André Arbus Tables
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.
1940s French Vintage André Arbus Tables
Velvet, Ebony, Pearwood
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern André Arbus Tables
Brass
1940s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Iron
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Mahogany
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern André Arbus Tables
Sycamore
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Mahogany
1940s French Neoclassical Vintage André Arbus Tables
Brass
1940s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Mahogany
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage André Arbus Tables
Wood, Parchment Paper
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Mirror, Walnut
Early 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern André Arbus Tables
Bronze
1950s French Vintage André Arbus Tables
Bronze
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Lacquer, Mirror, Wood
1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage André Arbus Tables
Brass
1950s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Oak
1940s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Cherry
1950s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Oak
1950s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Brass
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Brass
20th Century French Art Deco André Arbus Tables
Sycamore
20th Century André Arbus Tables
Fruitwood
20th Century French Streamlined Moderne André Arbus Tables
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish André Arbus Tables
Walnut
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Brass
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage André Arbus Tables
Rosewood
1940s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Limestone, Iron, Wrought Iron
1940s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Art Deco André Arbus Tables
Wood
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Mahogany
1970s French Hollywood Regency Vintage André Arbus Tables
Brass
1940s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Wood
1950s French Hollywood Regency Vintage André Arbus Tables
Metal
1940s Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Mid-20th Century American Neoclassical André Arbus Tables
Brass
1940s French Neoclassical Vintage André Arbus Tables
Brass
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage André Arbus Tables
Brass
20th Century American Neoclassical André Arbus Tables
Iron
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern André Arbus Tables
Marble, Brass
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Glass, Mahogany
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage André Arbus Tables
Wood
1940s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Bronze
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage André Arbus Tables
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Art Deco André Arbus Tables
Cherry, Maple
1940s French Vintage André Arbus Tables
1930s French Art Deco Vintage André Arbus Tables
Iron