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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 PE400 Faceted Dining Table in Walnut Burl & Chrome Plated Steel 1970s
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
The Cityscape collection designed by Paul Evans was produced by Directional Furniture from 1970 until 1981. The collection drew inspiration from urban environments and architectural ...
Category

1970s American Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Paul Evans Welded Steel & Glass Crescent Base Dining Table 1970 (Signed)
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Pair of brutalist welded steel crescent shaped table bases decorated with colored enamel paint and gilt accents by Paul Evans for Directional Furniture. Bases support a thick glass t...
Category

1970s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Enamel, Steel

Paul Evans Rare Welded Steel PE-46 Lamp Table 1960s
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Whether arranging metal pieces to create panels of intricate metal relief for his Sculpture Front series, fusing together a collage of steel sheets to form his Welded Steel collectio...
Category

1960s American Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Enamel, Steel

Paul Evans Sculpted Bronze PE 128 "Stalagmite" Coffee Table 1971 (Signed)
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
The work of Paul Evans is characterized by its seamless joining of art with functionality, the designers craftsmanship and his bold aesthetic. No where is this more evident than in t...
Category

1970s North American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Bronze, Sheet Metal

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Paul Evans Bronze Stalagmite Coffee Table
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Paul Evans Cityscape Long Dining Table
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Paul Evans for directional "Cityscape", 84" Parsons style dining table. All chromed metal over wood with additional pair of leaves. Possible length of 114" with both 15" leaves.
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Paul Evans Glass Chrome Cityscape Coffee Table for Directional 1970s
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Paul Evans Glass Chrome Cityscape Coffee Table for Directional 1970s 1970's Cityscape for Directional Furniture table by Paul Evans. Patchwork of chrome an...
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Mid-20th Century American Modern Paul Evans Furniture

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Paul Evans, "Cityscape" Dining Table, Mirror, Wood, Directional, USA, c. 1970
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in High Point, NC
A wood and mirror "Cityscape" dining table designed by Paul Evans and produced by Directional, circa 1970.
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1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Paul Evans for Directional Brutalist Glass and Resin Coffee Table signed PE70
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in New York, NY
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Paul Evans for Directional Model PE-102 'Stalagmite' Dining Table Signed PE72
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Made by American Design icon Paul Evans, this table was sold by Directional after production in 1972. At this point in his career, Evans had perfected his formula. The sculptured bro...
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1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Paul Evans Signed & Dated Rectangular Sculpted Bronze and Glass Cocktail Table
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
This beautiful and iconic Brutalist sculpted bronze "Stalagmite" was realized by the fabled designed Paul Evans in in 1970. It features a welded sculptural and heavily textured bronz...
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1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Midcentury Dining Table by Paul Evans for Directional
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Stunning vintage dining table by Paul Evans for Directional. Beautiful patchwork burl wood design that sits on a pedestal base with chrom...
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1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Chrome

Paul Evans Patchwork Metal Rectangle Coffee Table Base
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Paul Evans for Directional Metal Patchwork Table Base Welded Steel, Bronze & Copper 1970s Glass Top Measurements Length : 48 in Depth : 24 in Thickness ...
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1970s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Bronze, Copper, Steel

Paul Evans Signed Mid Century Chrome Cityscape Dining Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Countryside, IL
Paul Evans Signed mid century chrome Cityscape dining table This table measures: 48 wide x 48 deep x 26 inches high, with a chair clearance of 24 ...
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1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Glass

Paul Evans Rare Oversize Sculpted Bronze Coffee Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Highland, IN
This exceptional coffee table by Paul Evans was a custom order and is the largest we've ever seen of his sculpted bronze series. The architectural base, an arrangement of heavily tex...
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1970s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Previously Available Items
Paul Evans PE 70 Sculpted Bronze Cocktail Table, 1970 (Signed)
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Located in New York, NY
Borrowing from a technique used to repair the hulls of ships, Paul Evans combined traditional craft with experimental material and devised a process that created pieces that appeared...
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1970s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Paul Evans PE 102 Sculpted Bronze Dining Table 1973 (Signed)
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in New York, NY
Hand crafted epoxy and atomized bronze applied over steel, dining table base with thick glass top. This iconic table combining traditional craft with experimental materials is signed...
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Bronze, Steel

Paul Evans "PE 400" Cityscape Dining Table, 1970s
By Directional, Paul Evans
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...
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1970s American Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

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Chrome

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 weld...
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1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Steel, Bronze

Paul Evans Brutalist Wall Shelving
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Wall unit in sculpted bronze resin with smoke glass shelves by Paul Evans, American 1972 (signed on the bottom of the middle frame "PE 72").  
Category

1770s American Brutalist Antique Paul Evans Furniture

Materials

Glass, Hardwood

Paul Evans Brutalist Wall Shelving
Paul Evans Brutalist Wall Shelving
H 76 in W 96 in D 18 in

Paul Evans furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Paul Evans furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Paul Evans furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Paul Evans 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 Widdicomb Furniture Co., Mastercraft, and Harvey Probber. Prices for Paul Evans furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $713 and can go as high as $220,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $11,832.

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