Warren McArthur Furniture
Few 20th-century designers had influential furniture that regularly flew at 30,000 feet, but Warren McArthur did. His work on seating for military aircraft came near the end of his career, following decades of Machine Age furniture shaped from tubular forms and made of steel, chrome and aluminum.
Warren McArthur Jr. graduated with an engineering degree from Cornell University in 1908. After moving to Los Angeles in 1929, he founded the Warren McArthur Corporation a year later. His initial output of sleek, metal designs were popular in offices and hotels.
At the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, Americans witnessed a new “Streamlined America” campaign, which included everyday furniture made from metal, opening the door for McArthur and other Machine Age designers to a residential audience. With this increase in demand for metal furniture, the Warren McArthur Corporation relocated to Rome, New York, and sold their aluminum furnishings out of a showroom on Park Avenue in New York City.
Actors Marlene Dietrich, Fredric March and Clark Gable were among his A-list clientele. McArthur also produced furniture for the dining cars on the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chrysler Headquarters. His designs were featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 1934 exhibition “Contemporary American Industrial Art.”
During World War II, McArthur pivoted production after a ban on the private use of aluminum. McArthur made an estimated three-quarters of all American military aircraft seating, including adjustable seats for the Beechcraft C-45 and revolving seats for navigators aboard the Grumman HU-16 Albatross.
Warren McArthur closed his business in 1948. He died in 1961.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Warren McArthur armchairs, tables and other seating.
1930s Vintage Warren McArthur Furniture
Aluminum
Mid-19th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Warren McArthur Furniture
Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Furniture
Stone, Marble, Stainless Steel
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Furniture
Rosewood
Late 19th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Warren McArthur Furniture
Fruitwood, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Warren McArthur Furniture
Walnut
Mid-19th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Warren McArthur Furniture
Wood
20th Century American Warren McArthur Furniture
Aluminum
1920s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Furniture
Aluminum
1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Furniture
Stainless Steel
Mid-19th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Warren McArthur Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Warren McArthur Furniture
Walnut
Late 19th Century Spanish Spanish Colonial Antique Warren McArthur Furniture
Mahogany
1930s Vintage Warren McArthur Furniture
Leather
1930s Vintage Warren McArthur Furniture
Aluminum
1920s Vintage Warren McArthur Furniture
Aluminum
