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Alexander Girard Furniture

The director of design for the textiles department at Herman Miller, Inc., from 1952 to 1973, mid-century modern visionary Alexander Girard introduced bright, bouncy colors to upholstery and drapery fabrics, created jaunty graphics for marketing and advertising materials and devised motifs for everything from textiles to ceramics based on his true love: folk art from cultures around the globe.

The son of an American mother and an Italian father, Girard (known as Sandro to his friends) was born in New York City in 1907 but raised in Florence. He came from a creative family — his father was a master woodworker — and Girard began drawing and making his own playthings as a youngster. He had a fascination for nativity crèche tableaux, an enthusiasm that likely was the germ for his later interest in folk art. He went on to earn degrees in architecture at schools in both Rome and London before returning to New York in the 1930s and working in interior design.

By the 1940s, he and his wife, Susan, had moved to Detroit, where Girard was head of design for Detrola, a firm specializing in tabletop radios. The elegant bentwood housings that he developed for the devices won him acclaim, but, more importantly, at Detrola he met Charles Eames. The two became lifelong friends, and it was Eames who drew Girard toward Herman Miller, which had no dedicated textile department until Girard arrived, and most of its furniture was upholstered in mundane, “safe” hues. Girard changed all that, introducing fabrics in vivid shades of red, orange, yellow and blue. His early designs incorporated geometric motifs — stripes, circles, square, triangles and such. But toward the end of the 1950s he began to introduce folk art themes into his designs.

Girard did not collect important or expensive folk pieces. Rather he was drawn to simple objects such as handmade toys, figurines and models of animals, buildings and plants. The fabrics that emerged had whimsical, lighthearted motifs depicting, for example, angels, children, birds and flowers. Toward the end of his term with Herman Miller, in an effort to achieve what he termed “aesthetic functionalism,” Girard produced a group of what he called “Environmental Enrichment” pieces — silk-screened cotton panels emblazoned with various graphic designs, from bold geometric patterns to folk art themes. They were meant to divide spaces in offices or the home in lieu of walls while simultaneously functioning as art. Today, panels of vintage Girard upholstery textiles have become premium collectibles. The designer's furniture is less well known, primarily because most of it was created for private commissions.

Girard’s most lasting contribution may be his folk art collection. He and Susan had begun gathering pieces shortly after their marriage, in 1936. By the 1970s, they had amassed the world’s largest collection of cross-cultural folk art, composed of more than 100,000 pieces from around the world. The Girards donated their holdings to the Museum of International Folk Art, in Santa Fe (where they had moved in the ’60s), quintupling the institution’s collection, and a new wing — named for the Girards — had to be built to hold it.

Find a striking range of vintage Alexander Girard seating, tables, textiles and other furnishings on 1stDibs.

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Style: Modern
Creator: Alexander Girard
Maharam Pillow, Lanalux by Alexander Girard, 1970
By Alexander Girard, Maharam
Located in New York, NY
Maharam pillow Lanalux by Alexander Girard, 1970 002 Umber Exploring texture, fiber variation, and color, Lanalux is a timeless and versatile textile that was originally designed b...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Wool

Maharam Pillow, Palio by Alexander Girard
By Alexander Girard, Maharam
Located in New York, NY
Maharam Pillow Palio by Alexander Girard 002 Sky Palio by Alexander Girard, 1964 draws its motifs, colors and name from the famous bareback horse race held semi-annually in Siena, I...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Cotton, Nylon

Maharam Pillow, Names by Alexander Girard
By Alexander Girard, Maharam
Located in New York, NY
Maharam Pillow Names by Alexander Girard 001 Crimson on White In his design work, Alexander Girard repeatedly explored an interest in the characters and symbols that comprise langu...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Cotton, Polyester

Maharam Pillow, Checker Split by Alexander Girard
By Alexander Girard, Maharam
Located in New York, NY
Maharam Pillow Checker Split by Alexander Girard 001 Black/White Checker Split exemplifies Alexander Girard’s lifelong exploration of geometric motifs. Designed for the Herman Mill...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Cotton, Polyester

Maharam Pillow, Checker by Alexander Girard
By Maharam, Alexander Girard
Located in New York, NY
Maharam Pillow Checker by Alexander Girard 010 Blue Gray/Emerald Designed by Alexander Girard for the Herman Miller textile division in 1965, checker is a simple checkerboard design...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Cotton, Polyester

Maharam Pillow, Checker by Alexander Girard
By Maharam, Alexander Girard
Located in New York, NY
Maharam Pillow Checker by Alexander Girard 008 Black/White Designed by Alexander Girard for the Herman Miller textile division in 1965, checker is a simple checkerboard design offer...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Cotton, Polyester

Maharam Pillow, Checker by Alexander Girard
By Maharam, Alexander Girard
Located in New York, NY
Maharam Pillow Checker by Alexander Girard 009 Ultramarine/Turquoise Designed by Alexander Girard for the Herman Miller textile division in 1965, checker is a simple checkerboard de...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Cotton, Polyester

1967 Prototype Alexander Girard/Ray Eames/Charles Eames Coffee Table
By Herman Miller, Alexander Girard
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is an exceptionally rare coffee table designed by renowned designers Alexander Girard, Ray Eames, and Charles Eames. It appears that this was a collaborative work with a top material pattern designed by Ray Eames and Alexander Girard. The base was then designed by Ray and Charles Eames (and the Eames office) and matches other La Fonda table...
Category

1960s American Modern Vintage Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Aluminum

1967 Rare Alexander Girard/Ray Eames/Charles Eames Coffee Table w/ Gold Laminate
By Herman Miller, Alexander Girard
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is an exceptionally rare coffee table designed by renowned designers Alexander Girard, Ray Eames, and Charles Eames. This design was part of a table collection, which...
Category

1960s American Modern Vintage Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Aluminum

1967 Rare Alexander Girard & Charles Eames Coffee Table with Black Laminate Top
By Herman Miller, Alexander Girard
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is an exceptionally rare coffee table designed by renowned designers Alexander Girard and Charles Eames. This design was part of a table collection, which was worked ...
Category

1960s American Modern Vintage Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Aluminum

Maharam Pillow, Quatrefoil by Alexander Girard
By Alexander Girard, Maharam
Located in New York, NY
Maharam Pillow Quatrefoil by Alexander Girard 001 Silver Alexander Girard drew inspiration from his world travels, as well as from his fascination with traditional folk art. Quatre...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Alexander Girard Furniture

Materials

Cotton, Nylon

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Previously Available Items
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Alexander Girard furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Alexander Girard furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of fabric and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Alexander Girard furniture, although gray editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 37 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 8 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Alexander Girard were created in the mid-century modern style in north america during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Charak Furniture Company, Phillip Lloyd Powell, and Kittinger. Prices for Alexander Girard furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $150 and can go as high as $250,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $2,300.

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