Gabriel Argy-Rousseau

From the beginning, floral elements as well as motifs from the Greek classical period were at the center of his work. At his first exhibition in 1914, the Exposition des Artistes Francais, the public and critics reacted very positively, and even after the First World War Argy-Rousseau was able to seamlessly continue his initial successes. Vases, bowls and lamp bases in complexly designed color schemes emerged from his workshop. His meeting with Parisian gallery owner Gustave Moser-Millot in 1921 further fueled the expansion of his business. In December of that year, they founded the 'Société Anonyme de Pâte de Verre' with Moser-Millet as the principal shareholder, while Argy-Roussea served as managing director and artistic director. Argy-Rousseau entered into an exclusive and lucrative business relationship with Marcel Franck, a manufacturer of powder compacts and perfume diffusers. By the mid-1920s, Maison Argy-Rousseau was selling its handcrafted and highly decorative objects all over the world, from Europe to North Africa to Latin America.

Throughout his life, Gabriel Argy Rousseau' was a tireless inventor, not only as an artist. During the First World War he had filed numerous patents. In 1927, he was awarded a prize by the Société d'Encouragement au Progrès for his invention of 'instant color photography'.

As a result of the world economic crisis, the company was closed down in 1931 at the instigation of Moser-Millot. Argy Rousseau, however, managed to buy some of the company's material, thus venturing a new beginning with his own studio in Paris. Despite a fine repertoire of objects, however, he was unable to match his successes of the 1920s.

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