Artist Biographies

Louis-Francois Cartier

(1819-1904)

Founded in Paris in 1847, by Louis-Francois Cartier (1819-1904), the firm known as Cartier quickly became recognized for its exemplary workmanship and taste. Louis-Francoise Cartier began his esteemed career by taking over the workshop of his master Adolphe Picard, located at 29 rue Montorgueil in Paris. He expanded the premises, and after a troubled period Paris began to prosper. continue >>

Emile Gallé

(May 8, 1846 - September 23, 1904)

Emile Gallé was the son of Charles Gallé, a proprietor of a ceramic and glassware shop in Nancy who employed ceramicists and decorators to produce his own line of faience. The young Emile Gallé began to learn the skills of the craftsman, painting objects and helping to cut and enamel the glassware. After studying painting and design both continue >>

Louis Majorelle

(September 26, 1859 - January 15, 1926)

Louis Majorelle was born in Toul, France, to a furniture and ceramics merchant in Nancy. There he spent his free time in his father's workshop where he developed his own artistic sense at an early age. By the time he was eleven, he had already produced his first work - a piece of sculpture - for sale.continue >>

Louis Comfort Tiffany

(February 18, 1848 - January 17, 1933)

Born in New York City, Louis Comfort Tiffany was the eldest son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, who had founded Tiffany & Co in 1837. Raised in an atmosphere of tremendous wealth and expensive taste, Tiffany was a natural aesthete, and opted against joining his father's company in favor of studying the fine arts. continue >>

Van Cleef & Arpels

In 1896, Esther Arpels, the daughter of Salomon Arpels, a dealer in precious stones, married Alfred Van Cleef, whose family were sheet merchants living in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. continue >>