What price great design? Three recent auctions suggest “too much.” May 13: Christie’s sale of Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House is successful, though at the bottom ($15 million) of the expected bid, and is canceled soon after. May 18: No bids in Wright’s sale of Louis Kahn’s Esherick House (est. $2–$3 million). June 14: The Artek Pavilion (above) by Shigeru Ban does sell at Sotheby’s, but the final price of $602,500 is far below the anticipated $800,000–$1.2 million.
