Art Deco Wardrobe

A wardrobe design inspired by skyscrapers

Your wardrobe is a great example of Art Deco furniture and was inspired by the designer Paul Frankl. The Art Deco period started in the 1920s and lasted into the 1940s. It was characterized as a combination of the Arts and Crafts style with the Industrial or Machine Age style.

The Art Deco period was exemplified not only in the design of furniture, paintings and decorations, but also architecture. In the 1920s the iconic Art Deco skyscraper, the Chrysler building was built and was soon followed by the Empire State Building. Skyscrapers became a trophy for cities with their commanding presence and design, triumphantly symbolizing American modernity.

Skyscrapers inspired architect and designer Paul Frankl. Frankl was born in Vienna and settled in New York City in 1914. During the late 1920s he created Frankl Galleries and an influential line of furniture called Skyscraper Furniture, which became a foundation for the American Modernist movement. This furniture was represented by having a stepped upward-reaching profile of skyscrapers inspired by the New York City skyline and celebrated the enthusiasm of this new era.

Your Art Deco wardrobe is made of burled walnut and is clearly inspired by the skyscraper furniture by Paul Frankl. It was probably made in the late 1920s or early 1930s.

I would estimate its value at $1,400.