Piero Fornasetti
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a "Leopardo" chest of drawers, Ateliers Fornasetti, Milan 1950-60's.
Three drawers, curved front, lithographically decorated surfaces, the drawers lined with mahogany, brass knobs and tapering legs, maker's spherical paper label, height 84 cm, length 100 cm, depth 56 cm.
Wear.
Provenance
Frank Butler, Palm Beach, Florida, thence by descent.
Probably earlier in the Collection of his father, Paul Butler (1892-1981), Chicago Illinois.
Paul Butler's family fortune came from papermaking that dated back to the colonial era. Paul Butler was an accomplished horseman, poloplayer and photographer, and served during WW1 with the American expeditionary forces as a cavalry officer and a reconnaissance photographer. After the war he returned to the family business and served as President of Butler Paper Company, from 1930 to 1965, but he soon noticed a business opportunity in private aircrafts. The business expanded after WW2, and soon Butler Aviation opened facilities In Chicago, La Guarida, Palm Beach etc.
Literature
Patrick Mauries, "Fornasetti Designer of Dreams", Thames & Hudson, London, 1991, p 256.
More information
The "Leopard" chest of drawers was designed in 1953 for Fornasetti's own living.
Designer
Piero Fornasetti was an artist, sculptor, interior designer, and engraver from Milan. DUring his career, Fornasetti created a visual language which is immediately recognisable. The artist studied at Brera Art Academy but got expelled for missbehaviours. Fornasetti created more than 11 000 artworks, many with the soap opera star Lina Cavalieris face on. Several reoccurring themes included his interpratations of symbols, such as the sun and time, in black and white. His style is reminicent of Greek and Roman architecture, a time in which he was greatly influenced by.
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