Pair of Armchairs

Arts of the Americas

1938

Designed by Donald Deskey (American, 1894–1989)
Upholstery fabric designed by Dorothy Liebes (American, 1897–1972)
Manufactured by Royal Metal Manufacturing Company
Chicago

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Donald Deskey (Designer)
Title: Pair of Armchairs
Place: United States (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1938
Medium: Chrome-plated metal and upholstered fabric
Dimensions: Each: 86.3 × 53.3 × 45.7 cm (34 × 21 × 18 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Florene M. Schoenborn
Reference Number: 1970.1217.1-2

James Ford and Katherine Morrow Ford, Design of Modern Interiors (New York: Architectural Book Publishing and Cornwall Press, 1942), 60 (ill. dining room in Samuel Marx apartment, Chicago, IL).
David Lowe, Lost Chicago (Boston: Houghton Mifflin & Co., 1975), 477 (ill. dining room in Samuel Marx apartment, Chicago, IL).
Milo Naeve, Identifying American Furniture (Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History, 1981), 54, no. 113 (Ill.).
David Hanks and Jennifer Toher, Donald Deskey, Decorative Designs and Interiors (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1987), 49, 58-59, fig. 69 (ill.).
Eileen and Richard Dubrow, Styles of American Furniture 1860-1960 (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1997), 168 (ill).
Liz O’Brien, Ultramodern: Samuel Marx: Architect, Designer, Art Collector (New York: Pointed Leaf Press, 2007).
David Conradsen and Genevieve Cortinovis with Mary Reid Brunstron, St. Louis Modern, exh. cat. (MO: Saint Louis Art Museum, 2015), 84-86, cat. 37 (ill.).
Susan Brown and Alexa Griffith Winton, The Designs of Dorothy Liebes: A Dark, A Light, A Bright, exh. cat. (New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum with Yale University Press, 2023), 20-21, fig. 6 (ill).

University of Chicago, Renaissance Society, Art Deco Trends in Design, May 1–June, 9, 1973, no cat., [1970.1217.1 only].
St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Modern, Nov. 8, 2015–Jan. 31, 2016, cat., [1970.1217.1 only].
New York, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, The Designs of Dorothy Liebes: A Dark, A Light, A Bright, July 7, 2023–Feb. 4, 2024, cat., [1970.1217.1 only].

Samuel A. Marx (1885-1964) and Florene Marx (1903-1995; born Florene May; also Mrs. Martin Straus, later Mrs. Wolfgang Schoenborn, also Florene M. Schoenborn), Chicago, by Feb. 3, 1941 [photograph of dining room of the Marx apartment with chairs in situ, 1325 North Astor Street, Chicago, Feb. 3, 1941, Chicago History Museum, HB-06194-Z and HB-06194-0, Hedrich-Blessing Collection; on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago from Oct. 24, 1962]; to Florene May Schoenborn, Chicago then New York, 1964; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1970.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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