George Nelson Seating

Architect, designer, and writer George Nelson was a central figure in the mid-century American modernist design movement; and his thoughts influenced not only the furniture we live with, but also how we live.
Nelson came to design via journalism and literature. Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Yale in 1931, he won the Prix de Rome fellowship, and spent his time in Europe writing magazine articles that helped bring stateside recognition to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Gio Ponti, Le Corbusier and other canonical modernist architects. In the 1940s, Nelson wrote texts that suggested such now-commonplace ideas as open-plan houses, storage walls and family rooms. D.J. De Pree, the owner of the furniture maker Herman Miller, was so impressed by Nelson that in 1944 — following the sudden death of Gilbert Rohde, who had introduced the firm to modern design in the 1930s — he invited Nelson to join the company as its design director.
There Nelson’s curatorial design talents came to the fore. To Herman Miller he brought such eminent creators as Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, and the textile and furniture designer Alexander Girard. Thanks to a clever contract, at the same time as he directed Herman Miller he formed a New York design company, George Nelson & Associates, that sold furniture designs to the Michigan firm, as well as its competitor, the Howard Miller Clock Company. Nelson’s New York team of designers (who were rarely individually credited) would create such iconic pieces as the Marshmallow sofa, the Coconut chair, the Ball clock, the Bubble lamp series and the many cabinets and beds that comprise the sleek Thin-Edge line.
For dedicated collectors, as well as for interior designers who look beyond “the look,” there is a “cool-factor” inherent to vintage pieces from George Nelson and others. Nelson was in on it from the start, and it’s valuable to have a piece that was there with him. But still, as is evident from the offerings from dealers on these pages, in any of the designs, in any iteration whose manufacture Nelson oversaw and encouraged, there are shining elements of lightness, elegance, sophistication — and a little bit of swagger. George Nelson felt confident in his ideas about design and didn’t mind letting the world know.
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Wood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Upholstery, Maple
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Chrome, Steel
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Stainless Steel
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Steel
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Chrome
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Iron
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Fabric
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Fiberglass
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Aluminum
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Aluminum
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Upholstery, Birch
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Upholstery, Birch
Mid-20th Century George Nelson Seating
Wood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Stainless Steel
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Metal, Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Upholstery
1950s Saint Pierre and Miquelon Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Wood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Steel
1960s American Vintage George Nelson Seating
Leather
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Steel
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Steel
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Chrome
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Metal
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary North American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Metal
1950s American Vintage George Nelson Seating
Birch
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Metal
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Teak
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Steel
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Wood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Upholstery, Cane, Maple
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Birch
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Bouclé
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Fabric, Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Steel
Early 2000s Swiss Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Plastic, Bouclé
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Wood, Birch
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Metal
1960s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Aluminum
Early 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Sheet Metal
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Steel, Chrome
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Metal, Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Metal
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Plywood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Chrome
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Wood, Upholstery
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Steel
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nelson Seating
Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nelson Seating
Plywood