A Day in Milan with Interior Designer Eric Egan

I had the rare and privileged opportunity to spend the morning with Eric Egan, interior designer in Milan at the Il Ponte auction house in Milan. Egan is known in ‘Fortune 500’ circles for his gorgeous residential transformations, and creating spaces for prestigious luxury hotels which are reserved for only the most exclusive clients.

Interior Designer in Milan

Egan’s magic touch has embraced the homes and guests of hotels around the world in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. His website ericegan.com, and Instagram account @lartigianato are mood boards that define the comfort of luxury.

This article was published in MilanoStyle Magazine Vol. 2 Spring 2026

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Apart from his eloquent charm, his dual nationality and knowledge of more than four languages give him the advantage of “getting in on the inside” which not many other creatives are able to accomplish.

Il Ponte Casa D'Aste

Today, we are at Il Ponte Casa D’Aste which was established in the early 1970s and is renowned for some of Italy’s most notable auctions such as the auction of Villa I Pioppi in Sassuolo and the inheritance of the Castaldi Pasqualini family.

Il Ponte Casa D’Aste fortified its place in the elite international collectors niche in May 2010 when Milanese socialite and fashion muse Evelina Levi Broglio’s wardrobe was auctioned and received widespread media coverage for the 22 Hermès Kelly handbags, dresses by Capucci, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferrè, Gianni Versace, and Chanel suits which were auctioned in three separate auctions.

Il Ponte is also well known for its generous collaboration and fundraising for Fondazione per la formazione oncologica (Oncology Research Foundation).

Housed in the grandeur of Palazzo Crivelli, a Rococò palace once inhabited by one of Milan’s most powerful noble families, it is now home to international art dealers, interior designers, magazine editors and private collectors.

The Auction

The feature auction is Arte Moderna – Modern and Contemporary Art, which includes paintings, sculpture and mixed media artwork by the art world’s most prestigious names. The catalog is a who’s who of modern art, with names such as Morandi, Severini, Giò Pomodoro, Vangi, Picasso, Robert Barry, Warhol, Calder, Lucio Fontana and the list goes on.

Entering the Palazzo Crivelli is a large open courtyard, neatly decorated with sculpted buxus shrubs. There are three rooms full of guests anticipating the opening hammer knock.

The items are always displayed to the public in the two to three days preceding the auction giving buyers the opportunity to inspect the condition and beauty of each item up close. The large salon, which was once the ballroom, is where most of the items are displayed. The other smaller parlors also hold display cases and exhibition space. Because today’s auction is modern art, two huge works “Giano” by Luciano Bartolini majestically hang opposite the seventeenth century frescoes enhancing the originality and modernistic presence of the pieces.

Today, Egan is on the lookout for Warhols; for both his own private collection as well as for his gallery/workspace located in Piazza Castello. There are eight pieces by Warhol in today’s catalog.

I arrive just minutes before the opening hammer. Egan has saved me a seat next to him in the second row, which he has gallantly had to defend to keep free. We quickly exchange “hellos” but the hammer has struck.

Silence takes over the room and heads turn to the front pedestal where an elegant blonde in black lace, proceeds with item number one: an Alexander Calder from 1976.

The bidding starts and the red pallets are raised. There is also a pool of operators live online with remote bidders from all over the world. You can hear their whispers in Latin, Germanic and Middle Eastern languages. The three auction rooms are linked by audio transmissions relaying messages from a moderator in each room, but it is the woman at the pedestal with the hammer who closes the final offer awarding the buyer with the highest bid.

Throughout the auction, the bids start at the auction house valuation price and bids are increased by 200 euro at a time, once bids reach €4000, the bids are increased in increments of 500 euro. The buyers online remain anonymous, as do the buyers in the room. You can feel that the “regulars” are checking out the new faces and watching what you bid on or show interest in.

There is an assortment of personalities in the audience; the young hipster-architect geek, the forty-something woman in jeans and t-shirt, the disheveled older gentleman and the uber-posh business woman.

Surprisingly enough, the older gentleman, who seemed to be a passive spectator shuffles out to get some air and returns when bidding starts on “Veduta di Comacchio” by Tato. The bidding started slowly but the pace picked up, quickly hitting the €4000 mark. At the four thousand mark is where things get interesting, instantly I become more attentive, more interested.

Unwittingly I started thinking, “I need to get in on this – maybe I undervalued this cityscape, maybe I’m losing an opportunity!” Thank goodness, I didn’t have a pallet of my own! My husband would have killed me if I had come home with a €10,000 auction slip!

Unfortunately, Disheveled Gentleman had to pull out and lost the bid; slumping in disappointment. But shortly afterward another Tato came up. He bolted straight up, he really wanted it! He was so disappointed by the first attempt – he was up and alert. The second work by Tato is presented and projected onto the video monitors, and the bidding begins.

The bids go higher, €3200, €3400, they reach the €4000 mark. This means serious bids. The next offer is €4500. Hesitantly, Disheveled Gentleman raises his scarlet pallet.

The next offer price is now up to €5000, the auctioneer scans the room. She looks at the telephone operators. There are no additional offers. She asks confirmation from her colleagues in the other rooms. There are no other offers.

With an ever so slight beam of complicity and genuine happiness, the auctioneer says “Aggiudicato al signore in prima fila a €4500!” “Awarded to the man in the front row for €4500.”

She slams down the hammer, smiles and nods at Disheveled Gentleman. His disappointed frown turns into a full-on smile of relief and satisfaction. The clerk brings him an auction slip to sign confirming his purchase, which he happily signs with a scribble.

The auction continues. Several times, the auctioneer has looked and nodded toward me. “I don’t even have a pallet! Why is she looking at me?” I thought. I was quite concerned that perhaps she had misinterpreted my fidgeting for a bid, but I soon realize she is targeting someone behind me who has attempted several times to bid on items.

Uber-Posh is sitting directly behind me.

I can hear her conferring with her neighbor when an item is shown up on the monitor. She seems to be there more for sport than anything else. “Il divano giapponese” by Bruno Caruso (1966) comes up and she’s interested. There are no bids at the house evaluation price, so the initial bids start lower. The bids are raised but are slow and reluctant. She holds her pallet, ready to raise. The last telephone bid has come in, she needs to decide whether to continue or not. She lifts her arm. Her confidant is murmuring.

The hammer strikes! “Aggiudicato alla signora nella terza fila a €2000!” Uber-Posh lets out a squeal of delight like a four-year-old on Christmas day. Rightly so, she got a Bruno Caruso for less than the house price. She nearly bounces out of her chair reaching for the auction slip.

Waiting for Warhol

Meanwhile, Egan is next to me. He jots down notes on the catalog pages with his Montblanc. Comments for his own future reference on how the auction is developing or his notes on the condition of an item upon pre-auction inspection.

Every once in a while, he’ll break his serious composure to pass me a personal note or make a witty comment. There are hundreds of items up for auction today. Egan checks his email, foreign exchange rates, or flips through the latest issue of Nuevo Estilo. Patiently waiting for the Warhols.

Once his items come up, he reaches down for his pallet. Egan already sits with impeccable posture, but a deep, preparatory breath pulls his shoulders back. The bidding begins. Even when the bids started getting higher, Egan remains composed. Unlike others who strike their pallets up in the air, Egan calmly flashes it, holding it up just enough for the auctioneer to acknowledge it. There was only one split second in which I saw a slight hand-tremble; not caused by hesitation or anxiety, but more likely caused by the rush of excited adrenaline of the moment.

How Egan Learned About Bidding at Auctions

Egan learned the method of buying for investment from his father. He tells me “My father was passionate and became very successful in spotting collector items, finding a demand for them and then selling them for a good price. I learned how to do this, applying it to art acquisition.”

For the sake of not revealing Egan’s trade secrets or what he has purchased, I can tell you that throughout the morning, he purchased three Warhols; all of which went well over the €4500 bidding mark. In my opinion, they will be exquisite additions to his collection.

There is still a list of final items to be announced before the afternoon break. Egan is not interested in any of the following items so he says “Let’s get out of here and have lunch!” We wait for a lull between items and scoot by the others in our row.

It’s done. The auction house will wrap them up and he will send one of his assistants to pick them up. In the next three days, his new Warhols will be ready for hanging in his office.
Download and read on MilanoStyle Magazine Vol. 2 Spring 2026

Editor's note
MilanoStyle.com

A previous version of this article was entitled: A Day with Interior Designer Eric Egan at Il Ponte Auction House Milan