Page 14 - Chinese Works of Art Bonhams Sept 2015

Emmanuel and Delight Gran

PROPERTY FROM THE EMMANUEL GRAN FAMILY COLLECTION

Emmanuel Dimitri Gran (1894-1969) was born in met and married his wife, Delight, and after a brief stay in
southwestern Russia. He studied architecture before Los Angeles, where he designed the sets for the movie
leaving Russia to escape the Communist Revolution Giant, they moved to New York City. There he moved and
in 1917, and moved to Shanghai, where he practiced stored his massive and refined collection in a warehouse
architecture and began his love of collecting Chinese on Riverside Drive. After completing a renovation of the
works of art. He hired his own artisans to make woods Roosevelt Hotel, he came to the attention of Conrad
stands and elaborate boxes for each piece, which carried Hilton, and was asked to join the Hilton Hotel staff. In
his trademark Geren red tag. He was forced to move to May of 1959, he became head of their Architecture
Hong Kong with his collection just before the Japanese and Design Department and in 1966 was made a Vice
invaded Shanghai in 1932. The Japanese forced him to President. Sales of objects from his collection occurred
leave Hong Kong in 1941, and he moved to California in New York in 1952, 1970 and 1971, the latter two after
in that year. Since he was not licensed to practice his death. Those distinct small labels have appeared on
architecture in the United States, he taught Russian at many objects that have pass through Bonhams’ San
the University of California, Berkeley. During this period he Francisco sales rooms over the years.

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