Bed and Bedcover, 1929-30, Joseph Urban (American, b. Austria, 1872-1933), designer, Mallin Furniture Co. (American, 1929-1953), bed manufacturer, polychromed and gilt wood and hand-painted taffeta silk with velvet ribbon and satin trim, Gift of Mrs. Thomas  J. Reis, 1973.767, 1973.768 

Verbal Description

Hello, my name is Amy Dehan. I am the Curator of Decorative Arts and Design; and the curator of Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban. I will be reading the verbal description for the Bed and Bedcover.

Joseph Urban designed the Bed and Bedcover from 1929-30. He was an American who was born in Austria in 1872. He died in 1933. The bed was manufactured by the Mallin Furniture Company, an American company open from 1929 to 1953. The bed is polychromed and gilt wood, and the bedcover is hand-painted taffeta silk with velvet ribbon and satin trim. The Bed and the Bedcover were a gift from Mrs. Thomas J. Reis. The accession numbers are 1973.767 and 1973.768

The Bed has a curved, upholstered, chartreuse green headboard and matching green Bedcover with trailing floral decorations on its skirt and black corseting at its corners. 

Label Copy

Hello, my name is Amy Dehan. I am the Curator of Decorative Arts and Design; and the curator of Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban. I will be reading the label for the Bed and Bedcover.

Joseph Urban designed the Bed and Bedcover from 1929-30. He was an American who was born in Austria in 1872. He died in 1933. The bed was manufactured by the Mallin Furniture Company, an American company open from 1929 to 1953. The bed is polychromed and gilt wood, and the bedcover is hand-painted taffeta silk with velvet ribbon and satin trim. The Bed and the Bedcover were a gift from Mrs. Thomas J. Reis. The accession numbers are 1973.767 and 1973.768

Positioned on a raised platform, the bed and bedcover are an intentional focal point in Urban’s design. The rolling bell curve of the bed’s headboard appeared across the designer’s work for years, reoccurring, for instance, in the silhouettes of settees that he designed for opera sets and his Wiener Werkstätte of America showroom.  

The green iridescent silk taffeta bedcover is hand-painted with cascades of delicate flowering vines but corseted at the corners with sultry black velvet ribbon. This bold contrast reflects the transitional age of Elaine Wormser, who stood at the crossroads of adolescence—no longer a child and not yet an adult. 

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