The heart of the apartment is the long, commodious living room with a large window overlooking Lake Michigan. Here, Thoma (who was married to Richard Wright, the Chicago auctioneer who specializes in 20th-century design) combined the clients’ furniture with designs of her own in three distinct seating areas. Thoma’s pieces include a pair of simple, modern sofas that flank the fireplace and a Jean-Michel Frank–style sofa, which is surrounded by a richly hued zebrawood screen. These new items work companionably with the turn-of-the-century Josef Hoffman chairs and table and the 1930s-era pieces including chairs by Otto Schultz and a cocktail table by Gilbert Rohde. "Night Snow II" (1985), a large, colorful, mixed-media work by McKeever, dominates one wall, while smaller works by his compatriots Auerbach ("Study of Primrose Hill," a 1978 oil on board) and Kossoff ("Head of Chaim," 1986) face McKeever’s piece on the opposite wall.
 
The result is a finely appointed and graceful residence, neither calculatedly austere nor determinedly impressive. Throughout, the couple’s art (including works on paper by Gustav Klimt, Robert Motherwell and Antoni Tapiès), decorative objects (ceramics by Jean Mayodon, silver designed by Henning Koppel, mirrors by Piero Fornasetti) and furniture (dining chairs by Koloman Moser, a lamp by Giacometti, nesting tables by Jean Royère) are arranged with a certain understatement.

In 1985, when the couple moved in, they undertook some remodeling with Chicago architect and designer Michael Lustig, who urged them to acquire Secessionist and Art Deco furniture. The couple acquired their first serious painting in 1986—a small, oil-on-board portrait by Auerbach ("Reclining Head of Gerda Boehm," 1978)—at the suggestion of the art-loving son of a business partner. "My first reaction was lukewarm at best," George admits. "But the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. And this place needed some good art."

Over the years, they have acquired furniture from Wright and Richard Himmel Antique and Decorative Furniture of Chicago and art from Edward Thorp and Michael Werner galleries in New York and Marlborough in London. And, as other collectors can relate, the Saunderses have watched some treasures slip away from them. Terry still laments their failed bid for a pair of standing lamps from Maison Jansen early in their collecting career. "It’s so hard to find a pair of lamps, and these were the right size and the right scale," she says, explaining that the lamps sold for just a little over the couple’s discussed bidding cap. "I could kick myself for not taking them."

However, she did win in the instance of the candelabra in the entrance hall—thanks to George’s open mind. "My sister pointed it out, and I thought it was fabulous, but George said, ‘No, no,’" Terry says. "But after looking at it about three times, he said, ‘You know, it is really nice.’ I didn’t buy it until he liked it as well."
 
Thomas Connors is writes regularly on art and architecture and his work has appeared in publications such as Town&Country and Interior Design.
 
Colletti Gallery, Chicago
312.664.6767 collettigallery.com
Galerie St. Etienne, New York
212.245.6734 gseart.com
LA Louver, Venice, Calif.
310.822.495 lalouver.com
Marlborough Fine Art, London
011.44.20.7629.5161 marlboroughfineart.com
Paul Florian Architects, Chicago
312.670.2220 florianarchitects.com
Stephen Solovy Fine Art, Chicago
312.664.4860 stephensolovy@netscape.net