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
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
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
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
Minimalist Oil on Paper by Doug Ohlson 1936-2010 American
Located in Dallas, TX
An original Minimalist oil painting on paper by Doug Ohlson, 1936-2010. Doug Ohlson was an American abstract artist who specialized in geometric patterns and vivid colors. The artwor...
Paper
Vintage Female Nude Oil Painting by Helge Frender c. 1936
By Helge Frender
Located in Atlanta, GA
Vintage Swedish painting, 1936. Oil on linen.
Stamped on back: "Aktiebolaget Wil Becker, Stockholm"
Dimension of painting without frame - 23 3/8 w x 17 5/8...
Linen
$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
$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
$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
$1,640
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
Original Oil Painting by Viktor Freytag, Berlin, 1950
By Viktor Freytag
Located in Niederdorfelden, Hessen
The original oil painting is painted by Viktor Freytag (1870-?), Berlin in 1950 on deep streched canvas and is currently unframed.
Canvas
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...