French Furniture at its Best

A new exhibition spotlights the glamorous works of Maison Leleu

Maison Leleu, the French design firm founded by Jules Leleu, achieved international fame in the 1920s and ’30s, becoming synonymous with Art Deco at its most refined and luxurious. But the company continued to produce furnishings for decades after World War II, under the direction of Jules’s two sons, André and Jean. A stunning exhibition of furniture and lighting at Manhattan’s Maison Gerard proves that even as the firm adapted to modernity—incorporating materials such as aluminum, glass, steel, and fiberglass into its pieces—it never lost its exquisite sensibility or signature understated elegance. In the new era, function may have dictated form, but it could never banish beauty at Maison Leleu.