The SS Normandie ocean liner, after which this elegant pitcher was named, launched to great fanfare in 1932 and had a profound effect on many industrial designers and architects at the time. Le Corbusier in particular saw the powerful luxury ship as the ultimate symbol of twentieth-century design; both functional and beautiful, it embodied the perfect machine for living. Müller-Munk was inspired by the streamlined form of the ship's prow and used a single sheet of brass to form the pitcher's teardrop shape. The chrome plating gives the work a luxurious glossy finish.
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Artwork Details
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Title:"Normandie" Water Pitcher
Designer:Peter Müller-Munk (American (born Germany) Berlin 1904–1967 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Manufacturer:Revere Copper and Brass Company, Rome, NY
Date:1935
Medium:Chrome-plated brass
Dimensions:12 in. × 3 in. × 9 3/8 in. (30.5 × 7.6 × 23.8 cm)
Classification:Metalwork
Credit Line:Anonymous Gift, 1989
Accession Number:1989.394
private collection (until 1989; their gift to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Design 1925–1945: Selections from the Collection," December 18, 1989–June 1, 1991, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Modern Metalwork in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 1, 1993–April 3, 1994, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 16, 2000–January 7, extended to February 4, 2001, unnumbered cat. (p. 145).
Newport Beach, Calif. Orange County Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 25–August 19, 2001, unnumbered cat.
Flint. Flint Institute of Arts. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," September 14–December 16, 2001, unnumbered cat.
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," January 11–April 7, 2002, unnumbered cat.
Charlotte. Mint Museum of Craft and Design. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 3–July 28, 2002, unnumbered cat.
Tulsa. Philbrook Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," August 23–November 17, 2002, unnumbered cat.
London. Victoria and Albert Museum. "Art Deco 1910–1939," March 27–July 20, 2003, unnumbered cat. (pl. 34.7).
Toronto. Royal Ontario Museum. "Art Deco 1910–1939," September 15, 2003–January 4, 2004, unnumbered cat.
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Art Deco 1910–1939," March 13–July 5, 2004, unnumbered cat.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Art Deco 1910–1939," September 19, 2004–January 9, 2005, unnumbered cat.
Donald J. Bush. The Streamlined Decade. New York, 1975, p. 141, fig. 134 (unknown collection), dates it 1937.
Dianne H. Pilgrim inThe Machine Age in America 1918–1941. Exh. cat., Brooklyn Museum. New York, 1986, p. 307, fig. 8.52, calls it "'Normandie' Pitcher".
Jewel Stern inCraft in the Machine Age: 1920–1945. Ed. Janet Kardon. Exh. cat., American Craft Museum. New York, 1995, p. 127.
Nicolas P. Maffei inArt Deco 1910–1939. Ed. Charlotte Benton, Tim Benton, Ghislaine Wood. Exh. cat., Victoria and Albert Museum. London, 2003, pp. 366, 440 n. 32, p. 453, colorpl. 34.7.
Rachel Delphia and Jewel Stern inSilver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk. Exh. cat., Carnegie Museum of Art. Pittsburgh, 2015, pp. 9, 174 n. 6, call it "Normandie Pitcher".
Jewel Stern inSilver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk. Exh. cat., Carnegie Museum of Art. Pittsburgh, 2015, pp. 48, 178 nn. 156–57, pp. 194, 196, fig. 35 (color; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh collection), calls it "Normandie Pitcher".
Rachel Delphia inSilver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk. Exh. cat., Carnegie Museum of Art. Pittsburgh, 2015, pp. 60, 180 n. 75, calls it "Normandie Pitcher".
Peter Müller-Munk (American (born Germany) Berlin 1904–1967 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
1931
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