Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2024 10:00 EST
Lots 73 - 189

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The Collection of Eldo Netto

Auction of the Collection of Eldo Netto on October 16, 2024 Doubles Expectations!
Prominent and Beloved Figure in New York's Textiles and Interior Design World
Featuring English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts & Old Master Paintings & Drawings

NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle’s highly-anticipated auction of the Collection of Eldo Netto on October 16, 2024 saw collectors, designers and dealers drive exceptional prices and a sale total that doubled expectations! A prominent and beloved figure in New York’s textile and interior design world, Mr. Netto assembled a remarkable collection of works by Old Masters and English and Continental furniture and decorative arts that reveal a taste for Neoclassical design, with period furnishings harmoniously combined with contemporary pieces.

Highlighting the collection was a beautifully executed rendering in brown ink and wash from the Collection of Eldo Netto depicting Archers in a Landscape that soared past its estimate to realize $32,000 amid speculation that it was possibly by the 17th century French master Claude Lorrain. Also noteworthy was a watercolor and gouache view of the Pantheon by Swiss artist Franz Kaisermann (1765-1833) estimated at $4,000-6,000 that realized $20,480.

Early Years
As a child growing up in Depression-era Ohio, Eldo Netto (1927-2024) dreamed of a life far beyond his modest beginnings. After high school, he served in the Navy and, supported by the G.I. Bill and summer jobs at a steel plant, he went on to Princeton University to study at the School of Public and International Affairs. His career took him to Latin America, where he worked first with W.R. Grace & Co. in Chile and later with Chemical Bank New York Trust Company in Mexico. In 1968, he married Kathryn Ann Cosgrove, daughter of the former president of Johnson & Johnson.

Career in Textiles
Returning to New York in the early 1970s, Mr. Netto entered the textile business with Princeton classmate Alan Campbell as his partner in the firm Alan Campbell, Inc. In 1977, on the recommendation of legendary interior designer Sister Parish, Mr. Netto purchased the fabric house Cowtan & Tout. He revitalized the company into a leading resource for English country house chintz precisely when the influential designer and tastemaker Mario Buatta was popularizing his signature style. Selling Cowtan & Tout to British textile and design powerhouse Colefax & Fowler in 1989, he applied his business acumen to another textile company, Travers & Co., which he sold to Zimmer & Rohde in 2008.

Passion for Collecting & Design
Mr. Netto's discerning eye for design and quality was evident throughout his life. Early on, intrigued by the sale of contents from The Elms, one of Newport’s Gilded Age “cottages,” he took a bus to inspect the offerings firsthand, meticulously noting the condition and price of each lot in the catalogue. Later in life, as his personal collection of furnishings and art expanded, he regularly moved between luxury apartments—River House, Park Avenue, Central Park West—redesigning each space with new acquisitions alongside beloved pieces. His Park Avenue apartment was photographed for House Beautiful in 2001. In addition to Manhattan, Mr. Netto was also a long-time resident of East Hampton. He was a member of both the River Club in New York and the Maidstone Club in East Hampton.

Additional Categories in the Sale
Special sections of the sale will also present Old Master & 19th Century Paintings, Drawings & Prints and English & Continental Silver on Oct 16, and Russian Works of Art and English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts on Oct 17.