The International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, Paris, 1925

Location of « A French Embassy » at the exhibition in Paris in 1925

The sponsor : the Société des Artistes Décorateurs

The Société des Artistes Décorateurs, founded on 7 February 1901, was a professional society of architects, artisans and designers. The first such organisation since the abolition of the guilds in 1791, the Société’s aim was to act as a focal point for the arts, craftsmanship and industry. From 1904 onwards it organised an annual exhibition showcasing the work of its members on individual stands in their respective sections (furniture, gold and silverware, ceramics, carpets and fabrics, etc.). Exhibitors and their creations were selected by a jury.

The Société des Artistes Décorateurs commissioned Pierre Chareau to design an Office-Library for its multidisciplinary project entitled « A French Embassy, » to be shown at the International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925. The Société des Artistes Décorateurs had insufficient funds to build its own pavilion, so the project was installed in the two still unoccupied wings of the Cour des Métiers, designed by the architect Charles Plumet. The building’s twenty-four exhibition spaces enabled the presentation of the various rooms of an embassy, each designed by the artists who had won the competition.

Architecture

The Cour des Métiers building, « A French Embassy, » Charles Plumet architect

The Office-Library as it was shown in 1925