1951 Florence Knoll Associates 42 inch Parallel Bar Series Coffee Table Walnut
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 15.25 in (38.74 cm)Width: 42 in (106.68 cm)Depth: 42 in (106.68 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1951
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:
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 polished, efficient design and skillfully realized office plans.
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. Her main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture Florence 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.
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lebanon, PA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- 2012 Florence Knoll Ebonized Walnut and Chromed Steel 46 x 22 inch Coffee TableBy KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a 2012 production Florence Knoll coffee table with chromed steel base and ebonized walnut top. This is a classic Florence Knoll design. The top is in excellent con...Category
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- 1950 Florence Knoll RARE T Angle Coffee Table No. 115 in Black & Walnut LaminateBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a super rare, limited production T Angle coffee table, produced by Knoll Associates. This is an early and unique Florence Knoll design, which is noted in the "Knol...Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsLaminate, Walnut
- Florence Knoll Studio Square Espresso Marble Low Side or Coffee Table in SquareBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a Florence Knoll for Knoll Studio 23.5 x 23.5 x 12 inch low coffee table / end table. This example has a gorgeous espresso marble top ...Category
Early 2000s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Metal
- 1958 Florence Knoll Parallel Bar Three Seat Sofa, Model 57 in Green FabricBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis is an extremely early Florence Knoll ‘Parallel Bar’ Sofa, Model 57, designed by Florence Knoll in 1958. It is a rare example of Florence K...Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel
- 1972 Florence Knoll Custom 72 inch Dining Conference Table in Walnut and SteelBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis is an original custom Florence Knoll Dining or Conference Table, featuring a walnut top and a chromed-steel base. The table was manufactured in the USA by Knoll in 1972. The p...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Eero Saarinen For Knoll International 35 Inch Tulip Coffee Table Rosewood 2009By Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is one Knoll 35 inch Tulip Coffee Table, designed by Eero Saarinen. This example has a white powder coated base with a gorgeous rosewood...Category
Early 2000s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Parallel Bar Coffee Table by Florence Knoll for Knoll AssociatesBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Chicago, ILc. 1950s. Original walnut top with metal parallel bar legs. Extremely rare. Tagged.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Parallel Bar Walnut Coffee Table by Florence Knoll for KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAFlorence Knoll designed this circular coffee table for Knoll, part of the Parallel Bar Series, produced from 1955-1968, model 404. It has a walnut top supported by four stainless ste...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll Circular Parallel Bar Cocktail / Coffee TableBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century 'Parallel Bar' cocktail / coffee table with a circular walnut top supported by three satin chrome-plated steel legs. (Florence Knoll).Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal, Steel, Chrome
- Florence Knoll Round Parallel Bar Coffee Table in Solid Walnut and SteelBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Dallas, TXEarly production Florence Knoll designed parallel bar cocktail table with a solid wood top and satin steel legs. Restored to the highest possible standard. Very heavy and substantial.Category
Mid-20th Century American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll T-Bar Coffee TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Kalamazoo, MIThis Florence Knoll T-Bar Coffee Table was designed for Knoll International in the 1960s. Its base is crafted from steel, and it boasts a Formica top that is in good shape for its ag...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll T-Bar Walnut Laminate Coffee / Cocktail TableBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century rectangular coffee / cocktail table with a walnut laminate top in three sections supported on a T-shaped black metal base. (FLORENCE KNOLL)(Similar table: DUF0082).Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
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.