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Rare Pair of André Arbus Chairs, France, 1940s

Name: Rare Pair of André Arbus Chairs, France, 1940s
Brand: André Arbus
Price: 3517.36 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Rare elegant pair of André Arbus chairs, manufactured in France in 1940s. Signed. André Arbus (French, 1903–1969) was a furniture designer, sculptor, and architect. Born into a family of cabinetmakers in Toulouse, he worked in his father’s workshop while attending the École des Beaux-Arts. After graduating, he took over the family business. In 1925, he began showing his furniture designs in a variety of salons and galleries, including the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, and the gallery L’Epoque in Paris, and quickly established a reputation as an innovative furniture designer. In 1932, Arbus moved to Paris, where he advocated for a return to traditional design. Inspired by French Classicism, his works embraced minimal lines and luxurious materials, such as lacquer, parchment, vellum, and fine wood veneers. In 1935, he established his own gallery in Paris. In 1939, he exhibited work at the New York World’s Fair, and was commissioned to do the interiors of the French Ministry of Agriculture. From 1946 until his death, he exhibited widely, and worked on a variety of design projects and objects, including a series of glass chandeliers and light collaborations with the atelier Véronèse, a variety of sea liner interiors, and a commission for the decoration of the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. During the 1950s, Arbus turned his attention toward sculpture, and began to create unique sculptural furniture objects. His first bronze pieces appeared in 1952, and sculpture remained his primary focus until his death in 1969.

Creator:

André Arbus (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 35.44 in (90 cm)Width: 20.08 in (51 cm)Depth: 20.08 in (51 cm)Seat Height: 18.51 in (47 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Oak

Place of Origin:

France

Period:

Mid-20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1940

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

L'Escala, ES

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU1982321180892

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Shop All André Arbus

André Arbus

French architect, sculptor and designer André Arbus was destined to become one of the 20th century’s finest furniture makers. According to him, the craft was in his blood. “I come from an old family of cabinetmakers,” he once said. “From father to son for a very long time. In other words, I was born in a cabinet-making workshop.”

Born in Toulouse in 1903, Arbus spent his childhood working in his father’s business which sold reproductions of 18th century French furniture. He later studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse under sculptor Henry Parayre.

After graduating, Arbus returned to work with his father as the business’s artistic director. When his father retired, Arbus transformed the company from selling furniture reproductions to one that produced his own formidable designs, including cocktail tables, sofa tables and floor lamps that merged neoclassicism with Art Deco and featured alluring modernist characteristics.

In 1925, Arbus exhibited at several shows, including the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, Salon d’Automne, the Gallery L’Epoque and won a medal at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, which brought the Art Deco style to the global stage.

Arbus moved to Paris in 1932, won the prestigious Premier Prix Blumenthal in 1934 and opened his own gallery in 1935. His sconces, chandeliers and dining room tables attracted a steady clientele of some of Paris’s wealthiest. Arbus exhibited at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York and, throughout the 1940s, received numerous notable commissions. The French government gave many of his pieces as gifts to visiting foreign heads of state. He furnished several luxury ocean liners, collaborated with Maison Veronese on a line of lighting fixtures and was tasked to build a jewel cabinet for Princess Elizabeth.

In 1946, Arbus participated in the refurbishment of the Élysée Palace and the Château de Rambouillet with fellow French architects and designers Louis Süe and Jean-Charles Moreux.

Arbus focused on sculpture throughout the 1950s until he died in 1969, drawing inspiration from eminent sculptors such as Vadim Androusov and Sylva Bernt. Today, Arbus’s works can be found in museums around the world.

On 1stDibs, find a range of vintage André Arbus lighting, tables and seating.