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Object Timeline

-0001

1930

  • Work on this object began.

1935

  • Work on this object ended.

1968

  • We acquired this object.

2015

2016

2017

2019

2021

2024

  • You found it!

Desk (France)

This is a desk. It was designed by Jean-Michel Frank. It is dated 1930–35 and we acquired it in 1968. Its medium is wood, shagreen, ivory. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Jean-Michel Frank liked to mix surface textures—an aesthetic he conveyed to Eyre de Lanux—such as the use of shagreen (sharkskin) for this desk while other pieces from the same commission were covered in straw, leather, and parchment.

This object was donated by Forsythe Sherfesee and Mrs. Forsythe Sherfesee. It is credited Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Forsythe Sherfesee.

  • Desk
  • nickel-plated steel.
  • Courtesy of Thom Browne.
  • 74.2015.1

Our curators have highlighted 4 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Ring Case
  • shagreen.
  • Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt.
  • 1931-86-116
  • Side Chair (France)
  • wood, shagreen, fabric.
  • Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Forsythe Sherfesee.
  • 1968-144-1
  • Shagreen Matchsafe
  • shagreen, plated metal.
  • Gift of Stephen W. Brener and Carol B. Brener.
  • 1978-146-306

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 80.8 x 142 x 60 cm (31 13/16 x 55 7/8 x 23 5/8 in.)

Cite this object as

Desk (France); Designed by Jean-Michel Frank (French, 1895–1941); wood, shagreen, ivory; H x W x D: 80.8 x 142 x 60 cm (31 13/16 x 55 7/8 x 23 5/8 in.); Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Forsythe Sherfesee; 1968-144-13-a/g

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions Jon Gray of Ghetto Gastro Selects and The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18464405/ |title=Desk (France) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>