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.
French 1940s Set of Eight High-Back Dining Chairs
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French 1940s Art Deco dining chairs, set of eight in beech with bronze mounts and high, tapered backs. Please note these chairs are unrestored in the photographs. Chairs can be cu...
Beech
French 1940s Set of Eight Dining Chairs in Beech
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French 1940s Art Deco dining chairs, set of eight in beech. Please note these chairs are unrestored in the photographs. Chairs can be custom-stained. We will be happy to discuss y...
Beech
Paul Frechet Set of Six Mahogany Dining Chairs
By Paul Frechet
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French Art Deco dining chairs, set of six, in mahogany, circa 1938. Please note that these chairs are unrestored in the photographs. **PRICE includes proper restoration, refini...
Mahogany
Rene Prou Attributed Set of Eight Dining Chairs
By René Prou
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French Forties Art Deco dining chairs attributed to Rene Prou, set of eight, in beech. These chairs can be ebonized. Please note these chairs are unrestored in the photographs.
Beech
Rene Prou Fine Set of Six Dining Chairs
By René Prou
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French 1940s Art Deco dining chairs, set of six by Rene Prou, in stained beech. These chairs could be ebonized. Please note these chairs are unrestored in the photographs. **PRICE includes proper restoration, refinishing and reupholstering with buyer supplied fabric. RENE PROU (1889-1948) A decorator as well as furniture designer, Rene Prou was born in Nantes and educated in Paris. He studied at the Ecole Bernard-Palissy in Paris and shortly thereafter joined the design house, Gouffé. By 1912 he had become their chief designer and was being called the first decorator of the modern taste (gout moderne). His varied design career included: 1922 oceanliner Paris 1922 – Paris to Deauville train (aka Train Bleu) 1923 – showed at the Salon des Artistes Decorateurs 1924 oceanliner de Grasse 1925 – with Eric...
Beech
Maurice Dufrene Set of 6 Dining Chairs in Purple Heart
By Maurice Dufrêne
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Classic French Art Deco dining chairs in sculpted purple heart, circa 1922. Measures: 18" wide x 18" deep x 35" high. Please note that these chairs are un-restored in the photogra...
Purpleheart
Set of 8 Fine French Art Deco Cherry Dining Chairs
Located in Long Island City, NY
A set of height fine French Art Deco cherry dining/side chairs.
Cherry
Six Dining Room Chairs Dark Red Leather Cerused Oak
By Jean-Charles Moreux
Located in Schöfflisdorf, CH
Six dining room chairs dark red leather cerused oak. The leather is from the period very robust and thick, shows only minor wear. The frame is chalked oar that has been restored.
Leather, Oak
A Set of 12 Fine French Art Deco Mahogany Dining Chairs in the Manner of Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in Long Island City, NY
A set of 12 fine French Art Deco mahogany dining/side chairs, with carved details, in the manner of Andre Arbus. A matching dining table and console are also available (see pictures...
Mahogany
1930s 40s Modernist Set of Six French Art Deco Oak Dining Chairs Charles Dudouyt
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Miami, FL
A magnificent set of six Modernist Art Deco dining chairs in style of Charles Dudouyt in original period burgundy Rexine . Carved oak detailing to the back and elegant modernist sabr...
Leather, Walnut
Set of Eight CW Kittinger Mahogany Dining Chairs
By Kittinger
Located in Bridgeport, CT
An outstanding set of Mid-Century English style solid mahogany frame dining chairs in very good condition, made by Kittinger. The seats retain their original vibrant red glazed leath...
Mahogany
1930s Georg Kofoed Set of Six Danish Mahogany Dining Chairs
By Georg Kofoed
Located in Knebel, DK
1930s Georg Kofoed set of six Danish mahogany dining chairs Handcrafted mahogany dining chairs by Danish master cabinetmaker Georg Kofoed in the 1930s with original beautifull fabri...
Mahogany
