1867 – 1942 · architecture, cast iron, furniture
Hector Guimard
Whiplash cast-iron tendrils and green enamelled masses resolving into fan-shaped canopies over symmetrical capital-letter signage.
The record
Born in Lyon on 10 March 1867 and trained in Paris, Guimard absorbed Belgian Art Nouveau at Victor Horta's Hôtel Tassel before winning the 1899 Paris façade competition with Castel Béranger.
As designer of the Paris Métropolitain entrances from 1900, he put Art Nouveau in front of every Parisian and exported cast-iron kits of his entrances abroad.
His style fell from favour after 1905, and he emigrated to New York in 1938, dying there on 20 May 1942.
Whiplash cast-iron tendrils and green enamelled masses resolving into fan-shaped canopies over symmetrical capital-letter signage.