Decorative Arts

One of the monumental galleries overlooking the Seine displays a collection of decorative art from the 1930s consisting of furniture and objets d’art. Around a painted panel entitled Sports (1935), created by Dunand for the steamship Normandie, is prestigious furniture designed by Ruhlmann, Printz, Arbus, Chareau and Adnet testifying to the City of Paris’ commitment to classic and modernist decorative arts when the museum was established. During the 1937 International Arts and Technology Exhibition, the City of Paris purchased many high-quality, lavishly-worked objects from leading ceramicists, glassworkers, brass workers and metalworkers, which pushed the existing boundaries of form and materials.