American Furniture Designers

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title The 20th century furniture is hot. American Furniture Designers: 1900 to the Present highlights the furniture produced by the 20 most important American furniture designers of the 20th and early 21st centuries plus a selection of the best-known European designers whose work is sold by Knoll International and Herman Miller. The designers are organized into five chapters. Introductions to each section summarize the evolution of furniture design as it evolved through the 20th and early 21st centuries. The book begins with the Arts and Crafts era before World War I; moves into the interwar period when Modernism gained a foothold in America; continues through the Postwar heyday of Mid-century Modern; highlights the furniture from the 1970s and into the 21st century with a focus on the foremost promoters of modern furniture, Knoll International and Herman Miller; and concludes with a selection of the top Studio Furniture makers and their innovative creations. The book focuses on the leading American designers from each of these periods including Gustav Stickley and Charles Rohlfs during the Arts and Crafts movement, Paul Frankl and Gilbert Rohde in the interwar period, Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for Mid- century Modern, and Wendell Castle and George Nakashima for Studio Furniture to name just a few. All their furniture is explained and profusely illustrated with 280 color photos. For anyone curious about the modern material culture that surrounds them, the book will explain everything about American furniture from 1900 into the 21st century: when it was made, where it was made, who made it, what it was made of, how it was designed, how long it was in production, and how the furniture related to its contemporaries.

This comprehensive yet highly browsable reference offers concise definitions, clear line drawings, and photographs of the elements and features that make up American furniture of all types. Written by an expert furniture maker and woodworker with over 50 years of experience, this is the most extensive and modern resource of its kind. Covering historical and contemporary furniture design, the alphabetized terms include individual elements (such as cartouche, pediment, and hood), types of furniture, and styles of design. Detailed line drawings and photos of beautiful museum pieces augment the text. Informative sidebars throughout delve into the passion and beauty behind fine furniture's artistic energy--lives of notable American furniture designers and craftsmen, guided views of masterworks, help in understanding certain styles, and more. This an invaluable tool for furniture makers, antique dealers and buyers, and anyone interested in American furniture.

Drawing on the latest scholarship, this comprehensive, lavishly illustrated survey tells the story of the evolution of American furniture from the 17th century to the present. Not viewed in isolation, furniture is placed in its broader cultural, historic, and aesthetic context. The focus is not only on the urban masterpieces of 18th century William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, and Federal styles but also on the work of numerous rural cabinetmakers. Special chapters explore Windsor chairs, Shaker, and Pennsylvania German furniture which do not follow the mainstream style progression. Picturesque and anti-classical explain Victorian furniture including Rococo, Renaissance, and Eastlake. Mission and Arts and Crafts furniture introduce the 20th century. Another chapter identifies the eclectic revivals such as Early American that dominated the mass market throughout much of the 20th century. After World War II American designers created many of the Mid-Century Modern icons that are much sought after by collectors today. The rise of studio furniture and furniture as art which include some of the most creative and imaginative furniture produced in the 20th and 21st centuries caps the review of four centuries of American furniture. A final chapter advises on how to evaluate the authenticity of both traditional and modern furniture and how to preserve it for posterity. With over 800 photos including 24 pages of color, this fully illustrated text is the authoritative reference work.

The American Design Adventurecontinues the fascinating and detailed examination of industrial design begun by Arthur Pulos in American Design Ethic. The first volume discussed and illustrated the objects and artifacts, the major designers and schools of design from Colonial times to the 1940s. This second splendidly illustrated volume carries the story into the heroic era of American industrial design, from the 1940s to the 1970s. These were the decades of American industrial design's dominance, when special exhibitions and world fairs made design a subject of national pride. Big business realized the influence that trademarks, packaging, and corporate identity programs could have on their bottom line, and the world of fashion created a consumer demand for name brands and well designed products. Industrial design flourished under the capable hands of Raymond Loewy and Charles Eames, while corporations like IBM, RCA, Herman Miller, and Knoll were sponsors of the great American design adventure. The extraordinary collection of illustrations that Pulos has assembled documents all of these important design trends while evoking the nostalgia of the 50s and 60s when Pop and Rock held sway. Pulos probes all aspects of industrial designers and their work - in education and private corporations, in professional organizations and governmental agencies. He also covers prefabricated housing, graphics, manufactured products from the exotic to the pragmatic, and public systems from the sociopolitical to the economic.

Construct 29 classic pieces from 150 detailed, measured drawings and photographs. Styles range from early American primitive to relatively sophisticated late 18th- and early 19th-century trends. Chosen pieces represent the work of such masters as Duncan Phyfe, William Savery, John Elliot, Hepplewhite, Goddard, and Sheraton. 32 photos.

The materials included in this bibliography focus on the craftsmen responsible for the creation of fine furniture. Works that give biographical information about furniture craftsmen and discuss the stylistic and aesthetic development of their art; works that examine the sociological, political, economic and environmental conditions within which furniture craftsmen worked, as well as furniture factories and furniture retail businesses themselves; and general works useful in the study of American furniture are cited. The bibliography consists of four main sections, the first of which deals with the life and work of individual furniture makers and designers. The second section focuses on groups of furniture craftsmen. Works of a general nature that contribute to the study of American furniture are found in section three. The fourth section contains furniture trade catalogs published by manufacturers and wholesalers for salesmen and retail stores. A two-part appendix lists furniture trade periodicals published mainly during the years 1880-1930, and manuscript repositories containing materials relevant to furniture. Three indexes--craftsman, author-title, and subject complete the volume.

A history of American furniture covers pieces between the seventeenth century and the present and describes every period and type of furniture while providing insight into the historical influences that shaped furniture design.