Vacuum Cleaner | Yale University Art Gallery

1937–38 (designed); 1938–54 (manufactured)

On view, 3rd floor, Modern and Contemporary Art and Design

Speed and the impact of the Machine Age were a driving impetus for many designers. Lurelle Van Arsdale Guild incorporated these elements of contemporary design into this vacuum cleaner. The primary function of the sleek grillwork was to give the impression of a speedy and efficient product. Shaped like a locomotive, this model of the Electrolux was manufactured from 1937 to 1954.

Medium: Chrome-plated, polished, and enameled steel, cast aluminum, vinyl, and rubber
Dimensions: 8 1/2 × 23 × 7 1/4 in. (21.6 × 58.4 × 18.4 cm)
Credit Line: Yale University Art Gallery
Accession Number: 1993.5.1a-f
Geography: Manufactured in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, Designed in New York, New York
Culture: American
Period: 20th century
Classification: Tools and Equipment
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Bibliography

John Stuart Gordon, "Lurelle Guild: The Historical Modernist," Antiques 178, no. 2 (March/April 2011), 123

John Stuart Gordon et al., A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, 1920–1950 (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2011), 331, no. 230

Object copyright

In Copyright

Additional information

Object/Work type

vacuum cleaners

Marks

"ELECTROLUX," in openwork letters part of design of side panels

Technical metadata and APIs

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