Furniture makers
Harry Bertoia was an American artist, sculptor and furniture designer of Italian origin. He is best known for his innovative metal sculptures and iconic furniture designs.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Bertoia worked with Charles and Ray Eames in the moulded plywood division of Evans Products Company. It was at this time that he began experimenting with wire as a medium for sculpture and furniture design. The Bertoia Diamond wire mesh chair, introduced in 1952, was one of his most iconic and influential designs. Made by bending and welding wire, the chair combined aesthetic appeal with comfort and functionality.
In his sculptural work, Bertoia often created complex and abstract forms using metal rods and wire. He explored the sonic properties of his sculptures, which led to the creation of his famous 'Sounding Sculptures' series. These large-scale metal sculptures produced ethereal sounds when touched or exposed to the wind.
Martin Carlin was a Parisian ébéniste (cabinet-maker). Renowned for his "graceful furniture mounted with Sèvres porcelain", Carlin fed into the luxury market of eighteenth-century decorative arts, where porcelain-fitted furniture was considered among "the most exquisite furnishings" within the transitional and neoclassical styles. Carlin's furniture was popular amongst the main great dealers, including Poirier, Daguerre, and Darnault, who sold his furniture to Marie Antoinette and many amongst the social elite class.
Wendell Castle was an American artist and designer who is considered one of the pioneers of American studio furniture. He is best known for his innovative and sculptural furniture designs that blur the boundaries between art and function.
In the 1960s, Wendell Castle began experimenting with traditional woodworking techniques and pushing the boundaries of furniture design. He gained recognition for his unique handcrafted pieces that challenged traditional notions of furniture aesthetics. Castle's work often features organic shapes, flowing lines and a sense of whimsy. He has used a variety of materials to create his sculptural furniture, including wood, fibreglass and plastic.
Ado Chale is a Belgian artist and designer best known for his exquisite mosaic inlays. Pieces of wood, minerals, or bone are sliced, arranged, and coated with resin to form the opulent surfaces. His furniture and domestic objects reference the natural world not only through the use of precious stones, metals, and organic materials, but also through the textures, patterns, and forms they express. Chale opened his first gallery in 1962. He exhibited jewelry and small side tables adorned with his unique inlay and sourced various gems and rocks via international travel. The self-taught craftsman then incorporated his acquisitions into larger pieces of furniture and sculptures attractive for their beauty and novelty in the 1970s. His work has been exhibited at the Ixelles Museum in Belgium, in France at the Museum of Fine Arts in Nancy and the Palais des Papes in Avignon, and in Japan at retail chain Seibu’s contemporary art museum.
Thomas Chippendale was a cabinet-maker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director — the most important collection of furniture designs published in England to that point which created a mass market for furniture—upon which success he became renowned. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum, «so influential were his designs, in Britain and throughout Europe and America, that "Chippendale" became a shorthand description for any furniture similar to his Director designs».
Henry Dasson was a renowned nineteenth century Parisian maker of gilt-bronze mounted furniture. Unlike other cabinetmakers of the time Dasson began his career as a bronze sculptor, and consequently one characteristic of his work is the quality of his bronze and more precisely of the chiselling.
He specialised in the production of Louis XIV, XV and XVI style furniture using the finest gilt-bronze mounts.
René Dubois was a French cabinetmaker and furniture designer. He followed his father Jacques Dubois, becoming a master ébéniste when he was only eighteen years old. René Dubois continued to work for his father and directed the family workshop with his mother after Jacques's death in 1763. Nine years later Dubois's mother relinquished control of the workshop, selling the existing stock to her son, who agreed to pay her an annuity.
Jacques Dubois was a master cabinetmaker of the 18th century.
He was the king's cabinetmaker and also worked for Princess Louise Elisabeth, the Duchess of Parma, the Duke of Orleans and the nobility of the time.
He was one of the masters of the Louis XV style, a specialist in varnished veneers, reproducing the effects of Far Eastern lacquers, with black or red backgrounds, decorated with Chinese and pagodas, of a very high quality.
He also executed the delicately chiselled bronzes applied to his furniture.
Jean-Charles Ellaume was a French cabinetmaker.
The craftsman produced numerous pieces of high-quality furniture, mainly chests of drawers and desks, in the Louis XV, Regency and Louis XVI styles. The bronze decorations are elegant and finely chiselled and some of the furniture is decorated with inlays.
Many pieces of furniture are known to bear his stamp.
Wharton Esherick is an American artist and sculptor known for his innovative and organic approach to woodworking. He is considered one of the pioneers of the American studio furniture movement and is known for his sculptural furniture, functional objects and architectural woodworking.
Esherick's creative journey led him to experiment with various mediums, including painting, printmaking and sculpture, but it was his work in woodworking that brought him the most recognition.
Esherick developed a distinctive style characterized by organic forms, sculptural detailing and an emphasis on the natural qualities of wood. He believed that furniture design should reflect the inherent qualities of the materials used. Esherick adhered to the concept of "truth of materials", allowing wood to guide his artistic process and shape the final form of his creations.
Nicolas-Quinibert Foliot was an 18th century French cabinetmaker. He was the supplier of furniture for the castles of Versailles, Fontainebleau and Compiègne.
All of his works are distinguished by luxury. The lines are balanced and elegant, the carvings are numerous and executed subtly and tastefully.
Emile Gallé was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted for his designs of Art Nouveau glass art and Art Nouveau furniture, and was a founder of the École de Nancy or Nancy School, a movement of design in the city of Nancy, France.
Herbert Hirche was a German architect, interior and furniture designer and educator.
Hirche studied at the famous Bauhaus school in Dessau and Berlin, where Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Wassily Kandinsky taught. Trained as a carpenter, he first worked for Mies, Egon Eiermann and Hans Scharun before being appointed professor of applied art at the University of Applied Arts in Berlin-Weißensee in 1948. Four years later he became professor of interior and furniture design at the Stuttgart State Academy of Fine Arts. During his years of teaching, Hirche has educated generations of designers.
In addition to teaching, Hirche designed many homes and interiors. He designed furniture for Walter Knoll, Wilkhahn, Holzäpfel and Wilde+Spieth, as well as several projects for Braun, including the HM5-7 music cabinet and the HF1 television set. Hirche's simple and elegant models were exhibited at various Milan Triennales and the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels. His work had a great influence on the development of product and interior design in Germany and the world.
Hirche was one of the founders of the Deutscher Werkbund (German Association of Craftsmen) in Berlin, was president of the Verband Deutscher Industrie-Designer (Society of Industrial Designers) for ten years, and was a member of the Rat für Formgebung (German Design Council).
Étienne-Louis Infroit was an 18th-century French cabinetmaker and sculptor. He made carved frames with picture frames. He quickly became famous and stamped all of his works. His frames varied in form and combination and were chosen specifically for the works of artists of the time.
Gilles Joubert was a French furniture maker who, after the death of Jean-François Oeben in 1763, received the title of royal cabinetmaker. He produced Rococo cabinet furniture in which gilded bronze mounts were integrated into furniture forms with subtle three-dimensional curves (bombé).
Rei Kawakubo is a Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. She is the founder of Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market. Although not formally trained as a fashion designer, Kawakubo did study fine arts and literature at Keio University. After graduation she worked in the advertising department at the textile company Asahi Kasei and she went on to work as a freelance stylist in 1967. Two years later, she began to design and make her own clothes under the label Comme des Garçons. In 1969, she established her own company, Comme des Garçons Co. Ltd in Tokyo and opened up her first boutique there in 1975. Starting out with women's clothes, Kawakubo added a men's line in 1978. Three years later, she started presenting her fashion lines in Paris. Comme des Garçons specialises in anti-fashion, austere, sometimes deconstructed garments. Kawakubo likes to have input in all the various aspects of her business, rather than just focusing on clothes and accessories. She is greatly involved in graphic design, advertising, and shop interiors believing that all these things are a part of one vision and are inextricably linked.
Jean-Pierre Latz was one of the handful of truly outstanding cabinetmakers (ébénistes) working in Paris in the mid-18th century. Like several of his peers in the French capital, he was of German origin. His furniture is in a fully developed rococo style, employing boldly sculptural gilt-bronze mounts complementing marquetry motifs of flowers and leafy sprays, in figured tropical veneers like tulipwood, amarante, purpleheart and rosewood, often featuring the distinctive end-grain cuts.
Jean-François Leleu was a leading French furniture-maker (ébéniste) of the eighteenth century who was trained alongside his rival Jean-Henri Riesener, in the workshop of Jean-François Oeben. After his master's death, he became the workshop's lead and became a master ébéniste in 1764. Leleu had the patronage of wealthy aristocrats, including the Prince de Condé, Louis-Joseph de Bourbon. His furniture was known for its high quality, elegance, and restraint, with inlays of diamonds, roses, or floral bouquets. When working for marchands-merciers, he also used inlays of Sèvres porcelain and lacquer. Leleu's clients included the Prince de Condé and Madame du Barry.
Hans Luckhardt was a German architect and the brother of Wassili Luckhardt, with whom he worked his entire life. He studied at the University of Karlsruhe with Hermann Billing and was a member of the Novembergruppe, the Arbeitsrats für Kunst, and the Glass Chain. Together with Anton Lorenz, he designed furniture in the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly steel-tube and moveable chairs.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a prominent Scottish artist, architect and designer who had a major influence on the development of modernism and global art in the early twentieth century. He was the founder and head of the Glasgow School of Art.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh's style was unique and recognisable. He created elegant and harmonious works reflecting influences from Japanese art, the Gothic style and abstract forms. His works included architectural designs, furniture, paintings, graphics and even decorative objects.
Mackintosh became known for his innovative approach to architecture and design. His buildings were characterised by their refined lines, geometric shapes and use of light and space. His work was an important contribution to the development of modernism and functionalism in architecture.
He was also famous for his ability to combine different materials and textures to create unique and aesthetically pleasing designs. Mackintosh was a master of minimalism and elegance, giving his works a unique style and character.
Louis Majorelle was a prominent French artist, cabinetmaker, furniture designer, and a leading figure of the Art Nouveau movement. Trained initially as a painter, Majorelle shifted focus to furniture design, taking over his family's business and emerging as a dynamic force within the École de Nancy.
Louis Majorelle was instrumental in the Art Nouveau style's development, known for his innovative and nature-inspired designs. He was one of the founding members of the École de Nancy, a collective that aimed to promote Lorraine's decorative arts. Louis Majorelle's work, particularly in furniture and interior design, showcased his skill in integrating natural forms with functional pieces. His use of materials such as mahogany and his incorporation of floral and organic motifs were distinctive of his work. Notably, Majorelle's Nénuphar bed, displaying water lily motifs, stands as a testament to his design philosophy and can be seen at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
The Villa Majorelle, his own residence in Nancy, serves as an embodiment of Art Nouveau architecture, featuring intricate ironwork and woodwork crafted by Louis Majorelle himself. This house not only served as his home but also as a beacon of Art Nouveau's architectural potential, showcasing the movement's aesthetic in a living environment.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Louis Majorelle's work represents the pinnacle of Art Nouveau's embrace of naturalistic designs and the seamless blend of art and craftsmanship. His contributions to the movement have left an indelible mark on the history of decorative arts.
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Mathieu Matégot was a Hungarian / French designer and material artist. He was one of the most renowned French designers of the 1950s.
Following the war, Matégot established a workshop for making handcrafted furniture using a variety of materials such as metal, rattan, glass, formica, and perforated sheet metal. The workshop made chairs, tables, sideboards, desks and other objects that he had designed. At first based in Paris, the workshop later moved to Casablanca. All the furniture and other objects had clever, practical and amusing designs. Distributed to decoration shops in editions of 200, his work was extremely successful.
Bernard Molitor was a Luxembourgish cabinet-maker.
Molitor's furniture was often veneered with precious woods and decorated with applications of gilded bronze. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered several pieces of furniture for his residence in Saint-Cloud from him. In 1811, Molitor became fournisseur de la Cour impériale (purveyor to the imperial court).
Jean-René Nadal Senior was the eldest son of seating furniture manufacturer Jean Nadal and the daughter of his colleague Jean Cresson. He is also the brother of Jean-Michel Nadal, who himself was a furniture maker. Nadal owned a workshop on the Rue de Cléry, probably inherited after his father's death, and opened a shop on the same street called "Lion d'Argent".
George Nakashima (Japanese: 中島勝寿) was an influential Japanese-American artist, architect, and furniture maker. He is renowned for his mastery of woodworking and his philosophy of incorporating natural materials and traditional craftsmanship into his designs.
Nakashima's furniture designs emphasized simplicity, functionality, and the integration of nature into the living space. He believed in the spiritual essence of the materials he used and aimed to create pieces that harmonized with their surroundings and brought a sense of peace and tranquility to the users.
His signature designs often featured clean lines, elegant proportions, and meticulous joinery techniques. Nakashima's work showcased a blend of Japanese aesthetics, American modernism, and his own unique artistic vision.
Tommi Anton Parzinger was a German furniture designer and painter. He moved to New York City in 1932. He started his own company that focused on designing original types of household silverware. Most of the silverware he made in the company was custom, "hand-hammering" them from sheet metal. Parzinger also began working on building furniture and accessories to go with the pieces. His furniture then went on exhibition at the 1939 New York World's Fair. His focus turned to Expressionist painting during the final 15 years of his life, no longer working on designing furniture. Parzinger's works were titled "high-style modernism", which represented a "more idiosyncratic, rarefied midcentury design". Most of the pieces he created were custom-built for large studios, with Parzinger using "cosmopolitan-looking designs, involving costly, craft-intensive materials and processes like brass work and lacquer". His works were collected by famous clients, including Billy Baldwin, Marilyn Monroe, and a number of high-fashion New York families.
David Roentgen was a famous German cabinetmaker of the eighteenth century, famed throughout Europe for his marquetry and his secret drawers and poes and mechanical fittings. His work embraces the late Rococo and the Neoclassical styles.
Jean Royère was a French designer.
A key figure of the avant-garde in the 1950s, Royère tackled all kinds of decoration work and opened branches in the Near East and Latin America. Among his patrons were King Farouk, King Hussein of Jordan, and the Shah of Iran, who were captivated by his freedom of creation and his elegance and entrusted him with the layout of their palaces. Royère pioneered an original style combining bright colors, organic forms and precious materials within a wide range of imaginative accomplishments. In 1980, he left France for the United States, where he lived until his death.
Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, (sometimes called Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann), was a French furniture designer and interior decorator, who was one of the most important figures in the Art Deco movement. His furniture featured sleek designs, expensive and exotic materials and extremely fine craftsmanship, and became a symbol of the luxury and modernity of Art Deco. It also produced a reaction from other designers and architects, such as Le Corbusier, who called for simpler, functional furniture.
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors Technical Center in Michigan, Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., the TWA Flight Center (now TWA Hotel) in New York City, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen.
Thomas Sheraton was a furniture designer, one of the «big three» English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Chippendale and George Hepplewhite. Sheraton gave his name to a style of furniture characterized by a feminine refinement of late Georgian styles and became the most powerful source of inspiration behind the furniture of the late 18th century.
Yanagi Sōri (柳 宗理) was a Japanese industrial designer. He played a role in Japanese modern design developed after World War II to the high-growth period in the Japanese economy. He is both a representative of the wholly Japanese modern designer and a full-blown modernist who merged simplicity and practicality with elements of traditional Japanese crafts.
Gustav Stickley was an American furniture designer, architect, and leader of the American Arts and Crafts movement. He is renowned for his contribution to the design and production of high-quality, handcrafted furniture that emphasized simplicity, functionality, and craftsmanship.
In 1898, he established his own furniture company called the Gustav Stickley Company, later known as Craftsman Workshops. Stickley's furniture designs became synonymous with the Craftsman style, which advocated for well-crafted, and functional pieces.
One of Stickley's most iconic furniture designs was the Morris chair, which became synonymous with the Craftsman movement. The Morris chair featured a reclining back, adjustable angles, and typically incorporated cushioned upholstery.
Stickley's furniture designs were characterized by sturdy construction, visible joinery, and the use of native American woods. He emphasized the beauty of natural materials and the integrity of the craftsman's handwork. Stickley's designs were a reaction against the ornate and mass-produced furniture of the time, and he sought to bring back traditional craftsmanship and simplicity.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies was a German-American architect and furniture designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of modernist architecture.
In the 1930s, Mies was the last director of the Bauhaus, a ground-breaking school of modernist art, design and architecture. After Nazism's rise to power, with its strong opposition to modernism (leading to the closing of the Bauhaus itself), Mies emigrated to the United States. He accepted the position to head the architecture school at what is today the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
Narcisse Vivien was a French artist known for his decorative and ornamental art, as well as his contributions to the Art Nouveau movement. He was particularly renowned for his work in the field of ceramics, creating intricate and stylized designs that incorporated elements of nature and fantasy.
Vivien trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and went on to establish his own studio, where he created a wide range of works including pottery, glassware, metalwork, and furniture. He drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including ancient mythology, Japanese art, and the natural world.
Vivien's work is characterized by its use of flowing, organic forms, intricate patterns, and a strong sense of line and color. His designs often featured delicate flowers, twisting vines, and fantastical creatures, creating a sense of whimsy and magic that was characteristic of the Art Nouveau style.
Today, Vivien's work is highly prized by collectors and art enthusiasts, and his legacy continues to influence artists and designers around the world.
Arne Vodder was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He received his art education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen.
Arne Vodder began a very fruitful collaboration with the designer George Tanier. In this collaboration, Vodder developed some of his best designs in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Adam Weisweiler was a distinguished French cabinetmaker, renowned for his exceptional creations that resonated deeply with the culture and art of his time. Originating from Germany, Weisweiler moved to Paris, where he became an emblematic figure in the realm of fine furniture making during the late 18th century. His specialization in crafting exquisite pieces, often adorned with intricate marquetry and mounted with elegant bronzes, set new standards in the world of decorative arts.
Weisweiler's work is celebrated for its refined elegance and the harmonious blend of functionality with aesthetic appeal. His ability to incorporate elements of sculpture and painting into his furniture designs elevated the pieces from mere objects of utility to cherished works of art. The meticulous attention to detail and the innovative use of materials like ebony and mahogany, coupled with his mastery over the classical motifs, made his creations highly sought after by the aristocracy and collectors alike.
Several of Adam Weisweiler's masterpieces find their homes in prestigious museums and galleries around the world, serving as testaments to his enduring legacy in the art and antiques sphere. His contributions to the field have not only enriched the cultural heritage of France but have also left an indelible mark on the global appreciation of fine antique furniture.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Adam Weisweiler's work represents the pinnacle of craftsmanship and artistic vision. His creations continue to inspire and captivate, embodying the quintessence of French decorative arts. To stay informed about new product sales and auction events related to Adam Weisweiler, we invite you to sign up for updates. This subscription ensures you are always in the know, without any unwelcome intrusions, focusing solely on opportunities to acquire pieces linked to this illustrious artist's legacy.
Otto Leonard Wretling (Swedish: Otto Leonard Wretling) is a Swedish visual artist, architect, designer and furniture manufacturer.
In 1928, the carpentry company Otto Wretling was chosen as the Royal Court Furniture Supplier by King Gustav V.
