French Benches

Pair of x-shaped small benches, French, circa 1937, by Andre Arbus. Chene ceruse. 20" wide x 16" deep x 17.5" high. Andre Arbus (1903-1969) French Art Deco Architect and Designer, ANDRE ARBUS, WAS born in Toulouse, France. A third-generation cabinetmaker, Arbus became active in the Salons of the Societe des Artistes Decorateurs and the Salon d’Automne in Paris in 1925 at the young age of 22. His work included commissions for the 1922 oceanliner Bretagne, the 1927 La Provence and Ile-de-France as well as the 1961 France. He often used rare and exotic materials in his refined designs. These were elegant and pure and often gave the appearance of fragility – as in his neo-classical presentation at the Paris International Exposition of 1937. He compared the joints in his furniture to the joints of the human hand. His commissions also included private townhouses as well as Le Mobilier National for which designed a desk for U.S. Ambassador W. H. Harriman, and the post World War II Medici Room of the Chateau de Rambouillet...