Piet Elling (1897-1962)
Small desk from the private interior of Dick Elling
Amsterdam / Utrecht ca. 1933-1934
122 x 61 x 96 cm.
Painted wood and plywood with lino desktop
Small desk from the private interior of Dick Elling.
Dick was the brother of the Dutch architect Piet Elling.
Provenance: directly from the heirs of Dick Elling
This design was executed in a small series with different sizes and different finishings in the late twenties and early thirties.
Originally the desk was painted white, later-on in its history it was repainted by a member of the family,
using the colors of the Aesthetic movement ‘De Stijl’.
The first copy of this design was made by Elling himself in 1927.
This desk, which was decorated with squares and rectangles by the Dutch painter Bart van der Leck,
was recently purchased by the ‘Rijksmuseum’ in Amsterdam in cooperation with the ‘Centraal Museum Utrecht’.
More information on the site of the ‘Centraal museum’ >
Based on correspondence from Piet Elling to a family called Nijland about a similar desk he made for them in 1933/1934
and a technical drawing of the desk in the Elling archive from ‘Het Nieuwe Instituut’ in Rotterdam, Dick Elling’s desk can be dated to 1933 -1934.
As a young man Piet Elling decorated his private interior in 1920-1921 with the so-called ‘Slat furniture’ designed by the Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld. This was one of the first private interiors that was completely decorated with these experimental pieces of furniture.
The picture he took in 1921 showing the slat furniture in his apartment together with a work of the painter Bart van der Leck became an iconic image representing the Dutch Aesthetic movement ‘De Stijl’.
Passe-partout showing three original vintage prints from our collection, acquired directly from the heirs of Dick Elling
Top picture; an original vintage print of the famous ‘Elling Interior’ dated in handwriting on reverse “Oct. 21”
Bottom picture; Dick Elling sitting in an easy chair of Gerrit Rietveld in the backyard of the house were later-on the small desk was positioned.
Dated in handwriting “1930”
As an architect Piet Elling designed a number of modernists houses during the interwar period.
He became a very influential Architect in the process of rebuilding The Netherlands after WOII.
Like in his prewar period he collaborated again with the painter Bart van der Leck,
using color as an important building component in several architectural projects.
Price on request
Interested? Please contact us for the price, more information or visiting our gallery >
