An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century. He was a wild man of the Radical Design movement that swept Italy in the late 1960s and ’70s, rejecting rationalism and modernism in favor of ever-more outrageous imaginings in lighting and furniture such as mirrors, lamps, chairs and tables.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork.
The Memphis Group mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking.
Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass created innovative furnishings for the likes of Artemide, Knoll, Zanotta and Poltronova, where he reigned as artistic director for nearly two decades beginning in 1958. His most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most inspired and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
Sottsass left the Memphis Group in 1985 in order to concentrate on the growth of Sottsass Associati, a design and architecture consultancy he cofounded in 1980.
It was as an artist that Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.
Find Ettore Sottsass lighting, decorative objects and furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Price Upon Request
Architectural Study
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Greding, DE
Large format lithograph with architectural study, partly coloured. Signed at lower right. Edition 65/100(?).
Lithograph
$1,200
H 25.25 in W 20.5 in
Windswept Landscape Henry Moore drawing of Scottish landscape for W.H. Auden
By Henry Moore
Located in New York, NY
One of a series of 18 lithographs drawn by the artist fo¬r the Auden Poems/Moore Lithographs 1974 book and portfolio. This work is from an edition of 25 printed on vellum aside from the portfolio (edition of 75) and the book. Signed by the artist lower right in pencil; numbered lower left in pencil. Printed in inky black, this print features a shadowy landscape. Brush sweeps to the left, and the sky is drawn with long horizontal lines. In the bottom half of the composition, the ground looks rocky, perhaps dotted with shrubs. Windswept Landscape displays Moore’s fascination with light and dark – what he called a “…bias towards the blackness and mysterious depths.” Moore was inspired by the prints of Rembrandt and the drawings of Seurat, and even drew on his memories of viewing the Altamira cave paintings, recalling how some of the images used the shadow of candlelight on the rough surface of the rock to model light. Shortly before starting work on this series of lithographs, Moore had fallen ill, leaving him aware of his own mortality. His mood pervaded these prints with a sense of danger and foreboding. The Auden/Moore limited edition book and portfolio were exhibited on publication at the British Museum, London, with an accompanying catalogue. Windswept Landscape is one of a group of lithographs...
Lithograph
$5,000
H 26.75 in W 119.25 in
Clemente Untitled A: surreal mythical landscape, voyage with ocean and animals
By Francesco Clemente
Located in New York, NY
A black and white, large-scale surreal mythical landscape of an ocean voyage, with a snake wrapped around a clock, female figure, greek urns, and an...
Lithograph
Target Shooting
By Alex Colville
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Alex Colville (1920-2013) is one of the titans of Canadian art. Working across mediums, Colville is a revered painter, draughtsman, engraver, and muralist. He is one of the few Canad...
Lithograph, Offset
$340
H 13.25 in W 11.125 in
"Season's Greetings, " Winter Landscape Lithograph in Blue signed by Mark Mille
By Mark Mille 1
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Season's Greetings" is an original lithograph by Mark Mille. The artist signed the piece lower right and wrote the edition number (25/40) in the lower left. It features a winter river scene...
Lithograph
Canaletto
By Patrick Hughes
Located in London, GB
A hand painted three dimensional, Reverspective print, inspired by Venice. Produced in 2024. This print comes housed in a bespoke perspex display case. A limited edition of 75. Hand...
Lithograph, Offset
$2,500
H 25.25 in W 30.25 in
Rainbow: colorful Rosenquist pop art with gold, turquoise, purple, pink, blue
By James Rosenquist
Located in New York, NY
A classic Rosenquist pop art composition with gold, turquoise, purple, pink, blue, green and yellow. Characteristically surreal and graphic, Rainbow incorporates bold geometric forms with painterly washes of color and airbrush texture. Rosenquist's signature gleaming metallic chrome texture can be seen on an inverted fork behind the glass of a golden window. Paper 25.25 x 30.25 in. / 64 x 77 cm Image 17 x 21.5 in. / 43 x 54.5 cm Lithograph with screenprint on cream-coloured Hodgkinson handmade Wookey Hole paper. Edition of 75 with 8 color trial proofs: this impression 8/8. Signed and dated 1972 lower right in pencil; titled, numbered 8/8 and labeled Color Trial Proof lower left in pencil. This graphic, colorful scene is based on Rosenquist’s 1962 oil painting of the same name, collected in the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. The artist used real glass and wood to construct windows for the original painting – here, house siding is abstracted to bold, black horizontal lines, and the window glass is printed in dark gold ink. At the top of the composition, a window with shutters pushed open is colored in turquoise, with sharp black shadows. The left-hand window pane is shattered, and to the right, the outline of an oversized...
Lithograph, Screen
$4,500
H 22.5 in W 29.5 in D 1 in
Fracas at Calamity's Place 1969 Signed Limited Edition Lithograph
By Warrington Colescott
Located in Rochester Hills, MI
Artist: Warrington Colescott Title Fracas at Calamity's Place Year: 1969 Medium: Lithograph Dimensions: 22.5” x 29.5” inches Edition: Signed, titled, and numbered 32/40 About the A...
Lithograph
"Maeght Editeur, " Original Color Lithograph Poster
By Alexander Calder
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Maeght Editeur" is a color lithograph poster. This poster was for an exhibit on Alexander Calder's work in Paris, France. It depicts a black tree with red fruits on the left side an...
Lithograph
$1,290
H 11.25 in W 20.625 in
"Gnomes Homes I, II, & III, " Trio of Etchings by Jenny Tapping
By Jenny Tapping
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Gnomes I, II, & III" are three original etchings by Jenny Tapping. Each etching is signed, titled, and numbered by the artist, and all three are in one frame. Each etching depic...
Etching
$13,041
H 14.57 in W 16.15 in D 1.19 in
Tetbury Church - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, king Charles, Architecture, spire
By His Majesty King Charles III
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Tetbury Church by His Majesty King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associated with ...
Lithograph
$398Sale Price|20% Off
H 35 in W 23.5 in D 0.05 in
Italy - Bicycling around Italy travel poster serigraph
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Italy bicycling travel poster. Archival linen backed in excellent condition, ready to frame. The images shown are of the exact poster you ...
Screen
$398Sale Price|20% Off
H 35 in W 23.5 in D 0.04 in
Austria by Bicycle - built for Two - bicycling poster - serigraph
Located in Spokane, WA
Europe on bicycles vintage serigraph poster. Professionally linen-backed and ready to frame in mint condition. Images shown are of the exact poster you will receive. The 1972 Austria travel poster...
Screen
$398Sale Price|20% Off
H 35 in W 22.5 in D 0.05 in
Europe on Bicycles Vintage Serigraph, Post-Modern, 1970s, Unframed
Located in Spokane, WA
Europe on bicycles vintage serigraph poster. Professionally linen backed and ready to frame in mint condition. Images shown are of the exact poster you will receive. Bicycles Acr...
Screen
$650
H 27.5 in W 34.75 in
Highway Oaxaca - Stylized Lithograph with Memphis-Milano Influences, Framed
Located in Chicago, IL
In Highway Oaxaca, T.P. Speer conjures a playful desert fable under a cool, luminous moon. A crimson, opossum-like figure dominates the foreground, arms flung skyward in animated ala...
Lithograph
Lullaby: Sleeping Head
By Henry Moore
Located in New York, NY
Paper: 25.25 x 20.5 in. / 64.1 X 52 cm. Image: 10.75 x 11.5 in / 27.3 x 29.2 cm. One of a series of 18 lithographs drawn by the artist for the Auden Poems/Moore Lithographs 1974 bo...
Lithograph