About RIGHT | PROPER
ART BLOOMS FROM ARTLESS THINGS In Erik Retzer’s world, art blooms from artless things—humble forms made extraordinary by time’s touch. A refined 18th-century French fauteuil finds comfort in the most casual of rooms, just as a well-worn carpenter’s hammer becomes a sculpture of purpose and grace. Each piece he selects is beautifully crafted, bearing a story that adds depth and meaning to any space. Guided by the belief that quality never gets old, he founded RIGHT PROPER, a collection where the practical and the poetic entwine, proving that elegance belongs wherever it i...Read More
Established in 20181stDibs seller since 2018
Featured Pieces
Early 19th Century American Federal Convex Mirror
Located in Chicago, IL
Few objects embody the drama of the Federal period quite like the bullseye mirror. This early 19th-century American example carries all the hallmarks: a convex mirror at its center, ...
Category
Antique Early 19th Century American Federal Convex Mirrors
Materials
Giltwood
Late 19th Century English Thoroughbred Painting
Located in Chicago, IL
This late 19th century horse portrait has the kind of offhand elegance that makes British sporting art so quietly addictive. The composition is disarmingly simple: a lone bay set aga...
Category
Antique Late 19th Century English Country Paintings
Materials
Paint
19th Century Adirondack Twig Table
Located in Chicago, IL
This 19th-century Adirondack twig table delivers that elusive mix of rustic irreverence and sculptural clarity. The rectangular top, crisply framed in young birch, sets the tone—clea...
Category
Antique 19th Century American Adirondack Side Tables
Materials
Twig
Collection of Five Belgian Zinc Watering Cans on Custom Wall Mounts
Located in Chicago, IL
Unexpectedly sculptural and quietly poetic, this collection of five Belgian zinc watering cans transforms a humble garden tool into something undeniably magnetic. Each can bears its ...
Category
Early 20th Century Belgian Country Wall-mounted Sculptures
Materials
Zinc
Pair of Early 20th Century American Folk Art Geode Planters
Located in Chicago, IL
Rare, unusual, and almost extraterrestrial in their presence, this pair of early 20th-century American folk art planters turns the humble garden vessel into a geological fantasia. Ha...
Category
Vintage 1920s American Folk Art Planters and Jardinieres
Materials
Stone, Concrete
Carved Wood Elk Mount
Located in Chicago, IL
Carved in the early 21st century with a wink toward both tradition and modernism, this life-size wooden elk head reimagines the classic trophy mount in a thoroughly contemporary way....
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Animal Sculptures
Materials
Wood
American Folk Art Raccoon Cutting Board on Custom Wall Mount
Located in Chicago, IL
A mid-20th-century American folk art cutting board that proves charm can be as functional as it is disarming. Hand-cut in the shape of a cheeky raccoon, the board turns its striped t...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Folk Art Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wood
Pair of 19th Century English Sporting Plaques
Located in Chicago, IL
A pair of 19th-century English hammered-tin portrait plaques that capture sporting life with a tenderness rarely found in metal. One depicts an eager Spaniel, mouth open, tongue loll...
Category
Antique 19th Century English Country Wall-mounted Sculptures
Materials
Tin
19th Century English Mahogany Chippendale Style Bench
Located in Chicago, IL
A 19th-century English Chippendale-style mahogany bench that somehow feels as right now as it did two hundred years ago. The form is classic—cabriole legs with carved shells at the k...
Category
Antique 19th Century English Chippendale Benches
Materials
Mahogany
American Folk Art Steel Draught Horse Garden Cutout
Located in Chicago, IL
Cut from a single sheet of solid ⅜-inch steel, this 20th-century silhouette of a standing draught horse carries the quiet authority of rural craftsmanship. Discovered in an old Wisco...
Category
20th Century American Folk Art Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Steel
18th Century Dutch Oak Trunk
Located in Chicago, IL
An extraordinary 18th-century Dutch oak trunk, signed and dated “Jahn Mertin c.1722,” its surface alive with the hand of its maker. The front is a symphony of chip-carved rosettes—so...
Category
Antique 1720s Dutch Baroque Sideboards
Materials
Oak
Early 20th Century Danish Oak Trestle Table
Located in Chicago, IL
An early 20th-century Danish trestle table, circa 1900–1920s, crafted from thick solid oak planks and built with a clarity of purpose that feels distinctly Nordic. The table dismantl...
Category
Antique Early 1900s Danish Modern Dining Room Tables
Materials
Oak
