Rare Art Deco Gilbert Rohde Tubular Chrome Settee
View Similar Items
Rare Art Deco Gilbert Rohde Tubular Chrome Settee
About the Item
- Creator:Gilbert Rohde (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 63 in (160.02 cm)Depth: 27 in (68.58 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Art Deco (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1930s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Mount Penn, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU143127050213
Gilbert Rohde
Pioneering self-taught industrial designer, writer and teacher Gilbert Rohde helped define the earliest phase of modernism in the United States. He is one of the most influential figures of 20th-century design and is credited with helping legendary mid-century modern furniture manufacturer Herman Miller avert financial disaster during the Great Depression.
Born in New York City, Rohde studied painting at the Art Students League after high school. He found lucrative employment, first as a political cartoonist and then as a catalog illustrator for American department stores. He was particularly enthralled with drawing furnished interiors.
Rohde began to design furniture in his spare time. He traveled to the Bauhaus school in Germany and the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, and drew on the Art Deco movement and the work of designers such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann in his early pieces. Rohde opened his own studio in 1929 and secured private and commercial commissions. His clients would come to include formidable furniture makers Heywood-Wakefield and Troy Sunshade, and his innovative bentwood furnishings for them were practical and intended for the modern consumer.
In 1930, Rohde met Herman Miller founder D.J. De Pree in the company’s Michigan showroom during a business trip. By then, Rohde had a long list of prominent clients and his furniture had been exhibited in museums and galleries. Herman Miller was weathering a devastating slowdown in business, and the American furniture industry had generally been hit hard by the Great Depression.
Rohde boldly informed De Pree that the brand’s furniture had become outdated, which was part of the reason the company was in financial jeopardy. Homes had become smaller and could no longer accommodate the large Gothic– and Victorian–style furnishings and traditional reproductions of period bedroom suites that Herman Miller was offering at the time, Rohde explained.
Rohde secured a contract to design for the Michigan manufacturer. He championed the use of exotic woods and tubular steel, and created streamlined, unadorned bedroom furniture for Herman Miller — collections that included convenient vanities, which were unconventional pieces for De Pree’s company back then.
In 1933, Rohde oversaw the design of two bedrooms featuring sleek Herman Miller furniture — including innovative storage pieces he designed — as part of an International–style exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The installation garnered acclaim for De Pree’s brand all over the world and afforded Rohde the opportunity to execute on his visionary ideas in front of a global audience. Rohde later designed lighting, seating and more for Herman Miller and was extensively involved in the company's marketing strategy and other areas of the business.
In 1942, Herman Miller, anticipating a postwar economic boom, began to produce office furniture for the first time, but its legacy is in the home. Working with legendary designers such as Ray and Charles Eames, Isamu Noguchi and Alexander Girard, the manufacturer fostered some of the boldest expressions of what we now call mid-century modern style.
Find vintage Gilbert Rohde coffee tables, lounge chairs, table lamps and other items on 1stDibs.
- Spectacular Gilbert Rohde Loveseat for the Troy Sunshade Company C.1934-1937By Gilbert Rohde, Troy Sunshade CompanyLocated in Bernville, PARare Gilbert Rohde loveseat for the Troy Sunshade Company. The simple design was from the Troy Sunshade living room collection of Modern Interiors. B...Category
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Settees
MaterialsChrome
- Art Deco Settee, France, circa 1920sBy Paul FollotLocated in Isle Sur La Sorgue, VaucluseVery pretty Art Deco loveseat or sofa. The wood structure is carved with a rope and tassel decor on a fluted background, and painted in the original green/blue color, with details pi...Category
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Loveseats
MaterialsVelvet, Wood
- Swedish Art Moderne Settee SofaLocated in Atlanta, GABeautifully stylized Art Moderne Settee Sofa Loveseat from 1940's Sweden. Upholstered in original cherry red velvet. Price includes reupholstery in COM fa...Category
Vintage 1940s Swedish Art Deco Settees
MaterialsVelvet
- In the Manner of Sue et Mare & André Groult, Art Deco Settee, France, circa 1912By Sue et Mare, Andre GroultLocated in New York, NY"Corbeille de fleurs" Fine and early Art Deco settee in the manner of Süe et Mare and André Groult, France, circa 1912. This remarkable settee features a lyre shaped element at i...Category
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Settees
MaterialsWood
- Milo Baughman Style Mid Century Chrome Base Settee SofaBy Milo BaughmanLocated in Countryside, ILMilo Baughman style mid century chrome base settee sofa The sofa measures: 60 wide x 34.5 deep x 30 high, with a seat height of 17 inches and arm height of 21 inches Ready for ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsChrome
- American Art Deco Tubular chrome Chair Designed by Gilbert RohdeBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in San Diego, CAModernist Chrome Cantilever Chair by Etowah Mfg, Bauhaus / Art Deco, Super stylized Amazing original condition. Extremely comfortable. Superior quality and construction.Designed by G...Category
20th Century American Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsChrome