Warren McArthur
December 26, 2007 
Designer We Love: Warren McArthur Jr.
Quotable Quote: ". . . the reward of something rare and special—like a vintage Warren McArthur chair" (Michael Webb, Architectural Digest, April 2001)
Background
Born in 1885 and grew up in Chicago, IL
Well-to-do upbringing, with dad hiring Frank Lloyd Wright to design their family home in 1892 (one of Wright's earliest commissions, before he struck out on his own)
Studied mechanical engineering and graduated from Cornell in 1908
Designed lamps from 1911 to 1914 for a lantern company that his father headed up sales for; had various jobs and lots of support from his father to design and produce patents (had 10 patented lamp designs)
Moved to Phoenix, AZ to work with his brother Charles
Started 12 car dealerships and developed an adapter for car radiators to prevent overheating in desert climate
He and Charles created the "Wonder Bus," considered an early recreational vehicle, to promote tourism and visiting National Parks via the new U.S. highway system
Warren and Charles started the first AZ radio station, founded the Arizona Museum, and worked on the Arizona Biltmore resort which was designed by Arthur, their older brother
With his father's financial backing, made a 1929 move to LA to start a metal furniture business, with focus on aluminum and special ways to join standard metal pieces together
Developed a process to make aluminum hard, impossible to tarnish -- backed by a lifetime guarantee
Developed a coloring process, adding color into the porous aluminum, then sealing it in as part of the metal versus an outer coating (see his Rainbow Chair, photo just below)
Warren McArthur Corporation's curvy Art Deco furniture became a huge hit with film stars, and waves of furniture showed up in movies, in theaters, hotels, and residential design projects
His refined metal curves helped popularize the streamlining and Moderne style
Designed bomber aircraft seating during World War II
Beset with financial woes after his father died, McArthur moved to Rome, New York in 1933 to manufacture his lines, with over 600 exclusive designs
His company closed its doors in 1948 and McArthur died in 1961
What We Love
We're intrigued by his father's constant financial support of his son's early career pursuits, and wish all parents were as supportive of their children's artistic and design sensibilities and projects
His pioneering spirit and devotion to technology and design innovation -- from a mechanical engineering background and fascination with the car (his family was one of the first to own a car in Chicago), he kept innovating away
McArthur's sense of color, producing cool tones of aluminum with great names like Grenadine, Alice Blue, and Golf Green, then pairing them with upholstered fabrics that featured contrasting colors like red and canary yellow or red and ebony
His design chic defined glamorous Hollywood of the 1930s
Thank this man for the outdoors chaise lounge, which he called "dripping chairs that would stand the test of sun and rain"
We love his folding chairs!
Warren McArthur Sampler
Photo Credits: Antiques and the Arts, DesignGallery, Carnegie Museum of Art, Washington Post, Reside, Rago Arts, Philips de Pury & Co., artnet
Design2Share
Design2Share marks the passing of Warren McArthur III in late April 2008. McArthur's family is steeped in national design history -- and long controversies, and sexy chairs. In turn-of-the-century Chicagoland McArthur's grandfather (Warren I) commissioned one of Frank Lloyd Wright's illicit "bootleg" houses; his three sons (Albert, Charles, and Warren II) grew up in that experimental atmosphere, and moved to Phoenix Arizona separately in the 1910s and 1920s. Albert worked for Wright for awhile, and is best known for his disputed credit for the 1929 Arizona Biltmore, a bit of confusion that Warren III took it upon himself to correct.
But that's not the good part. Bankrolled by their father, Warren and Charles were very busy in early Phoenix. They developed the Biltmore as a resort, founded the city's first radio station and a dozen automobile dealerships, redesigned automobiles for desert conditions, and invented the "Wonderbus." And Warren II, to save money furnishing his father's Phoenix vacation home, invented tubular metal furniture here in 1924, two years before Mart Stam and Marcel Breuer and Mies began experimenting with it in 1926. Just dig that idea for a moment. And that furniture went into the Biltmore.
The Depression sent Warren II to southern California, where his burnished-aluminum, steel-stiffened, ridiculously glamorous furniture became the perfect match for the Hollywood Moderne star-houses from architects like Rudolph Schindler and Paul Williams. Clark Gable sat here. Then from 1993 to 1948 Warren II produced furniture in New York, taking big government contracts during the war for lightweight aircraft seating. Prescient as an industrial designer, Warren II tinkered with the aluminum mix for better surface and durability, and went as far as tinting the metal. But his sense of color and proportion and line are -- well, just take a look. Increasingly known to collectors, if a McArthur chair comes within your reach? Buy it.
Our thanks to Arizona architectural writer extraordinaire Walt Lockley for this obituary piece on Warren III. Visit Walt's website to see the amazing -- and underappreciated -- Biltmore bungalows (see photo above).
Warren McArthur, aluminum, furniture in designer 
Reader Comments (33)
There are lots of interesting facets to Warren McArthur's life and his incredible line of furniture and aircraft seating. I spent a good deal of time interviewing and collecting biographical information on Warren and on his furniture. I don't know what I can add but here is what I know about Namco and the children's scaled chairs. Kate Jordan has probably the most developed child's chair outside of a pair I purchased in Rhode Island that I have seen and I have seen all that are mentioned in various family posts above. Warren liked children and created chairs for those within his family, special clients or employees. The drawings and story like letters that he exchanged with his grand nephew by marriage Tony Tichenor with sketches of child size and adult size objects and a direct simple story line are wonderful. In interviewing 40-50 employees of Warren McArthur I was shown several children's chairs and small tea tables that Warren had made for the kids of his closest confidants at factory in Bantam and I believe there are other examples floating around the community in Rome New York from the 4/5 years that the factory was located there.
In the summer of 1990 I first heard of Warren McArthur traveling to Australia in 1947 to set up production there or going to sell licensing of his designs it wasn't clear. One thing to keep in mind is that Warren McArthur Corporation closed December 31, 1948 so whether initial plans changed with the forced bankruptcy,whether the plans with Namco were put in place, or that Namco purchased a section of the corporation after it was in bankruptcy I am not sure. To bring machinery from Conn. to Australia seems a bit much especially when the sale of assets to Thermix of Greenwich Conn. was in the works. The furniture division with its specialized jigs etc. maybe but in talking with members of the skeleton crew that continued at the factory after its closing at the end of '48 to the re-opening in 1950 there were stories of railroad cars of parts being sent out to a salvage operation on the lake in Cleveland, all the protypes that were kept in a farm house on the property being taken to the dump along with thousands and thousands of engineering drawings but no mention of shipping to Australia.
The interiors of the USS Juanita/Milwaukee Clipper are well documented and I have spent several hours on board both in Indiana and again in Muskegon. The USS United States had some McArthur when the big auctions of the early 90's were held in Virginia Beach but very mundane material I would be interested in seeing interior shots of the SS America.
I would like to clarify some errors in the opening post about Warren which I feel should be noted. Warren McArthur Sr.(father of Charles, Warren and Albert McArthur) passed away on Christmas Eve of 1924 and therefore could not have financed Warren's furniture company in Los Angeles. The fact that Warren Sr.died when he did I believe had a great effect on the shaping and viability of that first great family project the Arizona Biltmore. The numerous stories that I was privileged to have had shared with me by all of the children of the three brothers that I met and interviewed leads me to conclude that Warren Sr. would have reined in some of the excess that lead to this amazing creation and possibly the family fortunes would not have been expended had he still been in charge.
As far as the coating and coloring of Aluminum Warren held the 6th license for anodizing that was issued by Dupont which held the patent for this process. I am not aware of his input into anodizing but he was always striving for a better product he had excellent people around him.
It is historically accurate that in the Bantam Conn. factory during WWII his employees rewrote the book so to speak on how to handle magnesium. There hands on innovations increased the milling speed of magnesium by a factor of 6 which was incredible and brought Dupont with a camera team to the Bantam shop to record what was happening there during WW II. If you can picture men and women working in very close proximity with magnesium and having to worry about cutting it too fast and having a magnesium flash-fire then you can understand why a solution that would allow greater cutting speed with reduced chance of sparking was a tremendous innovation.
I hope this post is helpful I am always interested in learning more about this great American designer and can be contacted at
nicholas.h.brown@gmail.com
In New York City: I am selling a Warren McArthur black-top table (30"sq. x 29" h), along with 4 Warren McArthur chairs (orig. turquoise fabric). Table top needs refinishing, chairs need some cleaning. Otherwise, condition is excellent--no breaks, no dents or dings, no missing parts.
Table: $4000.
Set of 4 chairs: $4000.
Any interest?
JR
HI, I THINK I HAVE A WARREN MCARTHUR BAR, BUT I CAN NOT FIND ANY INFORMATION ON IT. DID WARREN MCARTHUR DESIGN A BAR? IT IS A HALF CIRCLE ALUMINUM BAR WITH 3 SLEVES, ONE IS BAKELITE AND ONE IS BLACK GLASS. ONE I HAD TO REPLACE. IT IS ON RUBBER WHEELS.
THANK YOU
ALINGE
HI
IF ANYONE HAS INFORMATION ON A BAR DESIGNED BY WARREN MCARTHUR PLEASE EMAIL ME AT ALINGE@CENTURYTEL.NET
THANK YOU
ALINGE
Hi folks,
If you have not SOLD THE PAIR OF CHAIRS by McArthur in Australia, please contact me at tooquietkeith@gmail.com
keith
Thank you for a great web site. Fascinating to learn so much about this extraordinary 20th century designer.
I am in Australia and have a Warren McArthur alumninum, grey laminate circular table 24" dia x 30" h. Manufacturer : Namco. For sale - excellent condition.
Thanks, everyone, for making this such a vibrant blog! We love the Warren McArthur furniture and design legacy, and it's thrilling for us to see his fans and family come together online -- from all over the world -- to talk about his life and work. We are humbled and honored to host this exchange. Happy New Year to you all. -- The Editors @ Design2Share
Does anyone know what the preferred cover material is for the wonderful Warren McArthur reclining chaise? What colours did Warren have in his range? Is there a date for it's manufacture?
Come to the facebook Warren Mcarthur group !!
Hi, Warren McArthur II was my great uncle. My grandfather was Charles McArthur.
My mother was Charles and Raima McArthur's daughter, Jane McArthur Roper. This site looks like it has also become a family tree blog! Many of my relatives I hope to meet or email with in the future. Albert McArthur was my other great Uncle. Albert designed and built the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.
I have many articles and photos of all the relatives from the early days. Also, I came across the documents with the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel that Charles negotiated with in order to use the name of "Biltmore". The early Board Members notes,etc. My mother saved lots of stuff!
Manfred McArthur, Albert McArthur's son lives in Hollywood,Ca and he is the most knowledgeable person to contact about his father, Albert and the Arizona Biltmore Hotel. A builder himself, Manfred worked with his father in Los Angeles. He has the original set of hotel plans drawn by Albert McArthur and many photos of the hotel during the building process. I have a copy of the Arizona Architectural Record, July, 1925. No mention of FLW!
Also,I have 2 very large pastel drawings framed in the original 30's style moulding! and 2 McArthur chairs from 1930's. Matching chairs, one with arms and one without. Warren II gave them to my parents as a wedding present. They are very beautiful. Found a photo of one chair in an early catalog of Warren"s furniture. oh, also my mother told me the Radio station in Phonix KFAD are the initials for "can't fool a Dodge"!!
Raima Chalmers
It's been fun discovering this website.... Raima Chalmers
Hi my name is Katelyn and Warren Mcarthur is my great great great grandfather. I am doing a auto biography on him for school!!!!!!!!!! I love learning new things all about him. Its so cool!!!!!!!!!!
Hi buddy, your blog’s design is simple and clean and i like it. Your blog posts are superb. Please keep them coming. Greets!
Great site !
Travelled to NY from Canada to admire Warren McArthur furniture years ago . If you us know where I can buy some webbed lounge chairs it would be greatly appreciated .
thanks don paul