Jean Prouvé 1901–1984
Jean Prouvé was born in Nancy, France, in 1901. Prouvé‘s father Victor founded the École de Nancy, an Art Nouveau school that focused on hand-made objects. Apprenticing with an ironsmith as a teenager, he learned the value of simple forms and metalworking techniques. Prouvé founded his studio, Ateliers Jean Prouvé in 1923 and created restrained metal objects that rejected excess decoration. Within his workshop, he favored industrial materials like sheet steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Engineers employed these materials in the emerging aircraft industry, and these materials inspired Prouvé to design a pre-fabricated houses with Le Corbusier in 1923 that was reminiscent of aircraft design. Working with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, Prouvé created breathtaking furniture that forged the process of prefabrication. Prouvé tirelessly focused on finding creative and useful solutions to design problems throughout his career, crafting everything from aluminum vacation homes to university bookcases, living by his words that one should “never design anything that cannot be made.”
Auction Results Jean Prouvé
Jean Prouvé
Scal daybed
result: $10,880
Jean Prouvé
Scal daybed
Jean Prouvé
Guéridon Bas table
result: $7,040
Jean Prouvé
Standard chairs, set of four
result: $2,125
Jean Prouvé
Potence swing-arm wall lamp
result: $12,500
Jean Prouvé
Daybed (No. 452)
result: $5,625
Jean Prouvé
Desk
result: $10,000
Jean Prouvé
Bench
result: $15,000
Jean Prouvé
Gueridon table model (No. 401)
result: $23,750
Jean Prouvé
Potence swing-arm wall lamp
result: $8,750
Jean Prouvé
Bed no. 102 from Lycée Fabert
result: $23,750
Jean Prouvé
Desk
result: $10,000