Paul T. Frankl
Encyclopedia
Biography
Paul T. Frankl (1886–1958), an Art DecoArt Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
furniture designer and maker, architect, painter and writer from Vienna, Austria, was the son of a wealthy real estate speculator. 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
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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.
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.
His solo art shows included New York City's Knoedler Gallery in 1931 and Los Angeles's Stendahl Gallery in 1944.
After he later relocated to Los Angeles and opened a gallery on Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, California is a shopping district known for designer label and haute couture fashion. The name generally refers to a three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops but the street stretches further north and south....
in Beverly Hills, celebrities such as Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
and Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
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. 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. In 1934 he moved to Los Angeles where he taught at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and the Chouinard Art Institute
Chouinard Art Institute
The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 in Los Angeles, California, by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard .-Founder:...
. Used, out-of-print books he authored sell for hundreds of dollars in online bookstores.
His daughter, Paulette Frankl
Paulette Frankl
Paulette Frankl is an American courtroom artist and author.-Biography:Frankl was born in California, and attended Stanford University, where she majored in art and languages....
, is an artist, author and photographer, and his grandson, Nicholas Koenig, is a creative director for theme parks and interactive games.
Books
- New Dimensions: the Decorative Arts of Today in Words and Pictures 1928 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I9QMYG/
- Form and Reform : A Practical Handbook of Modern Interiors 1930, 1975 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQTKWM/
- Machine-made leisure 1932 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000858AI6/
- Space for living: Creative interior decoration and design 1938 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00085OLMU/
- Principios fundamentales de la historia de la arquitectura, Leizpig y Berlín, 1914