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Paul Evans Furniture

American, 1931-1987

A designer and sculptor, Paul Evans was a wild card of late 20th century modernism. A leading light of the American Studio Furniture movement, Evans’s sideboards, credenzas, coffee tables and other work manifests a singular aesthetic sense, as well as a seemingly contradictory appreciation for both folk art forms and for new materials and technologies.

Evans’s primary material was metal, not wood, which was favored by his fellow studio designers, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, neighbors George Nakashima and Phillip Lloyd Powell. He trained in metallurgy and studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the famed crucible of modern design and art in suburban Detroit. For a time early in his career, Evans also worked at Sturbridge Village, a historical “living museum” in Massachusetts, where he gave demonstrations as a costumed silversmith.

Evans’s earliest work unites these influences. The pieces that made his reputation are known as “sculpted-front” cabinets: wood cases faced with box-like high-relief patinated steel mounts laid out in a grid pattern. Each mount contains a metal emblem, or glyph, and the effect is that of a brawny quilt.

Evans’s later work falls into three distinct style groups. His sculpted-bronze pieces, begun in the mid-1960s, show Evans at his most expressive. He employed a technique in which resin is hand-shaped, and later sprayed with a metal coating, allowing for artistic nuance in the making of chairs, tables and case pieces. Later in the decade and into the 1970s, Evans produced his Argente series for celebrated manufacturer Directional (​​a brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere): consoles and other furniture forms that feature aluminum and pigment-infused metal surfaces welded into abstract organic forms and patterns.

Last, Evans's Cityscape design series — a milestone in the history of brutalist design — meshed perfectly with the sleek, “high tech” sensibility of the later ’70s. Evans constructed boxy forms and faced them with irregular mosaic patterns that mixed rectangular plaques of chromed steel, bronze or burlwood veneer. These, like all of Paul Evans’s designs, are both useful and eye-catching. But their appeal has another, more visceral quality: these pieces have clearly been touched by an artist’s hand.

Find a collection of authentic Paul Evans furniture today on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Paul Evans
Dealer: Venfield
Paul Evans Dining Table Model No. PE 23 1968
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
One of a kind vintage Paul Evans Brutalist dining table, Model No. PE 23. Iconic and Impressive dining table made of painted and welded steel and bronze. It was designed by Paul Evan...
Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Bronze, Steel

Paul Evans "PE 400" Cityscape Dining Table, 1970s
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in New York, NY
Iconic tesselated polshed chrome and olive burl, PE 400 dining table by Paul Evans for Directional Furniture. American 1970's Dimensions (with glass) Width: 96 inches Dep...
Category

1970s American Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Chrome

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Paul Evans Sculpted Metal Dining Table
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Paul Evans Extending Dining Table
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Vintage Chrome "Cityscape" Dining Table by Paul Evans for Directional
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Exceptional vintage “Cityscape” dining table designed by Paul Evans for Directional in the United States, circa 1970s. This dining table belongs ...
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Paul Evans Rare Sculptured Metal Dining Table 1970s (signed)
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Rare Sculptured Metal Dining Table in bronzed resin with glass top by Paul Evans for Directional Furniture, American 1970 (signed "PE 70”). This series is very rare and this particul...
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Paul Evans Sculptured Metal Dining Table, 1969
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in New York, NY
Sculptured metal dining table model no. PE 102 in bronze composite with thick glass top by Paul Evans for Directional Furniture, American 1969. Signed and dated “P.E. 69” near the bo...
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Paul Evans Slate Top Patinated Copper Patchwork Cafe Breakfast Table, 1970s
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An incredible 1970s Paul Evans for Directional patchwork dining / game table with an inset top of thick, natural cleft slate and panels of patinated copper, brass and pewter. The dining table versions of this design are much more rare than the coffee table counterpart. The size makes it perfect as a center table, a game table, a cafe / breakfast table, a break table, a meeting table for small teams, or a small dining table. This table is dining table height so it works great with dining chairs as one can fit on each side. Would work great in a 1970s styled room or could also work great in a Mid-Century Modern, Regency, Contemporary, Classical, Traditional, Transitional and more. Consider for residential or commercial use... this table would be amazing in a hotel lobby lounge or restaurant, also consider in a creative or design studio, an executive office, retail boutique, or corporate lobby. Consider pairing with our other Paul Evans copper patchwork...
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1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Paul Evans for Directional 'Cityscape' Pe 200 Side Table
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Paul Evans for Directional, 'Cityscape' side table, from the PE200 series, chrome-plated steel, brass, glass, United States, circa 1975 This unique side table from the 'Cityscape...
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1970s American Post-Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Brass, Steel, Chrome

Paul Evans Sculped Bronze Skyline Dining Table, USA, 1969
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Miami, FL
Paul Evans sculped bronze skyline dining table, Iconic and early brutalist model, signed PE69 Exceptional abstract form texture, solid volume and powerful shapes 3/4" thick 96" x 48...
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Paul Evans Scuplted Bronze Gesso Brutalist Skyline Dining Table Signed PE 77
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Located in Ferndale, MI
Paul Evans dining table. Sculpted bronze resin over wood frame supports .75' thick glass top . Signed by Evans studio " PE 77 " . Fine original condition .
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Rare Paul Evans Welded Dining Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Incredibly rare and important patinated welded steel base dining table with gray slate slab top. 1/25 made to order studio pieces by Paul Evans Studio, American 1960's. Base is 24" D...
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Paul Evans, "Cityscape" Dining Table, Mirror, Wood, Directional, USA, c. 1970
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A wood and mirror "Cityscape" dining table designed by Paul Evans and produced by Directional, circa 1970.
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Paul Evans for Directional Cityscape Dining Table
By Paul Evans
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Paul Evans for Directional cityscape table base. Size lends itself to either being a dining table or console table base, glass is not included....
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Paul Evans furniture for sale on 1stDibs

Paul Evans' furniture is available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive objects are frequently made of metal and designed with extraordinary care. There are many options in our Paul Evans collection of furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. There are 321 vintage versions of these items in stock, while there is 0 modern edition to choose from as well. Many original furniture by Paul Evans were created in North America during the 20th century in the Mid-Century Modern style. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Karl Springer, Mastercraft and Charles Hollis Jones. Paul Evans furniture prices can vary depending on size, time period and other attributes. The price for these items starts at $950 and tops out at $425,000, while pieces like these can sell for $11,000 on average.

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