Warren McArthur Armchairs
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.
1930s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Leather
1930s Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Machine Age Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Machine Age Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Steel, Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Bauhaus Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Machine Age Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1940s American Industrial Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Warren McArthur Armchairs
Steel
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Naugahyde, Teak
1930s Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Steel, Metal
Early 18th Century French Regency Antique Warren McArthur Armchairs
Walnut
1980s European Post-Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Late 19th Century Spanish Spanish Colonial Antique Warren McArthur Armchairs
Iron
19th Century American Antique Warren McArthur Armchairs
Mahogany
1930s Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s Brazilian Warren McArthur Armchairs
Leather, Upholstery, Walnut
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Leather, Teak
1960s American Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Machine Age Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Machine Age Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Metal, Aluminum
1930s American Bauhaus Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Stainless Steel
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1940s Industrial Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Machine Age Warren McArthur Armchairs
Aluminum