Mirror and Seat, circa 1927, Paul Theodore Frankl, (American, b. Austria, 1886–1958), designer, wood, aluminum leaf, mirrored glass, paint, and upholstery, Gift of the Estate of Mrs. James M. Hutton II, 1969.410, 1969.411

Verbal Description

Hello, my name is Eric Le Roy and I am the Associate Director for Docent Learning at the museum. I will be reading the verbal description for the Mirror and Seat in Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban.

Paul Frankl designed the museum’s Mirror and Seat. He was an Austrian-born American who lived from 1886 to 1958. The pieces are wood, aluminum leaf, mirrored glass, paint, and upholstery. They were a Gift of the Estate of Mrs. James M. Hutton II. The accession numbers are 1969.410 and 1969.411.

The museum’s Mirror is 67 x 57 ½ x 11 inches. It is circular and framed in silver painted wood. It has a rectangular stepped base. Two arms come out of the base and run along the bottom half of the circular mirror, connecting to each side with dog heads that look like jackals from Ancient Egypt.

The accompanying Seat measures 23 x 25 inches and is green with gold accents. The seat is inspired by Egyptian design. The back-less curved seat has two arms that flare out into scroll-like arms. Swooping down to the center, the arms come together at a blue cushion. On the side of the seat is a design of a white oval with two green intersecting triangles. The legs of the stool are rectangular with gold accents.

Label Copy

Hello, my name is Eric Le Roy and I am the Associate Director for Docent Learning at the museum. I will be reading the label for the Mirror and Seat in Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban.

Paul Frankl designed the museum’s Mirror and Seat. He was an Austrian-born American who lived from 1886 to 1958. The pieces are wood, aluminum leaf, mirrored glass, paint and upholstery. They were a Gift of the Estate of Mrs. James M. Hutton II. The accessions numbers are 1969.410 and 1969.411.

All the furnishings in this exhibition designed by Paul Frankl were once owned by Cincinnatian Marianne Wurlitzer Hutton (1900–1969) and used in her bedroom and dressing room. Hutton’s granddaughter recalled, "She had a keen sense of style and it showed in her wardrobe, jewelry, and furniture." Hutton probably purchased her pieces from Frankl’s showroom in New York, a city she visited annually.

Paul Frankl was a friend and contemporary of Joseph Urban. Both were Austrian émigrés who promoted the modern style to American audiences. In this mirror and seat, Frankl referenced the arts of Egypt, inspired by the 1922 discovery and ongoing excavations of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Jackal heads symbolize Anubis, the god of death and inventor of embalmment. The seat’s form mimics Egyptian stools, and its bright colors allude to those observed in Egyptian jewelry and other artifacts.

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