Margaret Bruton's tables make a splash in 2024

 

2024 has been the year of Margaret Bruton terrazzo tables. It all started back in April, when Andrew Jones auction house in Los Angeles offered two of Margaret's terrazzo tables for sale. Interior designer Frances Elkins asked Margaret to make the square table for the Coleman residence in Pebble Beach, and there are a number of photos of the table in the original room. Less is known about the rectangular table, although given the matching wooden legs, it probably also was commissioned by Elkins for the Colemans. Both tables date from the 1940s and are signed "MB" in metal wire, Margaret's typical signature.

The price for the square table was estimated at $4,000-$6,000, and the rectangular one was estimated at $3,000-$5,000. I attended the auction online, and I was really nervous when these tables came up for bidding. I felt like a lot was riding on the result. Would the estimated prices be met? Would these stunning works by a largely unknown woman artist be recognized for their beauty and craftsmanship? 

The square table came up first, and rather quickly the estimate was met! And then the bids continued to climb. Eventually the table sold for $13,000! The rectangular table was up next. As I sat in my kitchen glued to my computer, a vibrant bidding war ensued. I watched aghast as the bids climbed higher and higher. Even though I was attending the auction remotely, I could feel the excitement and anticipation building in the room. No one was expecting this. Finally, the winning bid of $34,000 was placed, literally ten times the estimate that had been predicted for this item. 

As the auction results prove, this remarkable and underrated woman artist has been seen, acknowledged, and valued. I couldn't have been happier. Margaret Bruton was a phenomenal modernist painter -- as many posts on this blog will demonstrate -- but her terrazzo work needs further study and appreciation. At a time when Jackson Pollock and other (mostly male) abstract expressionists were working in paint, Margaret was doing her own ground-breaking abstract work in terrazzo (in my opinion, a medium that's even more challenging)!

The square table was purchased by Liz O'Brien for her stunning antique and design gallery in New York. (She once owned a fireplace surround by Esther Bruton, so she clearly appreciates the Brutons' work.) Margaret's table was the centerpiece of O'Brien's booth at the 2024 Salon Art & Design expo in New York. In an interview with Forbes, O'Brien reported that the table is "one of her [her] favorite things this year." 

Liz O'Brien's booth at Salon Art & Design, with the Margaret Bruton table in the foreground.
Photo courtesy Liz O'Brien Gallery

O'Brien posted a photo on Instagram of Sisters in Art -- together with Scott Powell's wonderful Frances Elkins: Visionary American Designer (2023) -- sitting on the Margaret Bruton table. I enjoyed seeing that very much!

Photo courtesy Liz O'Brien Gallery

Kudos to Margaret Bruton. During the 1940s and 50s, her terrazzo tables were highly desired by homeowners and interior designers. Eighty years later, these stunning examples of mid-century design are once again making a splash.