COLLECTION OF DECORATIVE ARTS

AND DESIGN
Descriptive sheet
At a glance

Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion

Curators: Rosalind Pepall (early and modern
decorative
arts),
Diane
Charbonneau
(contemporary decorative arts)

2 floors, over 800 works

The re-installation of the collection

One collection, one pavilion, the challenges
The Museums collection covers 700 years of the history of
decorative arts and design, from the 15th to the 21st
centuries. The collection is so vast that Rosalind Pepall found
it hard to estimate how many works it contained. The Stewart
collection alone comprises between 5,000 and 6,000 objects.
Consequently the rearrangement of so many works raised
many questions about the reorganization, the new plans for
the Museum. Should the layout be chronological or themebased? How would they select a representative sample of the
works, faced with the size and variety of the collection?
As well as these constraints, there was the question of the
exhibition space, that of the Stewart pavilion. The absence of
walls, given the simple design of the building, posed the risk


of giving a cluttered appearance.
Given this configuration, together with the diversity of the
collection, led the curators to consider a more theme-based
arrangement, in which early and modern works would be
juxtaposed, giving visitors an overview of the history of the
decorative arts and design.

Design from Italy, Scandinavia, the U.S., and Quebec, decorative arts of the 1930s,
geometric design, ceramics, glass, jewellery, silverware So many worlds to be fitted
into a coherent discourse of many voices to convey the global evolution of creativity. To
design the appropriate layout, the Museum called in Nathalie Crinire, creator of the
interior dcor for the Louvre in Abu Dhabi.

The goals of the reorganization
In consideration of all these issues, in terms of the collection and of its setting, the curators
identified two objectives for the reinstallation. The focus would be on contemporary
design and recent acquisitions along with works that had not previously been exhibited.
By choosing a thematic presentation in terms of design schools and of materials, and by
mingling older and current works in a series of juxtapositions, the exhibition would
highlight the variety of the collection.
Thus over 800 works will be displayed on the two floors of the Stewart Pavilion in a
completely new layout in which the chair is the guest of honour. Throughout the trip
through the history of decorative arts and design, chairs will be highlighted by means of a
red ribbon running through the show, accentuating their most extravagant developments.
While offering a lively and amusing tour, the chairs will help to give an overall view of
the collection and will unify the various sections of the exhibition.

Illustrations: 1. Tejo Remy, Born in the Netherlands in 1960, "You Can't Lay Down Your Memories" Chest of Drawers,
1991, Maple, recycled drawers, cotton, Produced by Droog Design, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Liliane and David M. Stewart
Collection, D99.159.1.1-41. 2. Pablo Picasso, Mlaga 1881 - Mougins 1973, "Tripod" Vase, 1951, Glazed earthenware,
Produced by Poterie Madoura, Vallauris, France, Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, D96.109.1. 3. Louis Comfort
Tiffany, New York 1848 - New York 1933, "Jack-in-the-pulpit" Vase, About 1909-1910, Blown glass, Made by Tiffany
Studios, New York, Purchase, Deutsche Bank Fund, 2009.28.

A history, an identity and the donors

THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF ITS KIND IN NORTH AMERICA
1

The first appearance of decorative arts at the Art Association

The members of the Art Association had always shown an interest in the decorative arts,
antique objects and industrial and artisanal products. In 1879, a committee for industrial
and decorative arts was formed. But given the strong influence exerted by the great
collectors on the institution in the early decades of its history, the institution focused
exclusively on the fine arts.
2

It was not until 1905 and the lecture given by Percy E. Nobbs that the idea of a museum
was first mooted. Nobbs was the professor of architecture at McGill University and a
member of the Art Association. In the Phillips Square premises he pleaded for attention to
be paid to the decorative arts, as was done in European museums that presented artisanal
objects. But he was ahead of his time, and when the new Art Gallery on Sherbrooke Street
opened, no mention was made of a Museum.
In 1916 it was the turn of William Brymner, director of the
AAMs Art School, to stress the need to redefine the
collections so that they could include the decorative arts.
He spoke of the Victoria & Albert Museum and its
influence on English craftsmen, whose work it made
famous across the world. Eventually it was on the initiative
of F. Cleveland Morgan that the decision was taken, in
November of that year, to create a Museum Section.

Cleveland Morgan and the Museum Section
5

As a child Cleveland Morgan was partially blinded, and for

six months, to avoid infection in his good eye, he had to
wear a blindfold and lived in total darkness. During this
time he amused himself by touching and feeling a wide
variety of objects and identifying and classifying them. GH. Germain states that all his life, he retained the habit of
touching everything, feeling plants, decorative objects,
even people, and this led him to become a discriminating
collector of art objects from all over the world. He sold,
loaned or gave to the Art Association, of which he was a
member, treasures he brought back from his travels. It was
therefore natural that he should be asked to develop and
chair the Museum Section. He thus became the MMFAs
first curator of decorative arts and would remain so until his
death forty-six years later.

In addition to the gifts from Morgan himself, other donations

came in that he had sought from friends and acquaintances.
He sparked a real enthusiasm for the decorative arts, creating
a new generation of collectors with more eclectic tastes. The
collection began to grow and could show an astonishing
variety of objects. It was enriched by gifts from Mabel
Molson, works of traditional Quebec craftsmanship. Other
gifts included the Lucie Pillow Collection of 256 pieces of
18th century English china, and the 3,000 Japanese incense
boxes from the private collection of Georges Clemenceau,
given by Joseph-Arthur Simard. Textiles, furniture, European
ceramics and glass of the 18th and 19th centuries completed
the holdings of early and modern decorative arts.
This open-mindedness marked a turning point in the history
of the Museum. Its collections embraced the civilizations and
skills of the entire world, becoming encyclopaedic, so that all
eras and all forms of artistic expression could in principle be
represented. Our Museum aims to be universal, to embrace
the whole cycle of knowledge, to tell a history of the world.
This huge project was further reinforced by a gift of capital
importance, that of the Liliane and David M. Stewart
Collection.

Illustrations: 1. Worcester Factory, Founded in 1751, Pickle Dish, 1760-1770, Soft-paste porcelain, Gift of Miss Mabel Molson,
1925.Dp.7. 2. ENGLAND, BRISTOL, Patch Box, 18th c., Enamel on copper, brass, iron, Gift of Mrs. C.W. Trenholme,
1917.De.1. 3. Rockingham Factory, Swinton, England, 1745-1842, Pastille Burner, 1825-1840, Bone porcelain, Gift of Margaret
Fountaine Brown, 1934.Dp.85a-b. 4. VENICE, Flask, About 1860, Blown glass, brass, Gift of James Morgan, 1917.Dg.9. 5.
ITALY, Armoire, About 1535-1600, Walnut, secondary woods, bronze, iron, Gift of Robert Ferretti di Castelferretto, 1998.45.118. 6. GERMANY ?, Sleigh, 1720-1750, Painted and gilded wood, velvet, iron, Gift of Canadian Pacific Railway, 1949.50.Df.6.


A great gift: the Liliane and David M. Stewart collection

In January 2000, thanks to Mrs. Liliane M. Stewarts
generosity and to the initiative of its director Luc dIbervilleMoreau, the $15-million collection of the Montreal Museum
of Decorative Arts was accessioned by the Museum. This was
one of the most valuable gifts ever received by a Canadian
museum.
Liliane and David M. Stewart had always had a passion for
fine objects. Mrs. Liliane Stewart loved materials, colours,
and modern technologies and skills. She assembled a
collection of modern and contemporary decorative art
consisting of mass-produced items as well as limited-edition
ones and unique pieces illustrating contemporary crafts.
In 1979 the couple also opened the first Canadian museum
devoted exclusively to the decorative arts, in the Chteau
Dufresne in Montreal. This museum initially focused on
objects from Scandinavia and the United States, which
dominated the international design scene in the mid-twentieth
century, and then on Italy, Japan, and Germany. The museum
thus possessed pieces by the great contemporary designers,
including Ettore Sottsass, Gaetano Pesce, Charles Eames, Eva
Zeisel, Frank O. Gehry, Karim Rashid, and Arne Jacobsen.

In 1997, because of the restricted space of the Chteau Dufresne and its location outside the
downtown core, the Museum of Decorative Arts was invited to move into the MMFAs
Jean-Nol Desmarais Pavilion, in what is now the StudiO. Liliane M. Stewart commissioned
the world-renowned architect Frank O. Gehry to fit up the space allotted to the collection.
Three years later, in 2001, Mrs. Stewart donated the entire collection to the Museum. It is
now reinstalled in the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion, which was renamed in honour
of its generous benefactors.
Thus the five thousand objects by twentieth-century designers, added to the Museums
existing collection of traditional decorative arts, complete the undertaking launched a
century ago by Cleveland Morgan. These two collections tell the story of the decorative arts
and design in a continuous chronology from ancient times to the present day.
In 2007, demonstrating her extraordinary generosity once again, Mrs. Stewart gave the
Museum a group of over 900 examples of American industrial design. This collection had
been acquired through a donation by the American collector Eric Brill to the Liliane and
David M. Stewart Programme for Modern Design.

Illustrations: 1. Roseline Delisle, Rimouski 1952 - Santa Monica, California, 2003, "Quadruple 7 Paratonnerre" Jar, 1989, Unglazed porcelain, slip, Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, anonymous gift, D96.154.1a-d. 2.
Alessandro Mendini, Born in Milan in 1931, Poltrona di Proust, [Proust's Armchair], From the series "Bau-haus", 1978 (example of 2001), Painted wood and fabric, polyurethane foam, passementerie, Painting: Claudia Mendini,
Produced by Atelier Mendini, Milan, Purchase, the Museum Campaign 1988-1993 Fund, 2005.88. 3. Vicke Lindstrand, Gteborg, Sweden, 1904 Smland, Sweden, 1983, Vase (model LH 1181), About 1953, Blown glass, Produced
by Kosta Glasbruk, Orrefors, Sweden, Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, gift of the American Friends of Canada through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. I. Wistar Morris III, D88.196.1. 4. Carlo Mollino, Turin 1905 Turin
1973, "Arabesco" Table, 1950, Maple-faced plywood, glass, brass, Produced by Apelli e Varesio, Turin, Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, D88.128.1a-c. 5. Bruno Martinazzi, Born in Turin in 1923, "Goldfinger" Bracelet,
1969, Yellow and white gold, 3/12, Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, D93.203.1. 6. Gianni Ruffi, Born in Pistoia, Italy, in 1938, "La Cova" Sofa, 1973, Sofa: polyurethane foam, wool and cotton upholstery, metal, 3 cushions:
polyurethane foam, polyester upholstery, Produced by Poltronova, Montale, Italy, Gift of Joseph Menosky in memory of his wife, Diane, and of Shiva and Shelby, 2010.63.1-4. 7. Christopher Dresser, Glasgow 1834 Mulhouse,
France, 1904, Teapot, About 1879, Silver plate, ebony, Produced by James Dixon & Sons, Sheffield, England, Purchase, Movable Cultural Property grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage under the terms of the Cultural
Property Export and Import Act, the Museum Campaign 1988-1993 and Deirdre Stevenson Funds, 2011.35. 8. George Nelson Associates, "Marshmallow" Sofa, 1954-1955, Painted steel, latex foam, vinyl upholstery, Produced by
Herman Miller Furniture, Zeeland, California, Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, gift of the American Friends of Canada through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. George Nelson, D81.138.1.

A SELECTIVE STROLL THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF

THE CHAIR
List of chairs on display:

Workshop of Franois Gourdeau

Armchair
While in previous centuries the development of styles clearly
followed the periods of history, in the 19th century the decorative
arts deliberately reinterpreted earlier styles. Thus we find historical
styles coexisting: neo-Egyptian, neo-Gothic, neo-baroque, neorococo and neo-classical. In this era when decorative objects were
produced by craftsmen, the furniture industry was flourishing in
late-19th-century Quebec.
This armchair, typical of the Victorian era (1837-1901), was made in the workshop of
Franois Goudreau in Quebec City. It was one of a set of twelve belonging to the notary
and journalist Thophile Levasseur. The structure, with its straight back and the face
carved in the medallion in the upper crosspiece of the back, recalls Renaissance furniture.
The design may have been inspired, in a practice common at the time, from a plate in the
periodical Le garde-meuble ancien et moderne then appearing in Quebec. The carved
figures most often depicted British writers or poets.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Armchair

In the late 19th century, Art Nouveau was at its height in Europe.
Faced with the exuberant decoration of Belgian and French artists,
some designers began to develop more geometrical forms. This was
particularly the case in Scotland, where Mackintosh was the main
proponent of Art Nouveau.
This distinguished figure was an architect who also designed interiors, furniture and
decorative objects. Best known for his furniture some of his pieces are now iconic
Mackintosh was above all an architect. He felt that architecture was the supreme
discipline, the only domain to encompass all the arts.
This armchair was designed at the start of his career, when he was influenced by the
Glasgow School of Arts, where students were encouraged to pursue their own styles. The
chairs were created to furnish the billiards rooms and smoking-rooms of Kate Cranstons
tea room in 1898-1899, and launched Mackintoshs career as a furniture designer.

Neo-classicism

Workshop of Franois Gourdeau, Armchair
The Victorian style

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Armchair
Art Nouveau
1

Josef Hoffmann, "Sitzmaschine" Reclining Armchair

Art Deco

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, "Red-Blue" Chair

Modernism

Harry Bertoia, "Diamond" Armchair

Post-modernism

Verner Panton, Chair (model PA 100)
Note: We have chosen to focus on a selection of chairs to
provide a sample group of objects from the collection. This
choice was guided by the novel idea of linking the tour to the
pathway formed by the red ribbon linking the chairs. The idea
was not to limit the diversity of the collection to chairs, but
rather to illustrate it by way of the chair.
It exemplifies his earliest designs, in which the simplicity of
shape and material conformed to the ideals of the English Arts
and Crafts movement. Mackintosh was very aware of balance
in the composition of the lines and shapes of his furniture. It
was this approach that gave his pieces their architectural
dimension and presence.
Illustrations: 1. Workshop of Franois Gourdeau, Active in Quebec City, 1864-1916,
Armchair, About l870, Varnished walnut, upholstery, Gift of the Succession J.A. DeSve,
1986.Df.2. 2. Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Glasgow 1868 - London 1928, Armchair, 18981899, Oak, Made by Francis Smith & Son, Glasgow, Purchase, gift of Peter and Grier Cundill
in memory of their mother, Mrs. Ruth Cundill, Movable Cultural Property grant from the
Department of Canadian Heritage under the terms of the Cultural Property Export and Import
Act, and Alain Laferrire Fund, 2007.64.

Josef Hoffmann
"Sitzmaschine"
Reclining Armchair

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld

"Red-Blue" Chair
The designs for architecture and furniture
launched by Rietveld during the 1920s and
1930s became torchbearers for
modernism. This chair, his most famous
work, is a classic of 20th -century design
in its simplicity.

In its radical simplicity and

straightforward use of materials,
this armchair anticipates the
revolutionary chair designs of the
1930s.

Trained as an architect, Hoffmann taught at the Vienna School of

Applied Arts, and was closely associated with the Vienna Secession,
founded in 1897. Together with Koloman Moser he founded the Wiener
Werksttte, arts and crafts workshops aimed at raising the standards of
design and combining the talents of architects, artists and designers to
work towards the total work of art. Hoffmann was inspired by the
creations of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and C.R. Ashbee. His impact
on the world of architecture can be measured by his realizations, which
include the Purkersdorf Sanatorium in Vienna and the Stoclet Palace in
Brussels.
This reclining chair is a perfect example of modern design.
Manufactured by Jacob & Josef Kohn, a firm renowned for its
bentwood furniture, it was first exhibited at the Vienna Kunstschau in
1908. Its design, based on the basic geometric shapes of rectangle,
square and sphere, is easily mass-produced and assembled. The strongly
accentuated backwards curve of the armrests, each of which is
composed of a single piece of wood, shows Hoffmanns complete
mastery of the bentwood technique. In this Sitzmaschine or machine
for sitting, all the nuts and screws are visible. This creation
demonstrates both in its design and in its name, the accent is on
function and technology.

The Dutch architect and designer G. T. Rietveld is known for his association
with the De Stijl group. The designs for architecture and furniture the produced
in the 1920s and 1930s became torchbearers for modernism. His oeuvre, with its
spatial and technical innovations, had a profound influence on his
contemporaries and on the designers of the 20th century.
After beginning as an apprentice in his fathers furniture workshop from 1899 to
1906, Rietveld worked as a draughtsman for a jeweller. He set up as an
independent cabinet maker in Utrecht from 1911 to 1919 while studying
architecture. Throughout his career he continued to design buildings, interiors
and furniture.
Believing in the principle that art should be within everyones grasp, he
manufactured most of his furniture with inexpensive wood products readily
available on the market.
Rietveld, a member of De Stijl from 1919 to 1931, incorporated the groups
defining principles in his three-dimensional works the use of right angles and
primary colours. His Red-Blue Chair is the finest example of his production at
that time, and his most famous work. The structure of the chair in completely
visible like a skeleton, with no part hidden. The space is not enclosed by the
form but filtered through the structure.

Illustrations: 1. Josef Hoffmann, Pirnitz, Moravia, 1870 - Vienna 1956, "Sitzmaschine" Reclining Armchair, About 1908, Beechwood, laminated wood, Produced by Jacob & Josef Kohn, Vienna, Purchase, Deutsche
Bank Fund, 2002.51.1-2. 2. Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Utrecht 1888 - Utrecht 1964, "Red-Blue" Chair, 1918 (example 1960s), Wood, Executed by Gerard van de Groenekan, De Bilt, Netherlands, Purchase, the Montreal
Museum of Fine Arts' Volunteer Association Fund, 2003.38.

Harry Bertoia
"Diamond" Armchair

Bertoias brief foray into the

world of furniture design left us
one of the most memorable
modern chairs, outstanding in the
clarity of its design.

In 1930 the Italian-born architect, sculptor and designer Harry Bertoia

moved to Detroit, where he studied at the art school of the Detroit Society
of Arts and Crafts and the Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 1943 he joined
the studio of Charles and Ray Eames, where he made jewellery. Hired by
Knoll Associates in 1950, he established a workshop where he designed
metalwork furniture for the company. As an architect, Bertoia made his
name in 1954 with a design for the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. in
New York. This was a welded steel screen composed of sloping plates of
copper, nickel and brass, which won him the Architectural League of New
Yorks gold medal.
Chairs are sometimes described as if they were sculptures, forgetting that
design objects have less of an artistic purpose than a functional one.
However, Bertoias chairs were indeed created as truly functional
sculptures. It was after 1952, when he was working for Knoll Associates,
that he made the Diamond chair, using metallic lattice work. Thereafter he
made all his new furniture in welded steel wire, designed as transparent
shapes floating in space, a lattice of motifs composed of small diamond
shapes inside one larger one.
The visual transparency that characterizes Bertoias sculptures chimes with
his conviction that furniture should remain as simple as possible. Thus the
combination of slender metal rods and a surface comprised of one volume
allows his furniture, like his sculptures, to float and communicate with their
surroundings. With his chairs the geometry becomes expressive, what he
describes as an organic principle resembling a cellular structure. On the
other hand, the relationship of the seat to the base does not seem organic.
Bertoia did not consider this a problem, claiming that one had to distinguish
the structure of the chair from the seat on the basis of clarity.

Verner Panton
Chair (model PA
100)

The designers and manufacturers of the 20th century dreamed of massproducing a chair made of a single piece requiring no assembly. This
became possible after World War II when synthetic materials like PVC,
ABS plastic, vinyl, acrylic and polyurethane foam, first developed by the
aviation industry, began to be used for domestic purposes.
The first single-form chair to be mass-produced came about as a result of a
partnership between the Danish designer Verner Panton and the Vitra
Company of Switzerland. Panton, one of the most multi-talented of
contemporary industrial designers, created a wide range of products
including furniture, lighting fixtures and textiles.
He was especially known as a designer of chairs, and tirelessly explored the
possibilities of creating single-form chairs. After he presented his prototype
in 1960, it took him another eight years to find the right plastic for making a
single-form stackable model sufficiently curved to leave enough room for
the sitters legs.
Much research was also necessary to obtain the lively colours and smooth,
shiny finish. The choice of materials required the introduction of varying
thicknesses so as to produce a sturdy, durable chair able to stand up to
outdoor use over a long period.

The stackable, single-form injection-moulded

plastic chair is still Pantons most important
creation in the field of contemporary design.

Illustrations: 1. Harry Bertoia, San Lorenzo, Italy, 1915 - Bally, Pennsylvania, 1978, "Diamond" Armchair, 1952, Steel, plastic, Produced by Knoll International, New York, Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, by
exchange, D98.122.1. 2. Verner Panton, Gamtofte, Denmark, 1926 Kolding, Denmark, 1998, Chair (model PA 100), 1960-1967 (example of 1974), Luran-S thermoplastic, Produced by Vitra, Weil am Rhein, Germany,
for Herman Miller International, Zeeland, Michigan, Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, gift of Herman Miller Furniture Co., D83.136.1.