Catalogue essay by Blanche Llewellyn

Suzanne Lalique-Haviland began her career as a decorator alongside her father, the renowned glassmaker René Lalique. She made significant contributions to the Lalique manufacture, but distinguishing her work from her father’s in their collaborative projects is challenging, often leaving her achievements overshadowed by his legacy.

Suzanne Lalique’s talent spanned many fields, including textiles, glass, porcelain, painting, and interior decoration.
Influenced by the late 19th-century Nabis group, in the 1910s she ventured into screen design, an artwork that was becoming increasingly popular. From 1914 – 27, she created over a dozen screens, often inspired by natural motifs, seamlessly transitioned from preparatory drawings to three-dimensional creations. Notably, her screens, with the exception of one named “Oiseaux” in 1927, remained untitled.

This screen, designed around 1920, was commissioned by the renowned couturier and influential modern and contemporary art collector, Jacques Doucet.
Featuring a gold luxurious background covered in black tropical palm leaves, this screen was most likely commissioned for Doucet’s prestigious shop, one of the first ‘maison de haute couture’ situated in Rue de la Paix, in Paris.