“Decorative art, if it has any value, is only worthy insofar as it faithfully reflects its time, its trends, its concerns”

Born in 1888, Michel Dufet grew up in a family of engineers and industrialists. Although his passion led him toward painting, he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1907 to study architecture, a more acceptable compromise for his parents. His meeting with the antique dealer Edmond Vasset led to a partnership where they established "Meubles Artistiques Modernes" (MAM), a company that produced and exhibited their creations in a shop near the Opera. Michel Dufet's modern style coexisted with more classical styles, and he designed utilitarian objects reflecting the lifestyle of his time.

Mobilized for war in August 1914 and stationed at the Fort of Billancourt, Dufet continued his creative activity by designing furniture during his leave. He also designed several apartments during this period. Until 1922, he offered furniture, accessories, lighting, cushions, rugs, wallpaper, and various trinkets to targeted at a female clientele. He introduced bold colors into the home’s aesthetic, inspired by the principles of Cubism.

After selling MAM to decorator P.A. Dumas, Dufet left the company and went to Brazil in 1923 to manage a major decoration company. Returning to Paris in 1924, he took over the magazine Théâtre et Comoedia Illustré. In 1925, the large Parisian furniture store Au Bucheron opened a modern department, obtaining a few official orders and an honorary diploma at the Paris Exposition of 1925. It was here that the chair now produced by ECART first appeared. This chair was originally part of a study room designed by Dufet for Le Bûcheron, intended for the CEO of La Tribune des Nations. This workspace was specifically designed to organize documents, collections of newspapers, maps, files, and books, in an atmosphere conducive to work. The set, made of varnished light oak, included motorized furniture controlled by the simple push of a button. To inspire creativity, Dufet painted the ceiling with soft, indistinct shapes rising toward the clouds.

In 1927, Dufet became the artistic director of the art gallery Le Sylve, where artworks, artistic objects, and furniture collections were exhibited simultaneously. He designed functional sets, standard furniture intended for mass production, which were acclaimed at exhibitions between 1928 and 1938. Driven by a desire to bridge the gap between utilitarian arts and fine arts, he also created luxury furniture sets for ocean liners such as the Ile de France, the Foch, and the Normandie.

Dufet made a sensation in 1929 at the Salon d’Automne, presenting a polished zinc desk commissioned by the Asturian Mining Company. He envisioned designs with "system" furniture that participated in the "tele-mechanization of human equipment," adhering to an industrial logic. For the CEO of La Tribune des Nations, he designed motorized furniture equipped with remote
controls, as well as the famous Sandow chair. 

In 1933, Dufet founded Le Décor d’Aujourd’hui, a magazine that, until 1957, offered practical solutions with significant attention given to industrialists and young creators. Appointed State Architect in 1939, he helped prepare for the New York Exhibition. After the war, he no longer designed furniture, except for one highly functional model presented at the 1947 Exhibition, aimed at small housing but which was never produced.

 In 1947, he married Rhodia, the daughter of the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, and dedicated much of his time to preserving the artist’s work. Together, they managed the Bourdelle Museum, which he also renovated and expanded.

Michel Dufet never lost his passion for painting. He passed away in 1985.