Few 20th-century designers had influential furniture that regularly flew at 30,000 feet, but Warren McArthur did. His work on seating for military aircraft came near the end of his career, following decades of Machine Age furniture shaped from tubular forms and made of steel, chrome and aluminum.
Warren McArthur Jr. graduated with an engineering degree from Cornell University in 1908. After moving to Los Angeles in 1929, he founded the Warren McArthur Corporation a year later. His initial output of sleek, metal designs were popular in offices and hotels.
At the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, Americans witnessed a new “Streamlined America” campaign, which included everyday furniture made from metal, opening the door for McArthur and other Machine Age designers to a residential audience. With this increase in demand for metal furniture, the Warren McArthur Corporation relocated to Rome, New York, and sold their aluminum furnishings out of a showroom on Park Avenue in New York City.
Actors Marlene Dietrich, Fredric March and Clark Gable were among his A-list clientele. McArthur also produced furniture for the dining cars on the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chrysler Headquarters. His designs were featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 1934 exhibition “Contemporary American Industrial Art.”
During World War II, McArthur pivoted production after a ban on the private use of aluminum. McArthur made an estimated three-quarters of all American military aircraft seating, including adjustable seats for the Beechcraft C-45 and revolving seats for navigators aboard the Grumman HU-16 Albatross.
Warren McArthur closed his business in 1948. He died in 1961.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Warren McArthur armchairs, tables and other seating.
Few 20th-century designers had influential furniture that regularly flew at 30,000 feet, but Warren McArthur did. His work — and the work of his company, the Warren McArthur Corporation — on seating for military aircraft came near the end of his career, following decades of Machine Age furniture shaped from tubular forms and made of steel, chrome and aluminum.
Warren McArthur Jr. graduated with an engineering degree from Cornell University in 1908. After moving to Los Angeles in 1929, he founded the Warren McArthur Corporation a year later. His initial output of sleek, metal designs were popular in offices and hotels.
At the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, Americans witnessed a new “Streamlined America” campaign, which included everyday furniture made from metal, opening the door for McArthur and other Machine Age designers to a residential audience. With this increase in demand for metal furniture, the Warren McArthur Corporation relocated to Rome, New York, and sold their aluminum furnishings out of a showroom on Park Avenue in New York City.
Actors Marlene Dietrich, Fredric March and Clark Gable were among his A-list clientele. McArthur also produced furniture for the dining cars on the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chrysler Headquarters. His designs were featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 1934 exhibition “Contemporary American Industrial Art.”
During World War II, McArthur pivoted production after a ban on the private use of aluminum. McArthur made an estimated three-quarters of all American military aircraft seating, including adjustable seats for the Beechcraft C-45 and revolving seats for navigators aboard the Grumman HU-16 Albatross.
Warren McArthur closed his business in 1948. He died in 1961.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Warren McArthur armchairs, tables and other seating.
Warren McArthur Low Lounge Version of Chair Model 1132 ASU Rome, NY 1936
By Warren McArthur Corporation, Warren McArthur
Located in Camden, ME
An unusual Warren McArthur lounge chair, a low version of Warren McArthur's standard Style No. 1132ASU, exemplifies the innovative engineering and modernist elegance that defined McA...
Aluminum
Warren McArthur Aluminium Armchair Style No 1170 AU, circa 1939
By Warren McArthur Corporation, Warren McArthur
Located in Camden, ME
A Warren McArthur aluminium armchair style no 1170 AU in excellent vintage condition. This chair is a classic example of Warren's mastery of tube bending. The elongated S of the b...
Aluminum
Early Warren McArthur Reclining Shampoo Chair, Custom Wood-Base Model, 1930s
By Warren McArthur Corporation, Warren McArthur
Located in Camden, ME
This exceptionally rare reclining shampoo chair was created by Warren McArthur, confirmed through its patented tubular-aluminum construction and the surviving shadow remnant of the o...
Aluminum, Steel
Warren McArthur Modified Revolving Stool Aircraft Seat 1947/2024
By Warren McArthur Corporation, Warren McArthur
Located in Camden, ME
.A rotating stool made from a Warren McArthur designed aircraft navigational stool created in 1947 for Grumman Aircraft Corporation. The Grumman Albatross SA-16 was deve...
Metal, Aluminum, Steel
Warren McArthur Vanity Stool Style No. 1131, circa 1936
By Warren McArthur, Warren McArthur Corporation
Located in Camden, ME
Warren McArthur aluminum vanity stool from the mid- 1930s. The stool is worn and has a separation crack on the inside edge of one of the floor tube. Early McArthur is made from weld...
Aluminum
Warren McArthur Set of Four Webbed Lounge Chairs Style No. 612, circa 1938
By Warren McArthur
Located in Camden, ME
Warren McArthur rare suite of four webbed anodized aluminum armchairs from a Long Island New York estate. Light weight anodized aluminum frames with original webbing distinguish these lounges. This design was known as the tennis chair...
Aluminum
