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.
Pair of Fine French Cherry Wood and Leather X stool by Andre Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in Long Island City, NY
Andre Arbus (1903-1969) - A pair of fine French cherry wood and leather x-form stool. Provenance: From a French residence decorated by André Arbus.
Leather, Cherry
André Arbus Dressing Stool in Gilded Wood
By André Arbus
Located in Berlin, DE
A rare dressing table stool by André Arbus, crafted in gilded wood with a bronze patina and upholstered in chestnut-brown silk velvet from the French manufacture Prelle. The feet are...
Upholstery, Giltwood
Rare White Gessoed Back Stool by Andre Arbus
By André Arbus
Located in Montreal, QC
Rare white gessoed back stool by Andre Arbus.
Beech
Wood Tripod Heart Stool, 1950s France
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Unique heart tripod stool made in France, circa 1950s. Substantial and chunky heart shaped seat with three sturdy club legs with faceted sides. Perfe...
Wood
Pair of Beige Stools, 1960s
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Stool from the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. Beautiful, well crafted beige upholstery. The stool consists of an upholstered part, a seat and wooden legs narrowing downwards, character...
Velvet
Pair of Paul McCobb Brass Stools Silver Shagreen Leather
By Paul McCobb
Located in Westport, CT
Pair of Paul McCobb brass stools, shagreen silver leather, with brass criss-cross bases, adjustable feet.
Brass
$1,520Sale Price|20% Off
H 18 in W 20 in D 14 in
French Oak Stool in the Style of André Arbus, Velvet Cushion, c1940
By André Arbus
Located in Chicago, IL
French oak stool in the style of Andre Arbus or Jean-Charles Moreau. Original pale blue velvet horsehair cushion on white cerused oak wood legs terminating in a French c1940 curved f...
Wrought Iron
Bertu Stool, Cicely Wood Back Counter Stool, White Oak
By Bertu Furniture
Located in Oak Harbor, OH
These Wood Back Cicely Counter Stool are beautifully constructed from solid white oak in Ohio, USA. This stool was style-spotted at the Spring 2022 High Point Market. These stools ar...
Oak
$8,600
H 16.54 in W 23.43 in D 15.16 in
Art Deco Stool, Material Wood and leather, Country France, 1930
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Stools Art Deco. Material: wood and leather You want to live in the golden years, this is the stool that your project needs. We have specialized in the sale of Art Deco and Art Nouve...
Wood, Leather
$5,900
H 21.5 in W 19.5 in D 18 in
French Art Deco / Modern Neoclassical Vanity Chair, Attributed André Arbus, 1930
By André Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Elegant French Mid-Century Modern Neoclassical / Art Deco vanity chair or stool attributed to André Arbus circa 1930. The piece has a dramatic form including rear saber legs and camb...
Walnut
$1,292Sale Price / set|26% Off
H 41.34 in W 21.26 in D 21.26 in
Contemporary set of 2 stools by Studio Tecnico Interna8, Wood Fabric
By Interna8
Located in Pordenone, IT
Stool in solid beech wood. Seat with webbing and plywood frame padded with elastic expanded polyurethane. This listing is for 2 stools.
Wood
Rare Modernist Stool by Andre Sornay
By Andre Sornay
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cowhide upholstered stool by Andre Sornay. Made in France circa 1930s. Literature: Thierry Roche, André Sornay 1902-2000, Paris, 2002
Metal
$6,000
H 18.51 in W 20.28 in D 15.95 in
Art Deco Stool in Wood, French Design, 1930, Elegant Curved Shape
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Stools Art Deco. Material: wood You want to live in the golden years, this is the stool that your project needs. We have specialized in the sale of Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles s...
Wood
Rare Japanese Stool by Soetsu Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Uccle, BE
This stool was made in 1936 for the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum. Made of Japanese cherry wood and seagrass. Today, you can still see the original benches made for this museum. Yanagi Soetsu (1889 – 1961), also known as Yanagi Muneyoshi, was a Japanese art critic, philosopher, and founder of the Mingei (folk craft) movement in Japan in the late 1920s and 1930s. His son, Sori Yanagi, was a renowned industrial designer. In 1916, Yanagi made his first trip to Korea out of curiosity about Korean crafts. The trip led to the establishment of the Korean Folk Crafts Museum in 1924 and the coining of the term mingei by Yanagi, potters Hamada Shoji (1894–1978) and Kawai Kanjiro...
Seagrass, Cherry
Antique Arts and Crafts Stool Dressing Table Stool
Located in High Peak, GB
K0643 Very attractive Arts and Crafts dressing table stool, having newly reupholstered seat with famous William Morris strawberry thief ...
Beech
Wood and Fabric Stool, Art Deco Period, France, circa 1940
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Wood and fabric stool. Art deco period. France, circa 1940.
Fabric, Wood
Chunky Wood Tripod Stool, 1960s France
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tripod stool made in France, circa 1970s with a light wood with a raw finish. Great minimalist design. Functional stool. Perfect for books or objects as well. Seat diameter 13".
Wood
$5,105 / set
H 21.66 in Dm 17.72 in
Pair of French Art Déco Forged Iron Stools Offwhite-Colored Bouclé France 1930s
Located in Salzburg, AT
Pair of delicate forged Art Deco iron stools - offwhite colored Bouclé fabric France 1930-ies. The stools each stand on 3 legs that curve down sli...
Iron
Fine Pair of Andre Arbus Footstools
By André Arbus
Located in CA, CA
A fine and rare pair of Andre Arbus Footstools. Classically Arbus, the legs are of elegant neoclassical sweeping form, the X shape is beautifully balanced with decorative circula...
Wood