Guimard, Hector

Related Category: Architecture: Biographies

(ĕktôr´ gēmär´), 1867–1942, French architect and furniture designer. Influenced by Victor Horta, he became the first and foremost French architect of art nouveau. The most familiar landmarks created by Guimard (c.1900) are the entrance gates to the métro (subway) stations in Paris, made of metal cast into elegant, flowerlike forms. On the Rue La Fontaine, Paris, he built the Castel Béranger (1894–98) and an apartment house (1911). He went to New York City in 1938, where he remained until his death. Several examples of his decorative work can be found at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

See study by G. Vigne (2004).