In its striking curtain wall of glass and modernist steel columns, Gordon Bunshaft’s International-style design for the Lever House — cocreated with Natalie de Blois — garnered widespread acclaim. The Pritzker Prize-winner was a legendary American architect, and his influence can be found today in city skylines all over the world.
Bunshaft studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before undertaking fellowships in Europe and North Africa. In 1937, he joined New York City architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill where he worked until his retirement in 1979.
Bunshaft shared the same interest in modernist furniture as Florence Knoll, an architect and furniture designer who had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism and who helped make Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Bunshaft recommended that Knoll be placed in charge of interiors when, while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he designed the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company’s headquarters in the mid-1950s.
Bunshaft’s projects drew heavily on the pioneering architectural work of Le Corbusier as well as Mies van der Rohe, an iconic furniture designer and fellow proponent of modernist architecture.
Celebrated architectural marvels created by Bunshaft include the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library for Yale University and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Research Building for the University of Texas. Completed in 1974, Bunshaft designed the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and finished the National Commercial Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 1983. The National Commercial Bank was his last project.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Gordon Bunshaft case pieces and other furniture.
1936 Painting of Berlin by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM)
By Gordon Bunshaft
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an original 1936 painting of Berlin by Gordon Bunshaft, the influential modernist architect best known for his work with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). It is a rare and in...
Wood
"A Schooner off of the Coast" by American Artist Gordon Hope Grant
By Gordon Grant
Located in Wiscasset, ME
An oil on canvas by American artist Gordon Hope Grant featuring a schooner off of the coast. This painting is signed and dated i1945 n the lower left and measures 33.5" x 33.5" incl...
Paint
$4,500
H 17.5 in W 14.5 in D 1 in
"Portrait of Boxer, 1936 Olympics", Striking View of Umberto Pittori, Italy
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This bold and vivid portrait of boxer Umberto Pittori, painted during the 1936 Olympics in Germany, is a striking view of an Italian athlete painted by a Swedish artist in Germany. ...
Paint
$1,636
H 12.05 in W 14.18 in D 2.37 in
Oil Painting Berlin Schlossbrücke Sign, Heinz Scholtz, 20th Century
Located in Berlin, DE
Oil painting Berlin Schlossbrücke sign. Heinz Scholtz, 20th century Oil on copper painted painting signed by Heinz Scholtz from Berlin. Born October 30, 1925 View painting by the...
Copper
$495
H 12.63 in W 15 in D 0.07 in
Gordon Nielson, Antique Dutch School Watercolor Painting, Signed, circa 1878
Located in Chatham, ON
GORDON NIELSON - Antique Dutch school watercolor painting on paperboard - signed and dated lower right - contained in the original vintage matte - unframed - Europe - circa 1878. ...
Paint, Paper
$3,200
H 24.25 in W 20.5 in D 1 in
"Man in White Suit", Men's Fashion Painting by Wiencke for Berlin Clothing Shop
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This original painting, commissioned by a fashionable men's store in 1920s Berlin, features a handsome and debonair man wearing a white fedora, a double-breasted white suit, a blue a...
Paint
$25,000
H 36 in W 48 in D 2 in
1936 WPA Era American Scene Modernist Painting "A Connecticut Day" Howard Ahrens
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
1936 WPA Era AMERICAN SCENE MODERNIST PAINTING A Connecticut Day HOWARD AHRENS Truly a museum quality artwork. Absolutely beautiful American modernist painting depicting a group of...
Canvas, Paint
Oil Painting David Merrill Landscape with Barn
Located in Toledo, OH
Original oil on board landscape with barn by Connecticut artist David Merrill 1935. Frame has wear and corners are loose. Painting in very nice condition...
Wood
Pair of Watercolours by 'Albert' Gordon Thomas R.S.W
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A pair of watercolours by (Albert) Gordon Thomas R.S.W ( 1893-1970), one titled ‘Summer Afternoon Weymouth’showing a gentleman’s motor yacht in the foreground and the other ‘Yachts a...
Paint, Paper
Painting by Gordon Coutts
Located in San Francisco, CA
Oil on canvas portrait in giltwood frame, signed Gordon Coutts (b.1868-d.1937.) Born in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct. 3, 1868, Gordon Coutts studied art in Glasgow, London and in Pari...
Canvas
Otmar Alt Figurative Painting, Berlin, circa 1969
By Otmar Alt
Located in New York, NY
From the whimsical world of German artist Otmar Alt comes this great mixed media on paper, circa 1969. He is known as one of the most significant contemporary artists in Germany. Along with Horst Antes and HAP Grieshaber...
Wood, Paper, Crayon
$1,868
H 18.12 in W 22.84 in D 0.79 in
Early 20th Century Oil Painting - Gordon Setter Dog - by Arthur Heyer
By Arthur Heyer
Located in Casteren, Noord-Brabant
A beautiful oil painting, a Gorden Setter dog on the walk, by the German artist Arthur Heyer. Signed lower right. Beautifully done. The movement and anatomy of the dog are taken fro...
Paint
Gordon Eastcott Payne Watercolor Painting
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
Gordon Eastcott Payne watercolour painting (Canadian 1890-1983.) Painting of Bear River, Nova Scotia. Gordon Payne was born in Payne's Mill...