Collections: Decorative Arts: Weil-Worgelt Study

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Weil-Worgelt Study

Designed by the New York office of the Parisian decorating firm Alavoine, this elegant study, made for an elite client, was a conservative interpretation of the Art Deco style; this can be seen in the geometric paneling of palisander and olive wood veneers and the large abstract lacquer panel, designed by Henri Redard and executed by Jean Dunand. A small, concealed bar, with etched glass walls that salute France, is hidden in the corner in defiance of Prohibition, which forbade alcohol consumption in the United States from 1919 to 1933. Interestingly, while this room was furnished in the Art Deco style, the public rooms in the rest of the Worgelt apartment were furnished in a more conservative French eighteenth-century-revival style.


• Decorator: Alavoine of Paris and New York
• Medium: Lacquer, glass, leather, veneered panels
• Place Manufactured: Paris, France
• Dates: ca. 1928-1930
• Dimensions: 119 x 201 1/2 x 176 1/4 in. (302.3 x 511.8 x 447.7 cm)
• Markings: On lacquered panel: "LAQUE DE DUNAND D'APRES LE DESSIN DE H. REDARD". On etched glass in bar: "d'apres / HRedard" / 1930". On hardware: "MADEN FRANCE". On backs of panels: various indications written in French and European script.
• Signature: no signature
• Inscriptions: no inscriptions
• Collections: Decorative Arts
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Worgelt Study, 4th Floor
• Accession Number: 70.23
• Credit Line: Gift of Raymond Worgelt
• Image: Overall, 70.23_view2_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Alavoine of Paris and New York. Weil-Worgelt Study, ca. 1928-1930. Lacquer, glass, leather, veneered panels, 119 x 201 1/2 x 176 1/4 in. (302.3 x 511.8 x 447.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Raymond Worgelt, 70.23 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 70.23_view2_bw.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: Period Room: The Worgelt Study, In the Art Deco Style. This room is paneled in veneered panels, stiles and rails, cornice etc. of palisade and olive and incorporates an abstract lacquered panel designed by Henri Redard and executed by Jean Dunand. The room also includes a bar closet with etched glass panels showing landmarks of Paris, also designed by Redard and dated 1930. CONDITION - Excellent. Minor chips and scratches. In the fall of 1970, the Dunand lacquered panel was scratched vertically on right hand lower corner. Restored in 1970.