Furniture By Warren Mc Arthur

By Jessica Whittaker

In the 1930s, the art deco style was in vogue. Part of that reason was thanks to furniture designer Warren McArthur who helped define the style. Born in 1885, McArthur was raised in Chicago during a time when new age technology and design was encouraged. His father was one of the first in the city to own a car and he worked with Frank Lloyd Wright during the design of their home. McArthur moved to Phoenix, Arizona later in life and his father funded every project and venture he was involved in, most of which included modern aesthetics and philosophies. Thanks to his father, McArthur created a sizable catalogue of furniture and technological innovations in aluminium furniture production that are still used today.

In 1908 McArthur graduated from Cornell University with a mechanical engineering degree. He filed for ten patents on lamp design between 1911 and 1914, and one of them is still being produced today by the Dietz Lantern Company in Chicago. It was 1913 when he moved to Phoenix to work with his brother Charles opening up about a dozen car dealerships throughout the city. He developed a car radiator adapter that allowed vehicles to run in the desert without overheating, and together with his brother they created the ‘Wonder Bus’, one of the very first recreational vehicles in the world that was used to give tourists access to National Parks. The Arizona Museum and Arizona Biltmore was designed by McArthur’s older brother, and with Charles he started the first radio station in the state.

In 1929 McArthur moved out to Los Angeles in order to start his own metal furniture business. Using his own designs he began to create custom pieces and eventually moved on to developing new ways of joining the furniture pieces together. Notched tubes with milled washers, standardized manufacturing units, and the anodic process that made the aluminium hard and impossible to tarnish were all developed by McArthur, allowing his aluminium furniture to have a lifetime guarantee. He also developed a colouring technique that yielded dyes that would crack or chip. Between the pores in the metal created by the anodic process and the dye itself, the colours became part of the metal and not just an overcoat. McArthur’s furniture was marketed in the 1930s with colour names such as Gold Green, Alice Blue, and Grenadine.

McArthur’s furniture quickly became popular with the Hollywood crowd and both Warner Brothers and the Ambassador Hotel decorated their establishments with his designs. Many movies made during the time featured McArthur’s furniture, and they are very recognizable for their curved tubing design and rounded edges. Lounges, sofas, and end tables with his signature grid and overlaying bars in the framework were some of his best sellers and the colours of his upholstery for the furniture were dramatic and contrasting.

He also designed outdoor furniture like the ‘Sun Fast’ chair that was advertised as being able to withstand the sun and rain. His 1932 ‘Ambassador’ armchair and ottoman, and the 1933 ‘Biltmore’ chair with its upholstered seat and tubular armrests are still visible in the two establishments they were made for.

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