Maurice Dufrene pair of Cubist-inspired club chairs

Name: Maurice Dufrene pair of Cubist-inspired club chairs
Brand: Maurice Dufrêne
Price: 32401.64 AUD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

About the Item

Classic French Art Deco pair of Cubist-inspired club chairs, circa 1925, by Maurice Dufrene. These chairs are sculpted mahogany, unrestored in the photographs, and they are 28” wide x 28” deep x 32” high. Purchase will include correct restoration and refinishing. MAURICE DUFRENE (1876 - 1955) One of the premiere French designers of the 20th Century, Maurice Dufrene was born in Paris in 1876. He was educated at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. By 1899, at the age of just 23, he became the director and manager of La Maison Moderne. This shop represented an association of artists who were working together to create designs which could be produced in multiples. Dufrene's work was first shown at salons in 1902 and from 1903 he regularly exhibited at Salon d'Automne and Salons of Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts. At the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes (which would later give the movement "Art Deco" its name), Dufrene's designs included luxury boutiques, the living room of Une Ambassade Francaise pavilion, the music salon, and the interior of La Maitrise pavilion. In 1904, Dufrene became one of the co-founders of Societe des Artistes Decorateurs which became a pivotal designers' organization and the facilitator of annual exhibitions that provided a venue for contemporary design and were well-documented by the press. He was one of the very few French designers to exhibit at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco. Dufrene designed furniture, glass, textiles, leather goods, stoneware and porcelain. He taught at the Ecole Boulle and the Ecole des Arts Appliques in Paris and was one of the principal designers of the first modernist film sets (1919 film Le carnaval des verites). In 1922 he became creator and director of La Maitrise design studio of Les Galeries Lafayette in Paris - and the full flowering of his talent became apparent in his refined furniture designs and complete interiors. His inspiration was taken from 18th and 19th Century designs, with a modern approach and his interiors ranged eclectically from townhouses to avant-garde to glass, metal and mirrors, to commissions from Le Mobilier National for embassies and the Palais de l'Elysee in Paris. He would remain at La Maitrise until 1952.

Creator:
Maurice Dufrêne (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 28 in (71.12 cm)Depth: 28 in (71.12 cm)Seat Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)
Style:
Art Deco (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Mahogany
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1920-1929
Date of Manufacture:
Circa 1925
Condition:
Pricing includes complete and correct restoration and refinishing.
Seller Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Reference Number:
Seller: #18381stDibs: LU843740674302

Shop All Maurice Dufrêne

Maurice Dufrêne

Maurice Dufrene was born in Paris in 1876. He studied at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs.In 1899, at the age of just 23, he became director and manager of La Maison Moderne, an association of artists who worked together to create designs which could be produced in multiples. These artists were van de Velde, Horta, Plumet and Selmersheim.His work was first shown at salons in 1902, and from 1903 he regularly exhibited at Salon d’Automne and Salons of Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He quickly moved to the forefront of modern design and was with Leon Jallot, among the group of French designers which became known as the Constructeurs, before the First World War. Dufrene had worked on Meier-Graefe's 'La Maison Moderne' around 1900 designing in the Art Nouveau style.By 1910, his work adapted more simplified forms using more substantial materials and construction. In 1904, he became a founding member of the Salon des Artistes Decorateurs, through which he exhibited for thirty years.He taught for a while at Ecole Boulle, and returned to design in 1919 producing neat and logical designs embellished with recurring carved scroll motifs and decorated with marquetry floral medallions in boxwood, ebony and ivory. In 1921 he joined the studio La Maitrise, as Artistic Director, and began a period of prolific production. The full flowering of his talent became apparent in his refined furniture designs and complete interiors. His inspiration was taken from 18th and 19th Century designs, with a modern approach. At the 1925 Exposition, Dufrene was everywhere. As well as the La Maitrise pavilion, he designed the 'petit salon' in the 'Ambassade Francaise', a boutique for the furrier Jungman, and the row of shoes on the Pont Alexandre Ill. Dufrene's stylistic development continued into the 1930s when he experimented with steel and glass. Adapting quickly to the Art Deco movement, the 1930s were just as busy for him. He died in Nogent-sur-Marne in 1955. His interiors ranged eclectically from townhouses to avant-garde to glass, metal and mirrors, to commissions from Mobilier National for embassies and the Palais de l’Elysée in Paris. He would remain at La Maîtrise until 1952. Today much of his work goes unidentified.