Nouveau Railing

Balcony Railing, 1907-1912
Hector Guimard
patinated cast-iron
35.5 x 64 x 7 in.

I'm currently working through the Toledo Treasures catalog of art for my museum to become more familiar with the collection. While I won't be sharing specific works from the TMA's collection I am using it for inspiration and plan on sharing many artists new to me.

TMA has an amazing fireplace mantel that I can't help but fawn over whenever I walk through the gallery it lives in. I hadn't until now made a point in noting the artist. Hector Guimard is most well known for his Paris Metro cast-iron subway entrances (image: parisbuscards.com )

Guimard was part of the Art Nouveau movement whose aesthetic revolved around undulating lines and flower motifs. The decorative style was popular at the turn of the century. Guimard brought more of an element of abstraction to his art nouveau works.

Cradle

Child's Cradle, c. 1895
J. & J. Kohn, Josef Kohn and Jacob Kohn (Austrian)
Ebonized bentwood, 80 1/4 x 56 1/4 x 25 7/16"
Manufactured by Jacob & Josef Kohn, Vienna. Gift of Barry Friedman
Museum of Modern Art 163.1993 Image: moma.org

I've seen this cradle at MoMA and always thought it was pretty fantastic. While it stands beautifully as sculpture on its own, when lined with thick cushions it served an infant pretty well.

"The sinuous and sensual design, with the elegant, curved forms of the cradle and the long vertical arm that supported draped netting, reflects the popular Art Nouveau style of the time. Such cradles could be found in stylish, bourgeois homes all over Europe." How I wish we still lived in such style.

Furniture

Charles Rohlfs (1853–1936) American designer and craftsman
Chair n.d.

I'm always trying to broaden the reach of this blog to include work beyond what falls typically into "Fine Art". I am going to try to include more decorative arts. One of my favorite areas of decorative art is furniture design. Beautiful and functional pieces. We recently got a catalog of the work of an American furniture designer, The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs. It doesn't hurt that much of my favorite design is from the 19th, early 20th c. when much was booming in my hometown of Buffalo. Rohlfs spent his design career there. Rohlfs work stems from Arts & Crafts as well as Art Nouveau but his unique artistic attentions make it stand alone. This chair was apparently salvaged from the garbage and recently sold for almost $200K.

Rohlfs career was overshadowed by his wife's Anna Katharine Green, a best selling author of detective fiction.

NY Times article about Rohlfs and the travelling exhibition of his furniture.