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.
Art Deco Andre Arbus Parchment Leather and Mirror Side Tables, France, 1930s
By André Arbus
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
Lovely pair of sofa side tables. Wood covered with parchment leather. Original mirror on the top. Made in France, 1930s.
Brass
Antique Art Deco Design Side Table 1930s
Located in OOSTERHOUT, NL
Decoratively shaped Art Deco side table from the 1930s with an elegant base. The table is made of solid oak with veneer on the lower shelf. The legs are made of coromandel wood and t...
Mahogany, Oak
French Octagonal Art Deco Side Table, c. 1930s
Located in Antwerp, Antwerp
French Art Deco side table featuring a distinctive octagonal top and lower tier. The design is defined by its crisp geometry and restrained ornamentation, embodying the sophisticated...
Oak
French Art Deco Side Table with Marble Top, 1930s
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Stunning and rare Art Deco side table. Striking French design from the 1930s. Solid oak with original colored marble top. The drawer has the original brass handle. This wonderful Art...
Marble, Brass
Art Deco Side Table, Europe, 1930s
Located in Praha, CZ
Made in Europe side table in good original condition sometimes scratches hard construction.
Wood
$3,520Sale Price|20% Off
H 18.5 in W 29 in D 13 in
Vintage French Art Deco Side Table, Gilded Metal & Glass, 1930s-40s
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A single, vintage French Art Deco table d’ore made of hand crafted gilded metal, in good condition. The detailed rectangular side, end table is composed with a clear glass top, stand...
Metal
$5,800Sale Price|29% Off
H 23.75 in Dm 26.75 in
Vintage Art Deco Side Table, Handcrafted Walnut with Mirrored Top
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A round, vintage Art Deco French side, sofa table made of hand crafted polished Walnut, in good condition. The small detailed end table is composed with its original mirrored glass t...
Mirror, Walnut
$18,500 / set
H 23 in W 12.25 in D 12.25 in
Pair of Jacques Adnet Leather and Iron Rotating Side Tables, 1950s France
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A striking pair of vintage black lacquered side tables by French designer Jacques Adnet. Featuring an elegant faux bamboo frame design and two-tier construction atop a 3 legged base ...
Brass, Iron
Geometric French Art Deco Black Lacquer Side Table, 1930s
Located in Ulm, DE
A striking French Art Deco side table from the 1930s, defined by an exceptionally geometric and sculptural design. The table is constructed from three circular levels arranged verti...
Metal, Chrome
Art Deco High Side Table, France, 1930s
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Art Deco High Side Table, wood, France, 1930s The structure of this side table is built around a single idea: four wooden ribs, curved and tapered, rise from a circular foot and con...
Wood
1930s French Art Deco Side Table
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A lovely small side table with inset mirror top and a floating shelf. Four legs that are offset from the corners and rotate around the table create a dynamic piece. French, circa 193...
Mirror, Wood
Andre Arbus French Art Deco Dining Table
By André Arbus
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French Art Deco dining table by Andre Arbus, circa 1938, in mahogany. This signed and documented model is featured in the book, Andre Arbus, by Yvonne Brunhammer (1996) and a variant...
Mahogany
$9,000Sale Price / set|25% Off
H 20.5 in Dm 23.25 in
Art Deco Side Tables by Joubert et Petit, Rosewood & Glass, 1935
By René Joubert and Philippe Petit
Located in Miami, FL
This pair of Art Deco side tables is attributed to Joubert et Petit for DIM (Décoration Intérieure Moderne), a renowned French workshop active in the 1920s and 1930s, Each tabla feat...
Glass, Rosewood
Swedish Side Table in Pine attributed to Bo Fjæstad, 1930s
Located in Karlstad, SE
Swedish Side Table in Solid Pine, Attributed to Bo Fjaestad, Sweden, 1930s Characterful Swedish side table from the 1930s, crafted entirely in solid pine and attributed to Bo Fjaest...
Pine
$2,505
H 17.33 in W 18.12 in D 15.75 in
Small Art Deco Wrought Iron Table with Green Marble Top - France, 1930s
Located in Isle Sur La Sorgue, Vaucluse
Charming Art Deco table with a scrolling, curule-shaped, hammered and wrought iron base. A frieze of delicately-fashioned "petals" frames the top, which is of green marble veined wit...
Graphic Art Deco Coffee Table, France 1930s - 1940s
Located in Isle Sur La Sorgue, Vaucluse
Elegant Art Deco-period wrought iron coffee table with a marble top. Bold lines, with contrasting graphic zig-zags and elegant loops and scrolls. The marble top is pink and yel...
Sold
H 32.5 in W 36 in D 14.1 in
French 1940 Modern Neoclassical Ebonized Cherry & Marble Console by Andre Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Rare, refined and timeless French Mid-Century Modern neoclassical console by Andre Arbus circa 1940. The piece features a dramatic mannerist architectural model as it is set upon 6 h...
Marble, Brass