Drawing, Design for Screen with Geometric Forms

There are 2 other images of this object. See our image rights statement.

See more objects with the tag screen, geometric, abstract, Donald Deskey, gouache.

Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object.
1927	Work on this object began.
1931	Work on this object ended.
1975	We acquired this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2016	We photographed this object.
2024	You found it!

Drawing, Design for Screen with Geometric Forms

This is a Drawing. It was designed by Donald Deskey and from the office of Donald Deskey and drafted by Donald Deskey and made for (as the client) Paul T. Frankl. It is dated 1927–31 and we acquired it in 1975. Its medium is pen and black ink, brush and gouache, brush and gold and silver paint, graphite on illustration board. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

At the 1925 Paris exposition Donald Deskey saw an array of screens, including lacquered examples by Jean Dunand. From 1927 to 1931, Deskey produced decorative screens, such as this design, that showcased his artistic predilection for bold colors and simple shapes.

This object was donated by Donald Deskey. It is credited Gift of Donald Deskey.

A black enamel, rectangular cigarette case with bands of square diamonds along both the short sides. In the center of each band is a palmette motif, an ornament resembling radiating palm leaves, made from square diamonds and two hexagonal cut diamonds. In the center of the front long side is a thin, semi-circular, diamond thumbpiece that opens the case, with a gold groove line underneath it.

Cigarette Case, ca. 1929
enamel, rose- and hexagonal-cut and other diamonds, gold, platinum.
Lent by Private Collection.
13.2016.85

A black enamel rectangular vanity case with semi-circular back and front edges with an innovative roll-down mechanism for opening in a horizontal orientation. The roll-down apparatus has two bands of baguette cut diamonds centered with two additional bands of rose-cut diamonds on both sides. On the seen left side of the front edge is a circular plaque of rose-cut diamonds where the roll-down bar is located above. Rose-cut diamonds adorned in a marquise form are visible on the left edge as well. The vanity case could fit into the palm of your hand. The photograph captures the compact at an angle where the top lid, front and left sides are visible as is a reflection against a white ground.

Vanity Case, ca. 1930
enamel, baguette and rose-cut diamonds, mirrored plate glass, silver.
Lent by Private Collection.
13.2016.86

Drawing, Screen Design with Cubist-inspired Geometric Forms

Drawing, Screen Design with Cubist-inspired Geometric Forms
brush and gouache, graphite on cream illustration board .
Gift of Donald Deskey.
1975-11-17

Our curators have highlighted 2 objects that are related to this one.

A standing, three-paneled painted, wood-framed folding screen in redwood and black lacquer, depicting the craggy triangles and shadows of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Somewhat shallow in perspective, the top of the piece shows the flat buttes of the opposite side of the canyon. A turquoise blue, horizontal band represents a thin image of the sky. The depiction of the landscape evokes the sensation of a bright, sunny day; scenery is abstract with modernist influences.

Screen, Study in Cubist Realism, 1925
oil paint on wood panel, california redwood and black lacquer.
Denver Art Museum, Lent by Grant and Betty Hagestad, 43.2009.
56.2016.1

Drawing, Design for Screen with Cubist Motifs

Drawing, Design for Screen with Cubist Motifs
brush and gouache, graphite, black crayon on tan illustration board .
Gift of Donald Deskey.
1975-11-14

Its dimensions are

33.3 × 44.6 cm (13 1/8 × 17 9/16 in.) Mat: 35.9 × 46 cm (14 1/8 × 18 1/8 in.)

It has the following markings

Stamp in red ink, lower left: DONALD DESKEY / 145 WEST 57TH STREET / NEW YORK CITY

It is inscribed

Inscribed in pen and black ink, lower left: -1032-; on verso: FOR FRANKEL [sic] GALLERIES / Franke / For Frankel G

Cite this object as

Drawing, Design for Screen with Geometric Forms; Designed by Donald Deskey (American, 1894–1989); Client: Paul T. Frankl (American, b. Austria, 1886–1958); USA; pen and black ink, brush and gouache, brush and gold and silver paint, graphite on illustration board; 33.3 × 44.6 cm (13 1/8 × 17 9/16 in.) Mat: 35.9 × 46 cm (14 1/8 × 18 1/8 in.); Gift of Donald Deskey; 1975-11-15

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2CKek/
Accession Number 1975-11-15
Object ID 18485953