Design for a Hallway with Wrought-iron Details

Georges de Feure

ca. 1925 · Graphite, ink, watercolor, and metallic paint · Drawings and Prints

In his early career, Georges de Feure was much celebrated for the ‘Femmes Fatales’ in his paintings and his endeavors in the field of interior design and the decorative arts. He created designs for ceramics, silverware, jewelry, textiles, the graphic arts and furniture in the newly emerged style of Art Nouveau. His work was promoted by the famous art dealer Siegfried Bing (1838-1905), whose Maison de l’Art Nouveau had inspired the naming of this new style in design. Bing commissioned De Feure to design two rooms in his stand at the Parisian Exposition Universelle of 1900, and in 1901 De Feure opened his own studio which would grant him more independence. After the death of Bing, the success of his works lingered however, and he directed his attentions elsewhere, first to aviation and after World War I he became active as a writer and designer for the theatre. It was not until 1924 when he would again take part in an exhibition of interior design. By this time, he had also become the director of the firm Schwartz-Haumont, a manufacturer of wrought iron work. It is likely that this position inspired the design for a hallway, which is characterized by its stylish wrought iron stair case, table and umbrella stand.

Artist

Georges de Feure

Date

ca. 1925

Medium

Graphite, ink, watercolor, and metallic paint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1967