Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s (preview)

a l a s Ta i r D u n c a n

U.S. $125.00 Can. $162.50

Art Deco

AboUT The AUThor Alastair Duncan’s work as an officer and consultant at Christie’s New York from 1977–1990 has made him a leading authority on Art Deco and Art Nouveau decorative arts. This is his thirty-fourth book on the decorative arts including Abrams’ Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany and American Art Deco. he lives in New York City.

FroNT CoVer Center image © Paul Feyer, attr.

All other images © 2009 Artists rights Society (ArS), New York/ ADAGP, Paris. bACK CoVer Wolfgang hoffman, attr.

Jacket design by Sarah Gifford.

Ar t Deco compleTe

and the one that shaped popular ideas about modern luxury. This comprehensive guide covers furniture and interior design, sculpture, paintings, posters and bookbinding, glass, ceramics, lighting, textiles, metalwork, and jewelry. It includes the work of all of the important Art Deco designers, from highstyle French furniture makers to the creators of the popular “Streamline Moderne” style. This volume contains 1,000 full-color images accompanying biographies of the most influential artists and designers of the inter-war years. The text delves into the complex definition of Art Deco, a style

and ornamentation. A beautiful Art Deco showpiece and an amazing reference volume, this book contains—in addition to its fabulously illustrated chapters divided by materials—a detailed A–Z glossary of the artists, designers, and manufacturers working during the movement.

Its author is the colorful and experienced Alastair Duncan, who for years was the expert who ran the twentieth-century decorative arts department at Christie’s in New York. This is his thirty-fourth book on the decorative arts and one he hopes will stand as

The DefiniTive GuiDe To The DecoraTive arTs of The 1920s anD 1930s

U.S. $125.00 Can. $162.50 ISBN: 978-0-8109-8046-4

115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramsbooks.com

1 2 5 0 0 9

780810 980464

z Abrams

in Art Deco,

the most glamorous decorative arts style

his monument to Art Deco.

zAbrams

is the last word

that explored the interplay of functionality

compleTe

PRINTED IN CHINA

Art

Deco Complete

a l a s Ta i r D u n c a n

a l a s Ta i r D u n c a n

U.S. $125.00 Can. $162.50

Art Deco

AboUT The AUThor Alastair Duncan’s work as an officer and consultant at Christie’s New York from 1977–1990 has made him a leading authority on Art Deco and Art Nouveau decorative arts. This is his thirty-fourth book on the decorative arts including Abrams’ Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany and American Art Deco. he lives in New York City.

FroNT CoVer Center image © Paul Feyer, attr.

All other images © 2009 Artists rights Society (ArS), New York/ ADAGP, Paris. bACK CoVer Wolfgang hoffman, attr.

Jacket design by Sarah Gifford.

Ar t Deco compleTe

and the one that shaped popular ideas about modern luxury. This comprehensive guide covers furniture and interior design, sculpture, paintings, posters and bookbinding, glass, ceramics, lighting, textiles, metalwork, and jewelry. It includes the work of all of the important Art Deco designers, from highstyle French furniture makers to the creators of the popular “Streamline Moderne” style. This volume contains 1,000 full-color images accompanying biographies of the most influential artists and designers of the inter-war years. The text delves into the complex definition of Art Deco, a style

and ornamentation. A beautiful Art Deco showpiece and an amazing reference volume, this book contains—in addition to its fabulously illustrated chapters divided by materials—a detailed A–Z glossary of the artists, designers, and manufacturers working during the movement.

Its author is the colorful and experienced Alastair Duncan, who for years was the expert who ran the twentieth-century decorative arts department at Christie’s in New York. This is his thirty-fourth book on the decorative arts and one he hopes will stand as

The DefiniTive GuiDe To The DecoraTive arTs of The 1920s anD 1930s

U.S. $125.00 Can. $162.50 ISBN: 978-0-8109-8046-4

115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramsbooks.com

1 2 5 0 0 9

780810 980464

z Abrams

in Art Deco,

the most glamorous decorative arts style

his monument to Art Deco.

zAbrams

is the last word

that explored the interplay of functionality

compleTe

PRINTED IN CHINA

Art

Deco Complete

a l a s Ta i r D u n c a n

introduction media and masters

contents

furniture and interior decoration pierre chareau donald deskey maurice dufrène paul dupré-lafon jean-michel frank paul-théodore frankl eileen gray robert mallet-stevens martine (paul poiret) charlotte perriand eugène printz armand-albert rateau jacques-émile ruhlmann süe et mare

6 12

14

23 28 34 38 42 48 52 56 60 62 66 72 79 88

sculpture demetre chiparus carl paul jennewein boris lovet-lorski jan and joël martel gustav miklos johann-philipp preiss

96 104 110 114 118 122 126

paintings, graphics, posters, bookbinding rose adler paul bonet cassandre (adolphe mouron) paul colin tamara de lempicka jean dupas erté (romain de tirtoff) pierre-émile legrain françois-louis schmied

130 137 142 148 152 170 156 160 164 174

glass joseph-gabriel argy-rousseau daum frères françois-émile decorchemont rené lalique maurice marinot

178 184 188 192 196 202

ceramics rené buthaud clarice cliff émile decoeur viktor schreckengost

206 214 216 220 224

lighting albert cheuret jean perzel simonet frères

228 234 238 242

textiles ivan da silva bruhns gunta stölzl

246 255 260

silver, metal, lacquer and enamel edgar brandt maison desny jean dunand jean puiforcat

264 273 280 284 294

jewelry cartier fouquet raymond templier

298 306 310 314

a-z of artists, designers and manufacturers

316

sources of quotations glossary select bibliography acknowledgments index

529 531 535 539 540

(right) Pair of ‘Skyscraper’ bookcases,

(below left) Pair of ‘Skyscraper’ chests of

(below right) ‘Puzzle’ desk and chair in red

(bottom) ‘Skyscraper’ bookcase in ebonized

California redwood with nickel-plated trim,

drawers in wood with ebonized trim and

lacquered wood with silver-leaf drawers and

wood with red lacquered trim, c. 1926–27.

late 1920s.

green lacquered interiors, c. 1930.

silvered-metal handles, c. 1927.

(left) ‘Skyscraper’ bookcase in painted wood, late 1920s.

50

furniture and interior decoration | paul-théodore frankl

furniture and interior decoration | paul-théodore frankl

51

(right) Pair of ‘Skyscraper’ bookcases,

(below left) Pair of ‘Skyscraper’ chests of

(below right) ‘Puzzle’ desk and chair in red

(bottom) ‘Skyscraper’ bookcase in ebonized

California redwood with nickel-plated trim,

drawers in wood with ebonized trim and

lacquered wood with silver-leaf drawers and

wood with red lacquered trim, c. 1926–27.

late 1920s.

green lacquered interiors, c. 1930.

silvered-metal handles, c. 1927.

(left) ‘Skyscraper’ bookcase in painted wood, late 1920s.

50

furniture and interior decoration | paul-théodore frankl

furniture and interior decoration | paul-théodore frankl

51

(far left) Deux Contes (Guy de Maupassant),

(right) La Maison Philibert (Jean Lorrain),

leather and sharkskin with gold-tooling,

inlays of leather with gold- and

undated.

blind-tooling, 1925.

(left) Au Royaume de la perle (Léonard Rosenthal), inlays of leather, gold- and blind-tooling and inset motherof-pearl cabochons.

(left) Trois Filles de leur mère (Pierre Louÿs), inlays of leather and gold-tooling, 1926. (above) Théâtre complet (François de Curel),

(above) Daphné (Alfred de Vigny), inlays

six-volume set, inlays of leather and

of leather, gold- and blind-tooling and

palladium (bound by René Kieffer), 1919.

palladium, 1926.

168

paintings, graphics, posters and bookbinding | pierre-émile legrain

paintings, graphics, posters and bookbinding | pierre-émile legrain

169

(far left) Deux Contes (Guy de Maupassant),

(right) La Maison Philibert (Jean Lorrain),

leather and sharkskin with gold-tooling,

inlays of leather with gold- and

undated.

blind-tooling, 1925.

(left) Au Royaume de la perle (Léonard Rosenthal), inlays of leather, gold- and blind-tooling and inset motherof-pearl cabochons.

(left) Trois Filles de leur mère (Pierre Louÿs), inlays of leather and gold-tooling, 1926. (above) Théâtre complet (François de Curel),

(above) Daphné (Alfred de Vigny), inlays

six-volume set, inlays of leather and

of leather, gold- and blind-tooling and

palladium (bound by René Kieffer), 1919.

palladium, 1926.

168

paintings, graphics, posters and bookbinding | pierre-émile legrain

paintings, graphics, posters and bookbinding | pierre-émile legrain

169

(right) Fire-screen in wrought iron, 1920s. (below) ‘L’Oasis’ five-panel screen, in collaboration with Henri Favier, wrought iron with gilt-metal applications, exhibited at the 1925 Exposition Internationale, Paris (see opposite page, top).

‘L’Âge d’Or’ doorway, the latter being a virtuoso work in pierced wrought iron adorned at its centre with gilt-bronze Classical figures.

The apparent ease with which Brandt transformed a bar of pig iron into the most ephemeral flower spray belied the material’s innate lack of malleability, yet he succeeded in taming it, making it at once robust and plastic, bold and frivolous. His dexterity is amply shown in the facility with which he interchanged materials; most frequently, in the 1920s, wrought iron and bronze, with more ambitious works enhanced with gilt-copper motifs that provided a light accent of richness. Later came steel, aluminium and, around 1934, the alloy ‘Studal’.

Occasional collaborators included the sculptors Max Blondat and Badory, and the metalworkers Pierre Lardin and Gilbert *Poillerat. Ancillary materials were ordered from the period’s foremost manufacturers: glassware from daum

frères; porcelain from the Sèvres manufactory; and crystal from Pantin. Marble and alabaster,

(above) View of Brandt’s stand on the Esplanade des Invalides at the 1925 Exposition Internationale, Paris.

for lampshades and the tops of consoles, were shipped from Italy.

(right) Potiche in silvered bronze, the model included in Brandt’s stand at the 1925 Exposition Internationale, Paris (above).

274

silver, metal, lacquer and enamel | edgar brandt

silver, metal, lacquer and enamel | edgar brandt

275

(right) Fire-screen in wrought iron, 1920s. (below) ‘L’Oasis’ five-panel screen, in collaboration with Henri Favier, wrought iron with gilt-metal applications, exhibited at the 1925 Exposition Internationale, Paris (see opposite page, top).

‘L’Âge d’Or’ doorway, the latter being a virtuoso work in pierced wrought iron adorned at its centre with gilt-bronze Classical figures.

The apparent ease with which Brandt transformed a bar of pig iron into the most ephemeral flower spray belied the material’s innate lack of malleability, yet he succeeded in taming it, making it at once robust and plastic, bold and frivolous. His dexterity is amply shown in the facility with which he interchanged materials; most frequently, in the 1920s, wrought iron and bronze, with more ambitious works enhanced with gilt-copper motifs that provided a light accent of richness. Later came steel, aluminium and, around 1934, the alloy ‘Studal’.

Occasional collaborators included the sculptors Max Blondat and Badory, and the metalworkers Pierre Lardin and Gilbert *Poillerat. Ancillary materials were ordered from the period’s foremost manufacturers: glassware from daum

frères; porcelain from the Sèvres manufactory; and crystal from Pantin. Marble and alabaster,

(above) View of Brandt’s stand on the Esplanade des Invalides at the 1925 Exposition Internationale, Paris.

for lampshades and the tops of consoles, were shipped from Italy.

(right) Potiche in silvered bronze, the model included in Brandt’s stand at the 1925 Exposition Internationale, Paris (above).

274

silver, metal, lacquer and enamel | edgar brandt

silver, metal, lacquer and enamel | edgar brandt

275

a l a s Ta i r D u n c a n

U.S. $125.00 Can. $162.50

Art Deco

AboUT The AUThor Alastair Duncan’s work as an officer and consultant at Christie’s New York from 1977–1990 has made him a leading authority on Art Deco and Art Nouveau decorative arts. This is his thirty-fourth book on the decorative arts including Abrams’ Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany and American Art Deco. he lives in New York City.

FroNT CoVer Center image © Paul Feyer, attr.

All other images © 2009 Artists rights Society (ArS), New York/ ADAGP, Paris. bACK CoVer Wolfgang hoffman, attr.

Jacket design by Sarah Gifford.

Ar t Deco compleTe

and the one that shaped popular ideas about modern luxury. This comprehensive guide covers furniture and interior design, sculpture, paintings, posters and bookbinding, glass, ceramics, lighting, textiles, metalwork, and jewelry. It includes the work of all of the important Art Deco designers, from highstyle French furniture makers to the creators of the popular “Streamline Moderne” style. This volume contains 1,000 full-color images accompanying biographies of the most influential artists and designers of the inter-war years. The text delves into the complex definition of Art Deco, a style

and ornamentation. A beautiful Art Deco showpiece and an amazing reference volume, this book contains—in addition to its fabulously illustrated chapters divided by materials—a detailed A–Z glossary of the artists, designers, and manufacturers working during the movement.

Its author is the colorful and experienced Alastair Duncan, who for years was the expert who ran the twentieth-century decorative arts department at Christie’s in New York. This is his thirty-fourth book on the decorative arts and one he hopes will stand as

The DefiniTive GuiDe To The DecoraTive arTs of The 1920s anD 1930s

U.S. $125.00 Can. $162.50 ISBN: 978-0-8109-8046-4

115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramsbooks.com

1 2 5 0 0 9

780810 980464

z Abrams

in Art Deco,

the most glamorous decorative arts style

his monument to Art Deco.

zAbrams

is the last word

that explored the interplay of functionality

compleTe

PRINTED IN CHINA

Art

Deco Complete

a l a s Ta i r D u n c a n

a l a s Ta i r D u n c a n

U.S. $125.00 Can. $162.50

Art Deco

AboUT The AUThor Alastair Duncan’s work as an officer and consultant at Christie’s New York from 1977–1990 has made him a leading authority on Art Deco and Art Nouveau decorative arts. This is his thirty-fourth book on the decorative arts including Abrams’ Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany and American Art Deco. he lives in New York City.

FroNT CoVer Center image © Paul Feyer, attr.

All other images © 2009 Artists rights Society (ArS), New York/ ADAGP, Paris. bACK CoVer Wolfgang hoffman, attr.

Jacket design by Sarah Gifford.

Ar t Deco compleTe

and the one that shaped popular ideas about modern luxury. This comprehensive guide covers furniture and interior design, sculpture, paintings, posters and bookbinding, glass, ceramics, lighting, textiles, metalwork, and jewelry. It includes the work of all of the important Art Deco designers, from highstyle French furniture makers to the creators of the popular “Streamline Moderne” style. This volume contains 1,000 full-color images accompanying biographies of the most influential artists and designers of the inter-war years. The text delves into the complex definition of Art Deco, a style

and ornamentation. A beautiful Art Deco showpiece and an amazing reference volume, this book contains—in addition to its fabulously illustrated chapters divided by materials—a detailed A–Z glossary of the artists, designers, and manufacturers working during the movement.

Its author is the colorful and experienced Alastair Duncan, who for years was the expert who ran the twentieth-century decorative arts department at Christie’s in New York. This is his thirty-fourth book on the decorative arts and one he hopes will stand as

The DefiniTive GuiDe To The DecoraTive arTs of The 1920s anD 1930s

U.S. $125.00 Can. $162.50 ISBN: 978-0-8109-8046-4

115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramsbooks.com

1 2 5 0 0 9

780810 980464

z Abrams

in Art Deco,

the most glamorous decorative arts style

his monument to Art Deco.

zAbrams

is the last word

that explored the interplay of functionality

compleTe

PRINTED IN CHINA

Art

Deco Complete

a l a s Ta i r D u n c a n