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KEM WEBER WALT DISNEY STUDIOS ANIMATION DESK, C. 1938 30.5 H (Adjustable) x 56 W x 30 D inches Custom Designed in 1938 for the Animation offfices at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California Retains remnants of original Walt Disney Productions identification label
KEM WEBER WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MUSIC CABINET, C. 1938 29.5 H x 36 W x 16.5 D inches Custom Designed in 1938 for the Animation offfices at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California Retains original Walt Disney Productions identification label and stamped WDP 44A
KEM WEBER WALT DISNEY STUDIOS END TABLE, C. 1938 13.5 H x 28 W x 15 D inches Custom Designed in 1938 for the Animation offfices at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California
KEM WEBER WALT DISNEY STUDIOS OFFICE WARDROBE, C. 1940 66 H x 16 W x 22 D inches Custom Designed in 1940 for the Animation offfices at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California Retains original Walt Disney Productions identification label, No. 2370
KEM WEBER AIRLINE ARMCHAIR, C. 1935 BEECH, LEATHER, STEEL 32 H x 24.75 W x 29 D inches This iconic original Airline chair was designed by KEM Weber in 1935. He formed the Airline Chair Company of Los Angeles to produce this chair. Production was very limited and following his 300 chair commission from Disney Studios, the Airline Chair Company ceased to exist. Examples of this Airline chair can be found in the collections of major museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Los Angeles County of Modern Art in California.
KEM WEBER WALT DISNEY STUDIO KEM Weber (Karl Emanuel Martin Weber) is a well-known mid-century architect who was part of a distinctive movement known as West Coast modernism. He influenced California style during the mid-twentieth century and his chair designs, including his famed Airline Chair, are now part of the furniture collections at museums such as Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Weber is also best known as the architect of the Walt Disney Studio in Burbank, California. Walt Disney hired Weber in the late 1930 s (after the success of Snow White) to not only design the studio, but also the interiors and customized furnishings needed to operate an animation studio. Weber even created a font for the studio that is still used today. The studio had a sleek, art deco feel and virtually all of the original structures Weber designed are still in use today. His animation desk has been reproduced many times, and is considered a classic of the golden age of animation. For Design Miami 2018, Peter Blake Gallery will present an exhibit of KEM Weber s historic designs for the Walt Disney Studio animation offices in Burbank, California. One of the items on display will be the rare and iconic Airline Armchair which was originally designed in 1934 and produced in 1938 for the Walt Disney Studios in a limited run of 300. The Airline chair was the realization of Weber s career-long goal: to achieve a wholly American form of modern design sleek, trim, and stylish; yet comfortable, easygoing, and practical. With its raked, gently angular frame and cantilevered seat, the form of the chair suggests movement, speed, and forward progression. Weber named it the Airline chair to associate the design with the technological triumph of the day: commercial aviation. Pictured Above: The Airline Chair, being used by some of the animators in the 1950 s, during the production of Sleeping Beauty. In a practical innovation far ahead of its time, the Airline chair was designed to be sold flat-packed in segments for easy home assembly. Although the chair seemed destined for great commercial success, factory production of it never became a reality, despite extensive discussions between Weber and many American manufacturers. In the end, only 300 chairs were produced for the Walt Disney Studios for use in the projection rooms, lounges, and offices.
KEM WEBER DRAWINGS OF THE DISNEY STUDIOS Picture: Karl Emanuel Martin (Kem) Weber papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
KEM WEBER DRAWINGS OF THE DISNEY STUDIOS Picture: Karl Emanuel Martin (Kem) Weber papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
KEM WEBER DRAWINGS OF THE DISNEY STUDIOS Picture: Karl Emanuel Martin (Kem) Weber papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
KEM WEBER DRAWINGS OF THE DISNEY STUDIOS Picture: Karl Emanuel Martin (Kem) Weber papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
KEM WEBER DRAWINGS OF THE DISNEY STUDIOS Picture: Karl Emanuel Martin (Kem) Weber papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.