Design 
12 December 2013
Design 
164

Warren McArthur

Early armchair, model 20

Warren McArthur Corporation
USA, c. 1931
enameled steel, oil cloth, lacquered wood, nickel-plated steel, stainless steel 34½ h × 22 w × 22 d in (88 × 56 × 56 cm)
estimate: $5,000–7,000
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Signed with applied manufacturer's label to underside of arm: [Warren McArthur Furniture Los Angeles, Calif. Patents Pending].
literature: Aluminum by Design, Nichols, pg. 216 illustrates related form

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Early Patented Furniture Designs by Warren McArthur

Nicholas Brown, Camden, Maine

These early works by Warren McArthur, constructed of enameled steel tubing, pressed stainless steel washers/caps and nickel-plated back slats, are rare examples of designs produced in McArthur’s Los Angeles workshop. Brilliantly designed, these works seamlessly transform classic furniture elements into a new modernist form. The green enamel and the ladder back structure evident in these seating designs exhibit a respect for colonial and late Victorian furniture popular in America at the time, while his advanced construction techniques and use of tubular steel reveal his innovative modern aesthetic.

The most stunning example of these rare pieces is the chaise. The integrity of this form is dependent on both the tubular frame for vertical support and the seat cushion and mahogany armrests for stability and horizontal re-enforcement. If you look closely at the back blocks of the armrests you will see that the inner rods of the radically raked back are incased in perpendicular mahogany blocks. This use of angled tail blocks essentially integrates the support of the back rest into the main body of the frame while simultaneously creating a visual dialogue between the subtle grained mahogany armrests and the highly polished nickel-plated back slats, the green lacquered steel tubing and pressed stainless steel caps.

Commissioned around 1931 by a prominent South Florida family, this work was packed away in 1950 and only recently rediscovered,

Warren McArthur 1885–1961

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Designer Warren McArthur was born in 1885 in Chicago. His was an affluent family for whom Frank Lloyd Wright built a home in the Kenwood neighborhood in 1892. McArthur studied engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and then moved to Phoenix to work with his brother Charles selling Dodge automobiles and starting a radio station. Another older brother, Albert Chase McArthur, a Wright-trained architect, soon joined them and the trio worked to develop the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

Warren McArthur was tasked with creating furniture for both indoor and outdoor use. His solution was to employ tubular aluminum with prominent external joints and internal steel rods for extra support. When the Arizona Biltmore closed after the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, McArthur relocated to Los Angeles and founded the Warren McArthur Corporation. He soon marketed a limited line of sleek desks, tables, chairs, and other furniture that appealed to Hollywood luminaries such as Clark Cable and Marlene Dietrich. In 1932, McArthur decided to shift operations to Rome in Upstate New York before moving again in 1936 to Bantam, Connecticut.

Throughout the 1930s, McArthur was an influential figure in New York City, setting up a showroom there, and his firm made furniture not only for celebrities, but also for Chrysler’s executive offices, Marshall Field’s hair salon, and dining cars on the Union Pacific Railroad. During World War II, the Warren McArthur Corporation crafted lightweight aluminum seats for airplanes. An unsubstantiated rumor held that McArthur's artful designs were melted down for war mobilization, but they were simply difficult to produce on a large scale given their intricate mechanics and delicate upholstery.

During the postwar era, demand plummeted and the Warren McArthur Corporation closed in 1948. McArthur passed away in 1961 and only after his death did interest in his bold innovations rekindle. In recent years, various architects, dealers, interior decorators, and famous clients have sought to acquire McArthur furniture, which is now regarded as ahead of its time. Independently, McArthur implemented tubular aluminum and steel prior to Bauhaus designers Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Auction Results Warren McArthur

Warren McArthur

Tête-à-Tête

estimate: $25,000–35,000

result: $32,200

Warren McArthur

console

estimate: $10,000–15,000

result: $22,800

Warren McArthur

Tête-a-Tête

estimate: $15,000–20,000

result: $18,750

Warren McArthur

armchairs, model 1025, set of ten

estimate: $15,000–20,000

result: $16,800

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