Night Valet
Night valet with blackened pearwood jamb and base trimmed with gold varnished metal. The retractable hanger and shelf are cased with red leather by Hermès.
Circa 1938
Dimensions :
Height: 14 ½ in
Width: 17 ¼ in.
Depth: 17 ¼ in.
Remarks :
Paul Dupré-Lafon, born in Marseille in 1900, graduates in both decoration and architecture in 1923. He decides then to settle in Paris. He creates his first pieces at the time of the “Exposition des Arts industriels et modernes” of 1925, which constitutes the apogee of the Art Deco style. In 1927, he creates his first interior decorations. Some characteristics may be already underlined; the way he approaches decoration as a whole by treating equally the space, the light and the furniture. The latter combines varnished wood, lacquer and leather casing aesthetic with the use of metal and the strength of geometrical shapes. His talent is revealed in 1929 with the “Hôtel particulier” on the “Parc Monceau”. Without any advertisement, these artworks realised in limited edition are born from the sole imagination of the artist. He refuses to create a company or a workshop and is surrounded by few collaborators to whom he will stay faithful: the famous fabric creator Hélène Henry and, from 1929, the « Maison Hermès » which is soon the only able to realise the leather casing needed by the artist.
Bibliographie :
T. Couvrat-Desvergnes, Dupré-Lafon, décorateur des millionnaires, éd. de l’Amateur, Paris, 1990, similar model p. 204-205.
