International Decorative Art

Settee from the S.S. Normandie

Settee from the S.S. Normandie

Design Date 1932-1934

Designer Jules Leleu (1883-1961, French)

Media ebony wood and cloth upholstery

Dimensions 31 3/4 x 65 x 34 inches

Jules Leleu designed this settee for the “Trouville” appartement de luxe, one of the luxury rooms on the S.S. Normandie ocean liner. In 1935, the S.S. Normandie’s maiden voyage won it the Atlantic speed record for the next three years. The ship was celebrated as an example of French technological achievement and was treated as a floating version of the 1925 Exposition Universelle des Arts Décoratifs, with French designers commissioned to decorate the ship’s interiors in the Art Deco style. The attached wooden shelves create a stylish and convenient place to set a cocktail while lounging on the settee.

ON VIEW in Art Deco Gallery 6

Markings unmarked

Credit Line Collection Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art

Accession Number 2011.0584