André Arbus (1903-1969) was a French furniture designer, sculptor and architect. He was a member of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

, and one of his buildings is listed as an official historical monument. He was the recipient of the silver medal at the 1925

International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts () was a specialized exhibition held in Paris, France, from April 29 (the day after it was inaugurated in a private ceremony by the President of France) to November 8, 1925 (O ...

, and the 1934

Prix Blumenthal The Prix Blumenthal (or ''Blumenthal Prize'') was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) – and the foundation she created, ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-Am ...

Early life

André Arbus was born on 17 November 1903 in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, France. His family were furniture designers for generations. Arbus was educated at the in Toulouse. He graduated from the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in Toulouse.

Career

Arbus was a furniture designer, sculptor and architect. He often with several artists from Toulouse: the designer Georges Soutiras; the painter Marc Saint-Saëns; and sculptors painters Joseph Monin and Henry Parayre. Arbus exhibited his work at the 1925

, where he won the silver medal for a lowboy he designed with Marc Saint-Saëns. Meanwhile, his work was also exhibited at the Société des artistes décorateurs and the Salon d'Automne. By 1932, his work was exhibited at the Galerie des Quatre-Chemins in Paris. He won the

in 1934. Arbus designed the new Planier Light in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

with André Crillon in 1947. Arbus became a member of the

in 1965. He was married to Italian sculptor Sylva Bernt.

Death and legacy

Arbus died on 12 December 1969 in Paris. The ''Fondation André Arbus'' was established by his daughter, Madeleine Thorel Arbus, in conjunction with the

Fondation de France The Fondation de France ("Foundation of France") is an independent private organisation, recognised as being in the public interest, and created at the instigation of Charles de Gaulle and André Malraux in an effort to stimulate and foster the g ...

. It owns the copyright on all pictures of his work. The Phare du Planier has been listed as an official historical monument by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

since September 13, 2012. Meanwhile, his furniture has been auctioned by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

, and

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought t ...

Honours

Officer of the Légion d'honneur

References

External links