Jean- Michel Frank
1895 – 1941
Born in Paris in 1895 to the well-known and wealthy Frank family he was distantly related to the world famous diarist Anne Frank. Initially interested in the practise of Law, Frank began his studies in this field, but this was abandoned and led the way to a period of travel.
Now settled, Frank’s flair for furniture design with his clean and sleek pieces really began to take off and it was during the 1930’s that one of the most famous pieces of Frank’s work evolved in a collaboration with students at the Paris Atelier. The Parsons table was designed with the modernist style in its full glory. Frank opened his own shop with his decorator Adolphe Chanaux , this partnership was a real success. They famously worked with the Rockefellers and designed Nelson Rockefeller's lavish and opulent Fifth Avenue apartment in New York as well as working for the Guerlains. Frank also designed for Hermes in his short but successful career. At the start of WW2, Frank left France and went to Argentina where he become the Artistic Director of Comte and worked for the Born family residence which was considered one of his most impressive triumphs.
Frank has many personal tragedies over his short lifetime, his older brothers both killed in WW1, his father devastated with grief committed suicide and his mother later admitted to an asylum. The biggest tragedy was his own, his depression came to a point where he could no longer continue and he committed suicide whilst in New York in 1941. A sad end for such a wonderful and visionary talent, his work now the inspiration for many designers. Frank’s pieces are in high demand to this day.
