Career in furniture design
In the late 1920s, McArthur began his career as an industrial designer by creating furniture for the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, which was designed by his brother Albert Chase McArthur.[7]
After the Wall Street crash of 1929, the Arizona Biltmore failed, and McArthur moved to Los Angeles, California to create a furniture fabrication company.[8] In the early 1930s, aluminum became a popular industrial design material, and McArthur developed a specialization in designing and making aluminum tubular furniture, including chairs, tables, sofas, lamps, and ashtrays.
McArthur soon began to receive commissions from prominent architects. Paul R. Williams commissioned McArthur to design 30 pieces of aluminum furniture for the Cord family who owned the Cord automobile company.[9] He was also commissioned to make aluminum furniture for Rudolph Schindler's design for Sardi's restaurant location in Los Angeles.[9]
So too, McArthur's aluminum furniture was popular with Hollywood stars and producers of the 1930s. His clients included Jack L. Warner, Marlene Dietrich, Fredric March, and Clark Gable.[10]
In 1932, McArthur left Los Angeles and established the Warren McArthur Corp. in Rome, New York.[11] He also set up a sales office and showroom in New York City at 1 Park Avenue in 1933.[12]
McArthur's success continued to grow and his furniture "graced the most sophisticated homes, stores and offices in the country."[13] His commissions included Union Pacific Railroad cars, Cunard passenger waiting lounges, Chrysler executive offices, and Marshall Field's department store hair salons.[5] In 1934, Warren McArthur's furniture was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Exhibition of Contemporary American Industrial Art.[14]
During 1937, the Warren McArthur Corp. purchased and moved to a 40,000 square feet factory in Bantam, Connecticut.[15] In 1940, the Virginia State Library purchased McArthur aluminum furniture for its new art deco building, currently the Patrick Henry Building, which remained in the building until the library moved to a new location in 1997.[16] In 1941, McArthur designed furniture for the SS Milwaukee Clipper, which still contains the original McArthur furniture.[17]
