Hector Guimard

Bench Paited Cast Iron & Wood Circa 1907-1935 H: 35 1/2 in. W: 72 in. D: 23 in.

Guimard designed a small group of cast iron benches that were manufactured by the Saint-Dizier foundry. The distinctive feature of these garden seats, some of which feature armrests, is their graceful forms.

Guimard installed his benches in only two recorded instances: on the grounds of the Chalet Blanc de Sceux and in an unidentified exposition documented in a period photograph archived in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Nonetheless, benches were the most popular Guimard item sold by the Saint-Dizier foundry, which continued to manufacture them until at least 1935.

The design of the present bench is simple yet elegant in a manner typical of Le Style Guimard. The curvaceous seat merges with the back and central struts to create a flowing composition. Ornamentation emerges from or within the structural elements of the form itself. The Art Nouveau line is sinuous and strong, and minimal yet expressive. Guimard’s intention to design a product for industrial manufacture in no way compromised his sensuous use of iron.

Documentation: Fontes artistiques pour Construction, Fumisterie, Articles de Jardin et Sépulchres (Saint-Dizier: 1907), pl. 42; Fonderies de Bayard et Saint-Dizier, Fontes d’ornements pour Bâtiments (SaintDizier: 1935), part 4, p. 462, model GN; Musée d’Orsay, Catalogue sommaire illustré des arts décoratifs (Paris: 1988), 133, no. OAO 624.