Bonhams Modern Design and Art Auction Realizes $870,349

Bonhams concluded its Modern Design | Art | Featuring 'Lorna Lane: The Legacy of Billy Haines' auction, which closed on 23 July 2026, achieving a total realized sum of $870,349^[1]. The sale successfully found buyers for 179 of 233 lots offered, resulting in a sell-through rate of 76.8%^[1]. The auction featured a diverse array of mid-century furniture, modern paintings, and sculptural works, with a special focus on pieces originating from the Lorna Lane residence of legendary Hollywood decorator Billy Haines.

According to the official results published by Bonhams, which serves as the primary source for this sale, the event combined classic design elements with prominent West Coast provenance. For instance, the leading lot of the sale, a mixed-media collage by Paul Horiuchi titled Central, came with a documented history tracing back to Scott Galleries in Seattle, Washington, and a private collection in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where it was acquired by the family. Such provenance details highlight the regional collecting histories that often anchor these specialized design sales.

Another notable highlight of the auction was the selection of custom furniture designed by William Haines for his own Lorna Lane residence in Brentwood, California. Haines, a former silent film star who transitioned into a highly successful interior designer for Hollywood's elite, used his personal residence as a showcase for his design philosophy. As Haines himself noted of the property, the house served as a demonstration car to expose clients to his work, making the furniture offered in this sale highly personal artifacts of his design legacy. The Lorna Lane Dining Table, featuring polished mahogany and brass inlay, was acquired directly from Haines by Drs. Lidia and Eduardo Rubinstein, who maintained the residence and its custom furnishings for decades.

The sale also featured international design and fine art, including works by French painter Henri Hecht Maïk and Brazilian designer Percival Lafer. Maïk's oil on canvas, Le Fleurie, retained its original Wally Findlay Galleries price tag and descended through a private family collection in Tucson, Arizona, after its initial acquisition from the gallery's Chicago location. Meanwhile, a group of four modular lounge chairs by Percival Lafer demonstrated the international secondary market for mid-century Brazilian design, having previously appeared at Cambi Casa d'Aste in Genoa before being acquired by the current owner.

The results of this auction reflect the steady demand for pieces with clear provenance and historical significance, particularly those associated with influential mid-century tastemakers like Billy Haines. By presenting items that served both functional and promotional roles within Haines' own home, the sale offered collectors a direct connection to Hollywood's golden age of interior design. The inclusion of modern artworks alongside these design pieces further demonstrates how auction houses continue to curate cross-category sales to appeal to contemporary collecting tastes, blending fine art and decorative design into a cohesive narrative of twentieth-century style.