Poltrona Frau Museum

A rigorous piece of architecture within the company facility. Poltrona Frau Museum displays the company's history, interweaving it with the evolution of taste and design

Mission

To guard, preserve, communicate and enhance the testimonies of the company. The Museum contributes to the creation of a collective historical memory of Italian design and craftsmanship, as well as to increase the perception of corporate culture.

POLTRONA FRAU Museum -Renzo Frau's family vintage photograph (1910)Museimpresa

1910s - 1920s

In 1912, the Sardinian Renzo Frau registered the Poltrona Frau tradename with the Turin Chamber of Commerce. Until the 1940s, the Frau family business was tied to the culture of the times and this lively city.

Company's first adverts

Cultural and specialist magazines published the company’s first adverts, designed by illustrators Nanni, Golia, Mendez and Sandro Properzi.

POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Nanni's drawing - "Smoke", Giovanni Nanni, 1924, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Golia's drawing - "The Eternal Father sitting on an armchair", Eugenio Colmo, know as "Golia", 1926, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Vintage photograph "Inside an ocean liner" (1930)Museimpresa

1930s - 1940s

The company became legendary for its production systems, its artisans making high quality furnishings entirely by hand. Furnishings for the cabins on the transatlantic liner Rex established the brand on an international level.

POLTRONA FRAU Museum -Original tempera technical drawing (1930) by Renzo Frau -Poltrona Frau ArchivesMuseimpresa

For the 904 models, New Deal and Vanity Fair, and Lyra, Poltrona Frau developed the first product campaigns in “Domus” and “La Casabella”.

1962: Poltrona Frau was moved to Tolentino

POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Presentation brochure for the innovative Lullaby bed (1969)Museimpresa

1950s - 1960s

The primary objectives of its new owners were to recover the company’s values. The revolutionary period of the sixties influenced the design of new products: Lullaby and Dilly Dally by Luigi Massoni, Dezza by Gio Ponti, Sanluca by Achille and Piergiacomo Castiglioni.

POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Dezza armchair - Gio Ponti, Gio Ponti, 1965, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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POLTRONA FRAU Museum - San Luca armchair - Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Achille e Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, 1961, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Ouverture sofa (1982) by Pierluigi CerriMuseimpresa

1970s - 1980s

Research into ergonomic seating solutions and into new materials led to articles by Franco Bettonica, Marzo Zanuso and Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. In the Ouverture by Pierluigi Cerri the stiffness of building site girders in painted steel provides the base for the sofa.

POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Intervista armchair by Lella and Massimo Vignelli (1989) by Antonia MulasMuseimpresa

Lella and Massimo Vignelli designed
Intervista for a TV studio set.

1990s - 2000s

Jean-Marie Massaud and Roberto Lazzeroni represented the 2000s design, showing a strong influence from the Poltrona Frau tradition.

POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Archibald armchair, Jean-Marie Massaud, 2009, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Sketch for the Archibald armchair, Jean-Marie Massaud, 2009, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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2012: Poltrona Frau celebrates its centenary and inaugurates the Museum

Custom Interiors

The Poltrona Frau Custom Interiors works alongside designers from all over the world to develop special furnishings for theatres, auditoriums, museums, airports, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, showroom/retail, offices and yachting.

POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Monsieur Pol armchair - European Parliament, A.S Architecture Studio, 1999, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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POLTRONA FRAU Museum - RP01 armchair - Renzo Piano - Auditorium Parco della musica, Renzo Piano, 1998, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Frank O. Gehry Chair, Frank O. Gehry, 1989, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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Interiors in Motion

In 1986 Poltrona Frau met the car, upholstering the interiors of the Lancia Thema 8:32 with its Ferrari engine. Craftsmanship encountered technology. The historic culture of leather that distinguishes this company founds expression in the complicated upholstery of car interiors.

POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Lacia Thema 8.32 Ferrari, Poltrona Frau, 1986, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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POLTRONA FRAU Museum - Pershing P8X - Sport Yacht 80 feet, Fulvio De Simoni, 2019, From the collection of: Museimpresa
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Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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