At the intersection of scholarship and connoisseurship lies Curated: The Design and Library of James Zemaitis—an offering that reflects a career spent exploring, documenting, and shaping the discourse around modern and contemporary design. This carefully assembled selection includes both a compelling group of design works and a rich library of publications that have guided and inspired James Zemaitis throughout his decades in the field.
As Director of Museum Relations at R & Company since 2016, James has played a central role in developing exhibitions and fostering institutional partnerships. His recent curatorial projects, including Born Too Tall: California Women Designers, Postwar to Postmodern, demonstrate a thoughtful and inclusive approach to design history. Prior to his time at R & Company, James held leadership positions at Sotheby’s and Phillips, producing over fifty design sales and helping shape the trajectory of the postwar and contemporary design market.
This collection reflects James’s deep engagement with the material and intellectual history of design. The included library—rich with foundational texts, rare catalogues, and scholarly references—provides a rare window into the ideas and research that have underpinned his work as a curator, advisor, and educator.
This auction brings together design and scholarship in a way that reflects a lifetime of passion and purpose. We are honored to invite collectors, curators, and enthusiasts alike to discover a collection shaped by insight, research, and enduring care.
Greta Magnusson Grossman 1906–1999
Greta Magnusson Grossman was one of the leading figures of the Los Angeles Modern movement. Born in Sweden in 1906, she began her formal training at the Swedish arts and crafts school Konstfack, where she studied woodworking and ceramics. In 1933, Grossman became the first woman to win second prize for her furniture designs at the Stockholm Craft Association’s furniture competition. After graduating, she opened her own critically acclaimed furniture and interior design atelier. With her popularity, she was even asked by a Swedish princess to design a crib for the royal baby.
After moving to the United States in 1940, Grossman famously reported to the press that the only things she needed for California living were “a car and a pair of shorts.” She continued her entrepreneurial streak by opening up a store in Beverly Hills where her designs were eagerly sought after by Hollywood stars like Greta Garbo, Gracie Allen, and Joan Fontaine. Grossman’s famed Cobra Lamp was featured in both of the Museum of Modern Art of New York’s Good Design exhibitions. Impressed by the famed Eames and Neutra Case Study House program, Grossman designed fourteen houses from 1949 to 1959. Among her most famous is the Hurley Residence in Beverly Hills, which features a melding between indoor and outdoor space, a steel frame construction, and sweeping cantilevers.
During the 1950s, Grossman taught furniture design at the University of California, Los Angeles and at the Art Center in Pasadena frequently being featured in John Entzena’s Art and Architecture magazine. In 1966, she retired, living in the home that she designed for herself until her death in 1999. Greta Magnusson Grossman left behind a rich legacy of both architecture and furniture design that shaped the California landscape.
Auction Results Greta Magnusson Grossman
