
Jean-Michel Frank (1895 – 1941) was a French interior decorator and furniture designer. He was born in Paris and professionally active in Paris and New York.
Eugenia Errazuriz’s passion for simplicity and purity affected his approach to his design work, and he combined modern lighting fixtures with provincial Louis XVI furniture.
Biography
After World War I, he worked as a cabinetmaker at Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann’s studio in Paris, where he met decorator Adolphe Chanaux, who had collaborated with André Groult and Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann on the 1925 Paris ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes.’
Paris in the 1920s
From 1927 to 1933, Frank most likely designed for the Desny firm. In the 1920s, he was the first to use white-leaded wood (with his stable of designers). In 1932, after a year of collaborating in a decorating business with workshops in La Ruche (with Chanaux), opened the shop, 147 rue du Faubourg St.-Honoré, Paris. He sold pieces designed by Frank and Chanaux and associates such as Emilio Terry, Diego and Alberto Gio.
Initially, Frank’s designs were hard-edged and rectilinear, owing to Le Corbusier and Robert Mallet-Stevens, respectively. Frank received the commission to decorate the rooms of the Vicomte and Vicomtesse de Noailles’ villa in Hyéres between 1924—33 through Mallet-Stevens.
Two Essential Interiors of the Twentieth Century
Frank’s 1929 decorations and furniture for rooms of the de Noailles’ Hétel Bischoffsheim mansion, place des Etats-Unis, Paris, were among the essential Modern interiors of the century. The beige vellum walls contrasted subtly with the Macassar ebony furniture and a Modernist carpet on an ancient parquet floor. Ivory was used to trim the massive bronze door. Shagreen, leather, and lacquer were used on the sofas and chairs, and shagreen, leather, and lacquer were used on the tables and screens. ‘Pity, the burglars, got everything,’ Jean Cocteau joked, referring to the lack of furnishings.
Own Home
In Frank’s own home in 1930, straw was placed to the ceiling and walls to simulate grained marquetry. Chairs, a ‘tuxedo’ sofa, and a white leather screen were arranged around dark gypsum tables. Claude-Nicolas Ledoux and Etienne-Louis Boullée’s ambitious 18th-century projects piqued Frank’s curiosity, as did Emilio Terry’s.
Frank’s art began to take on a more theatrical tone, and he experimented with increasingly complex forms. He began to work more closely with the Giacometti’s in the mid-1930s, commissioning their white plaster and patinated bronze ornamental items.
Theatrical Setting – Guerlain Salon
Frank built a theatrical setting for the Guerlain salon with trompe l’eil effects with them and others, including Bérard. Elsa Schiaparelli commissioned Frank to decorate her rooms on Boulevard Saint-Germain. The main room’s bright chintz was offset by black, including black porcelain plates in the dining area. Baron de l’Epée, Lucien Lelong, and Philippe Berthelot were among the other clients. Frank’s demeanour was mirrored in his melancholy office, dubbed “the Confessional.”
Parsons Table
He designed the so-called Parsons (or T-square) table from his lectures at the Parsons School of Design in Paris. He moved to New York in 1940 with the help of interior design firm McMillen. He had previously created the interiors and furniture of Nelson A. Rockefeller’s New York apartment in 1937 and apartments for M. Templeton Crocker in San Francisco.
Death and Legacy
After barely one week in New York, he jumped to his death from a window of the Hotel St. Regis, depressed and lovesick. Despite only having a ten-year career, he had a significant impact.
Only one Frank project has survived to this day: Count Cecil and Countess Minie Pecci Blunt’s three-room apartment on the third floor of a 16th-century palace near Rome, completed in 1930. In 1986, Ecart International, and later Palazzetti, began producing Frank’s canapé for Charles de Noailles’ Paris home, which was the forerunner of the ‘tuxedo’ sofa and other models.
Jean-Michel Frank in our partner stores


Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
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Paul Haustein (1880–1944) was a German enamelist, metalworker, ceramicist, furniture designer, and graphic designer. He was active in Darmstadt andRead More →
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Makio Hasuike Japanese (b.1938) Japanese Industrial Designer
Hasuike founded his firm in Milan after studying architecture and industrial design in Tokyo and working for Seiko for a year. He has designed for various well-known brands, including Gaggia coffee machines, Panasonic electronic items, Villeroy & Boch sanitary ware and tableware, Grand Gourmet kitchen knives (1994), and WMF cookware. Read More →
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Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) – A Leader in Decorative Arts
The Victoria and Albert Museum ( V&A ) is one of the world’s foremost collections of decorative arts and architecture. It served as a model for the development of applied arts museums in Vienna (1864), Berlin (1867), Oslo (1876), Copenhagen (1890), and other cities.Read More →
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Designing Liners: A History of Interior Design Afloat
This book shows how the insides of ocean liners have changed from the middle of the 19th century to the 21st century. It is the first book to give a history and analysis of this vital part of interior design, which reflects and reinforces cultural ideas about national identity, gender, class, and ethnicity. Anne Massey’s…
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Halogen bulbs revolutionised home lighting
The halogen bulb is the first new invention to completely transform the lighting industry since Thomas Alva Edison succeeded in creating the incandescent lamp by successfully making a loop of carbonized cotton thread glow in a vacuum for 40 hours.Read More →
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Introducing Kazuhide Takahama (b.1930) Japanese Designer
At the X Milan Triennale exhibition in 1954, he met the furniture manufacturer, Dino Gavina, who subsequently invited Takahama to work for him in Italy. Takahama’s first design for Gavina was the geometrically severe Naeko sofa-bed (1957). Read More →
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Pierre Vágó (1910 – 2002) Hungarian Architect and Designer
Pierre Vago was a Hungarian Architect and designer. He studied at the École Spéciale d’Architecture, Paris. He settled in France in 1928, where he was editor-in-chief on three issues of the review L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui. After World War 2, he was active in reviving the journal and set up his architecture office. In 1948 he left…
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Gerald Abramovitz (b.1928), South African Designer Architect
Gerald Abramovitz (b.1928) was a South African architect and industrial designer who studied architecture and design at the University of Pretoria and the Royal College of Art, London. He was a versatile designer who created iconic pieces for Knoll and Hille, such as the Four Seasons armchair and Polyprop chair. He also designed children’s play…
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Wiwen Nilsson (1897 – 1974) Swedish Silver Designer
He was trained in the workshop of his father Anders Nilsson. He studied at the Konigliche Preussische Zeichenakademie, Hanau (Germany), and in the Paris studio of Georg Jensen while at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere and Académie Colarossi.Read More →
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Enzo Frateili (1914 – 1993) Italian Designer
Enzo Frateili was an Italian designer born in Rome and active in Milan. Frateili began his professional career in 1955. In the early 50s, he worked at Stile Industrial; in 1962 he was the Italian correspondent to the journal form. His books included Archiektur und Komfort (1967) and Design e Civiltà della Machina (1969). The…
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Claude Montana (b.1949) French Fashion Designer
Montana’s career in fashion began almost accidentally; he moved to London in the early 1970s “to escape studying,” having no plans and no work visa. Raising money by selling rhinestone-studded papier mache jewellery, he met a Vogue editor by happenstance and had his work featured in the magazine. Read More →
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