Mobilier D’urgence Type v.150, Sideboard by Rene Gabriel, Circa 1950, France

DESCRIPTION: Mobilier D’urgence Type v.150, Sideboard by Rene Gabriel, Circa 1950, France.    Made of Oak.    The ‘Mobilier d’urgence type v.150’ is a cabinet designed by French designer René Gabriel, part of a series of emergency furniture created as part of the reconstruction program for the post-WWII city of Le Havre.     The model name is ‘type v.150’.

CONDITION: Good condition. Wear consistent with age and use.

DIMENSIONS: Height: 97cm (38in) Width: 154cm (61in) Depth: 47cm (18.5in)

ABOUT THE DESIGNER: René Gabriel was a decorative artist and designer born in Maison Alfort, Paris, who designed the Chambre de Jeune Fille for the International Exhibition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in 1925 for the International Ambassade de Française. He also devoted himself to designing wallpaper with block prints of flowers, landscapes and abstract paintings, and after the Second World War, Auguste Perret commissioned him to design furniture for Le Havre, where he became a major influence. René Gabriel had a logical and sophisticated style that inspired many new designers. In his honour, the René Gabriel Prize, dedicated to modern design, was created in 1951, and has been awarded to a number of well-known designers.

ABOUT THE STYLE: Mid-Century Modern (MCM) is a design movement in interior, product, graphic design, architecture, and urban development that was popular from roughly 1945 to 1969, during the post–World War II period. The term was used descriptively as early as the mid-1950s and was defined as a design movement by Cara Greenberg in her 1984 book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s. It is now recognized by scholars and museums worldwide as a significant design movement. The MCM design aesthetic is modern in style and construction, aligned with the Modernist movement of the period. It is typically characterized by clean, simple lines and honest use of materials, and it generally does not include decorative embellishments.