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Live: The Four Seasons Restaurant’s Interiors Are Being Auctioned Off Right Now

The iconic midcentury restaurant's furnishings are on the auction block

By Amy Plitt Updated
Four Seasons Auction Photo by Max Touhey

The day has come: the auction of the interiors from the iconic Four Seasons Restaurant is officially underway. The legendary restaurant within the Seagram Building is outfitted in furnishings from architects like Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson, and Eero Saarinen, all of which will be going to the highest bidder before the day is over. (The restaurant itself is a landmark, but the furnishings, alas, were not.) The auction is in anticipation of the Four Seasons moving a few blocks away in 2017; the team behind Parm and Carbone will open a new restaurant in the historic space in the near future.

Given the eatery’s reputation and renown, the lots—including everything from Mies’s iconic Barcelona chairs to the table settings created by Ada Louise Huxtable—have been fetching incredibly high prices. (How high? The bronze sign that once hung on the 52nd Street entrance, emblazoned with Emil Antonucci’s Four Seasons trees, fetched an astounding $96,000.)

Many architecture fanatics, including Paul Goldberger, are on the ground at the Four Seasons—here’s what’s happening (there’s also a livestream if you want to watch the action yourself):

(For the record, a lot of 12 Mies Brno chairs sold for $11,000, and a pair just sold for $4,250, so you know, still high.)

A similar curved banquette sold for a whopping $50,000; another went for $36,000.

And then there's this:

We’ll be updating as the auction goes on, so keep an eye on this space.

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