Eugene Schoen

produced by Schmeig and Kotzian, Inc., New York

John Rosenthal, Croton-On-Hudson, NY, 1939
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2012

"Museum Pieces in Celanese," Arts & Decoration, December 1934, p. 22
Paul Donzella and Eric Kohler, Eugene Schoen Furniture from the  
Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Estate, exh. cat., Donzella Ltd., New York, 2008, p. 24 and front cover
John Stuart Gordon, A Modern World:  American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, 1920-1950, New Haven, 2011, p. 268

Overall very good condition. The wooden frames with some small and minor scattered light surface scratches, nicks and dings consistent with age and gentle use. The coloration of the cerused oak is consistent across the set, showing subtle figuring to the wood on each. The leather has recently been replaced in a manner and material consistent with the original design. An opportunity to acquire a large set of chairs with great presence and graceful curvature of the seatbacks. A rare chair model to appear at auction with a wonderful historic provenance dating back to the production of the chairs.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Originally designed to accompany a dining room for the exhibition, Contemporary American Industrial Artsat The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1934, these chairs were designed by Eugene Schoen and produced by Schmeig and Kotzian, the finest cabinetmakers in the United States in the 1930s.

Schoen was a native of New York City, but was educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna as an architect where he studied under Otto Wagner and Josef Hoffmann.  He was exposed to European avant-garde movements during this time as well as the Art Deco style, and these experiences shaped his aesthetic sense as an American designer.  This chair design of 1934 embodies the elegance and luxury of European Art Deco, yet it remains a distinctive example of American Modern design.  The repeating horizontal lines of the curved seatback signal the growing interest in streamlined design in the United States during the 1930s, and in fact, this design played a sophisticated role in the visual culture of the era.  Immediately following the exhibition, Schoen’s chairs were selected by the famous Hollywood art director Cedric Gibbons as part of a bedroom set for the 1935 film “Top Hat” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Schoen was one of the few American designers to focus on custom-made, one-of-a-kind pieces over mass production, yet he clearly favored this 1934 chair design by employing it in important subsequent commissions, including the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Estate in Washington, DC (1937) and the John Rosenthal Estate in Croton-On-Hudson, NY (1939).