offered in this sale are a reflection of his impeccable eye, sense of individuality, and classic yet wide-ranging taste."
*Bill Blass, Bare Blass, (HarperCollins Publishers, 2002)
BILL BLASS trademarks are used with permission from Bill Blass International L.L.C., the trademark owner, which has no connection to the items being auctioned from the estate of its founder, Mr. Blass.
