André Arbus

Furniture and lighting design

About

André Arbus (1903–1969) was a French architect, sculptor and furniture designer whose work bridged the opulence of Art Deco and the emerging clarity of Modernism — forging a style of restrained elegance that remains profoundly influential today. Born in Toulouse into a dynasty of ébénistes, Arbus spent his childhood in the family workshop. '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.'

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After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, Arbus took over the artistic direction of the family firm. From 1925, he exhibited regularly at the great Parisian salons — the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, the Salon d'Automne — and at the landmark 1937 Exposition Internationale. His early work revealed a sophisticated dialogue between eighteenth-century French cabinetmaking traditions and the reductive discipline of the modern movement.