Jean-Michel Frank (1895 – 1941) French Interior Designer

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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