Paul Dupré-Lafon, a Discreet But Coveted Decorator

If there's one word that defines him, it's "discretion". A relative discretion, however, that in no way rhymes with modesty. For even if the decorator/ensemblier (designer-decorator) Paul Dupré-Lafon—born in 1900, died in 1971—was and remains highly selective, his creations are so masterfully crafted that even the smallest of his objects is imbued with an immediately recognizable monumentality and scale. The son of Edmond Dupré, descendant of a line of industrialists and merchants, and his wife Valentine Lafon, the young Paul grew up in Marseille, where he was educated by the Jesuits, before studying at the city's Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the aftermath of the Great War. In 1923, he moved to Paris, where he quickly became active, thanks in part to his fellow student at the school, the painter Georges Willameur, who introduced him to his first clients. From then on, Paul Dupré-Lafon worked for a very select circle of wealthy but reserved clients, for whom he acted as a sort of mirror. The muted luxury of his furniture and interiors is stripped of the slightest embellishment, allowing the quality of their craftsmanship and materials to shine through. As for…