Lot 70 Dα

Alfred Porteneuve was born in Paris in 1896. He already began working for his uncle, the famous decorator Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, whilst studying architecture in the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and joined his company in around 1920. In 1925, Porteneuve collaborated with his uncle and other artists and designers on the decoration of the "Hôtel du Collectionneur” pavilion for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, for which François Pompon designed his famous polar bear sculpture.

Following Ruhlmann's death in 1933, his nephew was responsible for carrying out the running commissions and taking inventory of the firm's stock. In 1934, Alfred Porteneuve opened his own shop under his name, although he continued to produce designs by Ruhlmann. He furnished numerous private apartments and offices, as well as the ship SS Pasteur for the North German Lloyd in 1938. The podium of the Palais des Nations in Geneva is also among his most well-known designs. Porteneuve passed away in 1949.

Porteneuve simplified the complex and characteristic design of Ruhlmann's "Hydravion Berger" by exchanging the carved front legs of the original for geometric forms. In this example, the edges of the rectangular armrests are also left plain.