Florence Knoll Leather Settee Sofa for Knoll Studio, Signed
View Similar Items
Florence Knoll Leather Settee Sofa for Knoll Studio, Signed
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Design:Florence Knoll SetteeLounge Series
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Width: 62.25 in (158.12 cm)Depth: 33.5 in (85.09 cm)Seat Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2000's
- Condition:Very good condition with light wear and patina, ready for immediate use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1330222936162
Florence Knoll
Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her skillfully realized office plans and polished, efficient designs for sofas, credenzas, desks and other furnishings.
Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi.
Florence Knoll's main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture she created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.
Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.
Find vintage Florence Knoll sofas, benches, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- Jean Gillon for Probel Leather and Brazilian Rosewood Sofa, c. 1970, SignedBy Probel, Jean GillonLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis rare Brazilian Modern sofa is by Jean Gillon for Probel and features a gorgeous Brazilian Jacaranda frame with very-comfortable black leathe...Category
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood
$3,300 Sale Price41% Off - Rare Settee by Gio Ponti for Cassina, Refinished and Reupholstered, Italy 1950sBy Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CAAn exceptionally rare and coveted settee by Gio Ponti for Cassina, circa 1950s, with reupholstered white bouclé fabric cushions, refinished elm frames with incredible wood grain, sig...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsBouclé, Elm
$22,200 Sale Price20% Off - 'New York' Settee by Katavolos, Littell and Kelley for Laverne Intl, c. 1952By Douglas Kelly, Ross Littell and William Katavolos, Laverne InternationalLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis rare collectors piece is the 'New York' settee sofa by William Katavalos, Ross Littell and Douglas Kelley for Laverne International (Erwine & Estelle Laverne), designed in 1952,...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
$6,200 Sale Price28% Off - Buffalo Leather Sofa by Robert and Trix Haussmann for Knoll, c. 1988, SignedBy Robert and Trix Haussmann, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis phenomenal buffalo leather three-seat sofa is by Robert and Trix Haussmann for Knoll International (designed in 1988) and signed with Knoll decking fabric and Knoll Made in Ital...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Sofas
MaterialsAluminum
$12,700 Sale Price29% Off - 'Negresco' Post-Modern Adjustable Leather Loveseat by Bernard Massot, SignedLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis beautiful red leather Post-Modern loveseat sofa designed by Bernard Massot and produced by Massot, France in circa 1980s/90s. Featuring gorgeous red pebbled leather wrapped ...Category
Vintage 1980s French Post-Modern Loveseats
MaterialsChrome
$4,400 Sale Price31% Off - 'Bounty' Leather Loveseat by L. Davanzati for The Pace Collection, 1980sBy Pace Collection, Elam, Lorenzo Forges DavanzatiLocated in Los Angeles, CAA lovely example of the 'Bounty' series two-seat loveseat / settee by The Pace Collection in the early 1980s, this deep seated channel-tufted loveseat sofa was designed by L. Davantazi produced by Elam and retailed by The Pace Collection. Perfect for a cigar, whiskey or wine lounge or any space that can use something a bit modern yet still refined and classy. *Note, we have the matching club lounge chair and three-seater couch in another listing. Last two photos show the entire set. See our other listings or contact us for more details if you wish to create a living room or office / hotel lobby set. This channel-tufted leather love seat retains its original supple leather upholstery in an intriguing deep burgundy-brown color, almost like dark-cognac with beautiful lightly aged leather patina. The sumptuous seats are encased in a dark colored lacquer, providing an attractive modern contrast with the rich and elegant leather. This two-seater sofa has casters for ease of relocation according to occasion and mood or to better suit a view. The back is finished with tufted leather making this loveseat look incredible when floating in a room with the back exposed. Curved Art Deco styled arms lend 1980s juxtaposition and character to any room. Similar in style to the Saratoga Sofa by Massimo and Lella Vignelli for Poltronova 1970s, but at a fraction of the price. Plus something you don't get with the Saratoga sofa is the refined style of the elegant channel-tufted leather cushions on this Bounty loveseat sofa by The Pace Collection. The Pace Collection also offered the highly sought after collection by Guido Faleschini such as the Tucroma chair which is an interior designer and 20th century Modern design collector's favorite go to chair. Another example is the wild 1970s bed that featured interior design magazine covers when Lenny Kravitz home was featured with the Mariani bed...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Loveseats
MaterialsLeather, Lacquer
$3,500 Sale Price32% Off
- Mid-Century Modern Settee by Florence KnollBy Florence KnollLocated in North Hollywood, CAWonderful Mid-Century Modern settee designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll Associates, Inc. in the United States, circa 1960s. This settee has a clean design around its edges and an el...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Florence Knoll, Sofa Model 66A for Knoll, circa 1960By Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Paris, FRTwo seat sofa model 66A designed by Florence Knoll and produced by Knoll International, circa 1960. This chair was manufactured only from 1958 to 1975. Newly re-upholstered with a ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Florence Knoll 2-Seater Sofa, Classic Mid Century Modern, KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Buffalo, NYVintage Florence Knoll 2 seater 'lounge series' sofa with original 2nd generation upholstery in a coarse woven off-white mottled wool fabric. This sofa d...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsChrome
- Louis XVI Style Black Leather Settee SofaLocated in North York, ONLouis XVI style black leather settee sofa. Luxuriously carved frame, made in Italy, in iconic Louis XVI style design. Finished in a rich medium w...Category
2010s American Louis XVI Loveseats
MaterialsMetal
$6,360 Sale Price20% Off - French Giltwood Sofa SetteeLocated in Douglas Manor, NYA French Louis XVI style giltwood sofa settee with white new damask upholstery. Structurally sound in good original conditions.Category
Vintage 1940s French Loveseats
MaterialsFabric, Hardwood
- 'Brigadier' Loveseats by Cini Boeri for Knoll, Italy, 1980sBy Cini Boeri, KnollLocated in Antwerp, BETwo exceptional sofas from the award-winning Brigadier Series by renowned Italian architect and designer, Cini Boeri (1924–2020). Crafted in the 1980s for Knoll, these sofas feature ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Loveseats
MaterialsLeather, Lacquer
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
10 Trailblazing Female Designers
From pioneering visionaries to contemporary talents, get to know some of the most important women in design.
Remembering Design Visionary Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019)
A loving look back at the life and career of a doyenne of mid-century-modern style, who died last week at the age of 101.