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.
André Arbus Dressing Stool in Gilded Wood
By André Arbus
Located in Berlin, DE
A rare dressing table stool by André Arbus, crafted in gilded wood with a bronze patina and upholstered in chestnut-brown silk velvet from the French manufacture Prelle. The feet are...
Upholstery, Giltwood
Rare White Gessoed Back Stool by Andre Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in Montreal, QC
Rare white gessoed back stool by Andre Arbus.
Beech
$5,900
H 21.5 in W 19 in D 19 in
French Art Deco / Modern Neoclassical Vanity Chair, Attributed André Arbus, 1930
By André Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Elegant French Mid-Century Modern Neoclassical / Art Deco vanity chair or stool attributed to André Arbus circa 1930. The piece has a dramatic form including rear saber legs and camb...
Walnut
$7,900 / set
H 17.5 in W 18 in D 14 in
Pair of French Modern Neoclassical Stools / Benches Attributed to Andre Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Elegant, Sober and Timeless Pair of French Mid-Century Modern Neoclassical benches or stools with needle point seats attributed to Andre Arbus. The benches are in the Curile form and...
Hardwood
$4,500
H 26 in W 32 in D 15.75 in
French Neoclassical Style Curule Stool, Gilded Wood and Upholstered Seat
Located in Atlanta, GA
With its sweeping curule base and refined ornamentation, this French Neoclassical-style stool echoes the grandeur of ancient Rome, reinterpreted through a midcentury lens. Designed w...
Fabric, Linen, Upholstery, Wood
Stool Made in Solid Wood
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this primitive petite stool made in solid wood. Made in Mexico hand carved. Ready to use as stool or side table.
Wood
Rare Japanese Stool by Soetsu Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Uccle, BE
This stool was made in 1936 for the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum. Made of Japanese cherry wood and seagrass. Today, you can still see the original benches made for this museum. Yanagi Soetsu (1889 – 1961), also known as Yanagi Muneyoshi, was a Japanese art critic, philosopher, and founder of the Mingei (folk craft) movement in Japan in the late 1920s and 1930s. His son, Sori Yanagi, was a renowned industrial designer. In 1916, Yanagi made his first trip to Korea out of curiosity about Korean crafts. The trip led to the establishment of the Korean Folk Crafts Museum in 1924 and the coining of the term mingei by Yanagi, potters Hamada Shoji (1894–1978) and Kawai Kanjiro...
Seagrass, Cherry
Single Stool Attributed to Andre Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Beautiful small stool in sycamore wood. Newly upholstered in brown leather. Attributed to Andre Arbus.
Wood, Leather
Rare Modernist Stool by Andre Sornay
By Andre Sornay
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cowhide upholstered stool by Andre Sornay. Made in France circa 1930s. Literature: Thierry Roche, André Sornay 1902-2000, Paris, 2002
Metal
French Oak Stool In the Style of Andre Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in Chicago, IL
French oak stool in the style of Andre Arbus or Jean-Charles Moreau. Original pale blue velvet horsehair cushion on white cerused oak wood legs terminating in a French c1940 curved f...
Wrought Iron
$9,950 / set
H 18 in W 18 in D 14 in
French Modern Neoclassical Mahogany & Leather Benches/ Stools, Andre Arbus, Pair
By André Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Elegant, timeless pair of French Mid-Century Modern neoclassical mahogany and leather benches or stools attributed to Andre Arbus, circa 1930. The pieces feature Classic X-frame leg ...
Leather, Mahogany
Andre Arbus set of Four Chairs
By André Arbus
Located in CA, CA
A set of four chairs attributed to André Arbus stained to resemble ebony macassar. Presented in original condition these chairs have received a light polish, the original silk upho...
Fruitwood
$29,520Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 38.5 in W 26 in D 21 in
Vintage French Art Deco Armchairs by André Arbus, Circa 1930-1940
By André Arbus
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A vintage French Art Deco pair of armchairs made of hand crafted shellac polished Oakwood, designed and produced by André Arbus in good condition. The detailed dining room chairs hav...
Fabric, Upholstery, Velvet, Oak
$7,700
H 19 in W 16.5 in D 12.25 in
French Mid-Century Modern Neoclassical Wrought Iron Bench / Stool, Andre Arbus
By Jacques Adnet, André Arbus
Located in New York, NY
An Elegant French Mid-Century Modern Neoclassical Wrought Iron Bench or Stool attributed to Andre Arbus circa 1950. The piece is classic, yet fresh in its aesthetic and is finished w...
Brass, Wrought Iron
Fine Pair of Andre Arbus Footstools
By André Arbus
Located in CA, CA
A fine and rare pair of Andre Arbus Footstools. Classically Arbus, the legs are of elegant neoclassical sweeping form, the X shape is beautifully balanced with decorative circula...
Wood