"Michel Dufet, Architecte Décorateur" by Florence Camard — 1988 (book)

The definitive monograph on Michel Dufet (1888–1985), one of the pivotal figures of French Art Deco design, written by noted decorative arts historian Florence Camard — also the author of the standard references on Ruhlmann. Dufet trained in painting and architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and in 1913 founded his first design firm, MAM (Mobilier Artistique Moderne), producing furniture, wallpaper, fabric, and lighting under a modernist ethos.

Over a career spanning the 1910s through the 1950s, Dufet collaborated with major cultural figures — including Paul Claudel, André Gide, Marcel Proust, and Gabriel Fauré on the revue Feuillets d'Art — and exhibited regularly at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs and Salon d'Automne. He went on to design interiors for the ocean liners Île-de-France and Normandie, luxury boutiques, private apartments, and major commissions including work for the Compagnie Asturienne des Mines and Maréchal Lyautey for the 1931 Exposition Coloniale.

This richly illustrated volume traces Dufet's full career chronologically, decade by decade, with period photographs of interiors and furniture, original design sketches and gouaches, Salon installation views, and detailed period commentary drawn from contemporary design journals such as Le Décor d'Aujourd'hui and L'Art Vivant. It remains an essential reference for collectors and scholars of French Art Deco furniture and interior design, frequently cited in provenance and bibliography entries for authenticated Dufet pieces at auction and in gallery listings.

Contents include: Furniture and interior commissions from MAM, Le Sylve/Le Bûcheron, and Dufet's later independent practice; ocean liner and colonial exposition work; Dufet's writings and critical commentary on contemporaries including Ruhlmann, Chareau, and Le Corbusier.

Reference value: Standard bibliographic reference for Michel Dufet furniture and interiors; frequently cited by galleries and auction houses in cataloguing authenticated works.