Paul T. Frankl

Paul T. Frankl (October 14, 1886 – March 21, 1958), an Art Deco furniture designer and maker, architect, painter and writer from Vienna, Austria, was the son of a wealthy real estate speculator.

Biography

Paul T. Frankl. Clock, late 1920s Brooklyn Museum

After Frankl completed his architectural studies at the Berlin Polytechnic, he traveled, spending time in Berlin and Copenhagen before arriving in the United States in April 1914. He settled in New York City and brought with him an outsider’s fresh perspective and an enthusiasm for forging a uniquely American design aesthetic. Frankl began as an architect and later switched to designing and painting fine art and furniture. In the years between the two world wars he, more than any other designer, helped shape the distinctive look of American modernism.

Paul T. Frankl. "Skyscraper" Step Table, late 1920s Brooklyn Museum

In the 1920s, he introduced his celebrated skyscraper style (before turning to metal furnishings in the 1930s). Frankl opened Frankl Galleries on 48th Street, calling his company Skyscraper Furniture, which became an epicenter of American modernism, including modern textiles and wallpapers imported from Europe.^[1]

His solo art shows included New York City's Knoedler Gallery in 1931 and Los Angeles's Stendahl Gallery in 1944.^[2]

After he later relocated to Los Angeles and opened a gallery on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, celebrities such as Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Walter Huston and Alfred Hitchcock became clients.

Frankl wrote several books and magazine articles about the Modern Style and was its most vocal proponent. He later designed production pieces for Brown Saltman of California and Johnson Furniture Company of Grand Rapids, incorporating an early use of biomorphic designs and novel materials such as cork veneer.^[3] His style continuously evolved, from early skyscraper furniture to relaxed and casual designs favored by the Hollywood elite in the 1930s to manufactured pieces for the mass market in the 1950s.^[4] In 1934 he moved to Los Angeles where he taught at the University of Southern California and the Chouinard Art Institute. Used, out-of-print books he authored sell for hundreds of dollars in online bookstores.^[5]

His daughter, Paulette Frankl, is an artist, author and photographer,^[6][7] and his grandson, Nicholas Koenig,^[8] is a creative director for theme parks and interactive games.

Books

• New Dimensions: the Decorative Arts of Today in Words and Pictures 1928 ^[9]
• Form and Reform : A Practical Handbook of Modern Interiors 1930, 1975 ^[10]
• Machine-made leisure 1932 ^[11]
• Space for living: Creative interior decoration and design 1938 ^[12]
• Principios fundamentales de la historia de la arquitectura, Leizpig y Berlín, 1914

References

External links

• Long, Christopher (May 2007), Paul T. Frankl and Modern American Design (May 2007)
• Modernism Magazine
• Hughes, Edan, Artists in California, 1786-1940 (June 1989)
• American Art Annual 1933
• Who's Who in American Art 1936-56
• AskArt listing