PIERRE PAULIN (1927–2009) DESIGNER & LICENSED BY THE MOBILIER NATIONAL Élysée – Smoking Room, sometimes referred to as GMC 196 (Mobilier National reference number), a model originally designed in [1971] for the smoking room at the Élysée Palace during the presidency of Georges Pompidou Pair of armchairs (backrest poufs); fully padded with foam and upholstered in blue wicker-weave fabric. Curved seats and backrests. Set-back bases, lacquered brown. Early 1970s edition; possibly produced by the A.R.C. (Atelier de Recherche et de Création). Upholstery in poor condition. Height: 66 cm – Length: 87 cm – Depth: 72 cm Public collections: Mobilier National, Paris – Identical models, produced by the A.R.C., are held in this institution’s collections under inventory numbers GMC 196/001/002/003. Related bibliography and exhibitions: - Anne Chapoutot, with a foreword by Yvonne Brunhammer – *Pierre Paulin, a Universe of Forms* – Éditions Du May, Paris, 1992. Identical models reproduced on pages 90–91 and 94–95. - Various authors – National Center for the Visual Arts, The Mobilier National’s Research and Design Studio, 1964–2000: A Plea for Contemporary Furniture – Catalog of the exhibition held at the Galerie nationale de Beauvais (March 15–September 15, 2001), Published by the General Administration of the Mobilier National, Paris, 2001. An identical model is reproduced on page 51 (no. 52). - Myriam Zuber-Cupissol (ed.) – Mobilier National 1964–2004: 40 Years of Creation – Catalog of the exhibition held at the Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris (October 20, 2004 – January 16, 2005); Musée d’Art et d’Industrie, Saint-Étienne (November 6, 2004 – January 10, 2005), Éditions Réunion des musées nationaux & Mobilier national, Paris, 2004. Identical models reproduced on pages 52 and 53 (no. 17). - Catherine Geel (ed.) – Pierre Paulin, Designer – Catalog of the exhibition held at the Musée des Arts Contemporains, Grand-Hornu, Belgium (March 9 – June 22, 2008), Archibooks + Sautereau/Grand Hornu Images, Paris/Grand-Hornu, 2008. Identical models reproduced on pages 122 and 123. - Nadine Descendre – Pierre Paulin: The Man and His Work – Éditions Albin Michel, Paris, 2014. Identical models reproduced on pages 147, 154, and 155. - Cloé Pitiot – Paulin – Catalog of the exhibition held at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (May 11–August 22, 2016), Éditions du Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2016. Identical models reproduced on pages 97 and 149.