1930s Vintage Donald Deskey Art Deco Amodec Suite Bedroom Set

Description

Very Rare Donald Deskey AMODEC Chest of Drawers, Vanity with Mirror and Bench Circa 1934. This Set was completely restored … moreVery Rare Donald Deskey AMODEC Chest of Drawers, Vanity with Mirror and Bench Circa 1934. This Set was completely restored to its original splendor. Vanity Bench has been reupolstered in an an antique green mohair that lends itself very nicely to the ivory like color of the Vanity and Chest. These pieces were meticulously stripped and refinished with the colors that we matched to the original paint that was present under the layers. This process of matching the colors was done meticulously and we believe that this color scheme is as close as you will find to Deskey's original intent as no pictures are readily availble of this line. Drawer Fronts and Bench are in washed Maple and the Black Lacquer was reapplied where the Black Lacquer was also determined as original in the process of restoration. Two Piece brass hardware was removed and polished and is also Stamped AMODEC K2792 on the underside when removed. Pieces are in beautiful restored condition. More pictures are available upon request as well as pictures taken before and during the restoration process. Vanity and Chest both retain the original AMODEC Metal Drawer Tags as well as the AMODEC Stamps on the rear of the pieces. A-902-10 CHEST AMODEC and AMODEC A-902-9 VAN. The Mirror itself is Stamped Nov 19 1934 MMA No 1 Logan Porter Mirror Co. Highpoint North Carolina on the backside also visible when removed from the frame. Examine pictures for complete details and contact me with any questions you may have.


Below is a short Bio of Donald Deskey copied from the Modernism Gallery:

Donald Deskey
American [1894 - 1989]
Donald Deskey was born in Blue Earth, Minnesota in 1894. In 1912 he left for California with a high school diploma. After a series of jobs, a stint in the army, and attendance at The University of California at Berkeley to study architecture and painting he began in 1920 working in advertising, first Chicago then New York. In 1925 he visited the Exposition International des Arts Decoratifs et Industrials Moderns and the Bauhaus in Germany. He came back to New York in 1926 committed to the modern movement. He created store window displays for Saks- Fifth Avenue and made folding screens for Paul Frankl. Frankl paid Deskey $35 per screen and sold them for $400… a tidy profit. Through his work at Saks, Deskey met the company president, Adam Gimbel and showed him some furniture drawings he had made in Paris. Gimbel was impressed enough that he commissioned Deskey to furnish the interior of his Park Avenue apartment, Deskey’s first luxury commission. In 1927 he formed a partnership with Philip Vollmer to be called Deskey – Vollmer. They produced a variety of lamps and tables using metal, lacquer, and Bakelite. The partnership lasted until 1931. In 1928 he enhanced his reputation as an important modernist designer with a men’s smoking room he fashioned for The American Designer’s Gallery in New York. He was a cofounder of The American Union of Decorative Artists and Craftsmen (AUDAC) and exhibited in their New York and Brooklyn shows in 1930 and 1931. Starting in 1929 Deskey designed the first of three interiors for Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. In 1930 he designed the interior for critic and writer Gilbert Seides apartment and also the interior of Helena Rubinstein’s Park Avenue apartment. His work for the Rockefellers led to his most important commission, the interiors of Radio City Music Hall. Completed in one year with a very low budget, Deskey convinced twenty one of his AUDAC artisans and craftsmen that having their work shown in such a magnificent setting would further their career and reputation. With only a $1,500 fee limit imposed on him, Deskey managed to convince many famous artists to decorate the theatre such as Stuart Davis, Ezra Winter, Henry Varnum Poor, Louis Bouache, Edward Ulrich, Henry Billings, and Witold Gordon. Three statues cast in aluminum were sculpted by William Zorach, Gwen Lux, and Robert Laurent. The mural for the second mezzanine was offered to Georgia o’Keeffe, she refused the commission as $1,500 was an unacceptable fee. An apocryphal story said that her husband, the famous photographer Alfred Stieglitz, was quoted as saying, “Georgia o’Keeffe does not do bathrooms”. Yasuo Kuniyoshi did the mural. While the majority of Deskey’s furniture had been hand made by local craftsmen or commissioned to firms like Schmieg & Kotzian: his acclaim from Radio City Music Hall, the Mandez House, and exhibits at the 1933 World’s Fair brought him to the attention of furniture manufacturers. He had designed modern furniture for Ypsilanti Reed Furniture in the late 1920s and in 1930 he produced lines for W&J Sloan Company of Master Craftsmen, Kroehler Manufacturing, Valentine Seaver, and Estey Manufacturing. In 1930 began designing furniture for the Widdicomb Furniture Company, a relationship that would last until 1935. In 1931 Deskey created AMODEC (American Modern Decoration Company). less