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.
Paul Evans for Directional Cityscape Style Mid Century Patchwork Burlwood Table
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Paul Evans for Directional Cityscape style mid century patchwork burlwood table The table measures: 39 wide x 39 deep x 29.25 high, with a chair...
Burl
Paul Evans 1967 Brutalist Welded Metal Bowtie Pyramid Coffee Cocktail Table
By Paul Evans
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Amazing signed Paul Evans 1967 welded metal brutalist cocktail coffee table. As seen by the date, this is one of his older tables. Bowtie pyramid design. In excellent condition with ...
Metal
Paul Evans Cityscape Patchwork Burlwood Console or Dining Table Base
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Houston, TX
Paul Evans for Directional cityscape patchwork burlwood console table, center table or dining table base. This stunning Mid-Century Modern Evans att...
Burl
$6,000Sale Price|20% Off
Paul Evans Brutalist Coffee Table
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Brutalist welded steel base, plate glass top table, signed Paul Evans.
Iron
Large Slate Top Patchwork Coffee Table by Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Brutalist patchwork coffee table with slate top by Paul Evans. The base is a variety of metals patchworked together to create an amazing mosaic of color and texture. Table measures ...
Slate, Copper
Cityscape Dining Table, Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in Los angeles, CA
Cityscape Dining Table, Paul Evans Material: Mahogany burl veneer, Chrome-plated Steel, Glass
Steel
Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table by Paul Evans, Polychrome Steel, 1960s
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in New York, NY
Mid Century Brutalist torch cut, welded polychrome steel double pyramid coffee table base by Paul Evans. Mint original condition. Sold without glass for cost effective shipping. Fre...
Steel
Paul Evans Bow-Tie Dining Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Savannah, GA
Bow-tie dining table from the Sculptured Metal series made for Directional in 1970. A variation of this design is published in Paul Evans: Designer and Sculptor, Head, pg. 79. weld...
Steel
Paul Evans Skyline Bronze Resin Coffee Table, 1971
By Paul Evans
Located in Astoria, NY
Paul Evans Skyline Bronze Resin Coffee Table, 1971, thick rectangular glass top above bronzed resin over wood base, signed and dated to the ba...
Glass, Resin, Wood
Paul Evans Custom Cabinet or Coffee Table
By Paul Evans
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A great early form, consisting of patinated copper, bronze and pewter. Original red painted interior.
Copper, Pewter, Bronze
Paul Evans Console with Mirror, Mid Century Modern, 1978, Hollywood Regency
By Paul Evans
Located in Stamford, CT
Paul Evans console and mirror, Mid-Century Modern. A rare model PE 881 marquetry inlaid mirror and console by Paul Evans. Purchased from Paul E...
Boxwood
Paul Evans Patchwork Brutalist Center, Coffee or Cocktail Table for Directional
By Paul Evans
Located in Plainview, NY
Mid-Century Modern iconic patchwork design table by Paul Evans (American 1931-1987). The modern brutalist table base is made of welded and patinat...
Bronze, Copper, Steel
$6,700Sale Price|21% Off
Paul Evans Patchwork Steel Coffee Table for Directional, Signed & Dated 1978
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning coffee table by Paul Evans for Directional, produced in 1978, signed and dated PE 78. The cube shaped form is fabricated from patinated pieces of painted steel which have be...
Steel
1970s Paul Evans Iconic Cityscape Dining Table, Signed
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in North Canton, OH
Iconic Paul Evans Burled Patchwork and Chrome Dining Table from his Cityscape Collection. Signed. Two leaves. Condition Disclosure: Please understand nearly all of our inventory is ...
Chrome
Paul Evans Brutalist Mid Century Patinated Steel and Bronze Coffee Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Paul Evans Brutalist Mid Century Patinated Steel and Bronze Coffee Table This coffee table measures: 36 wide x 36 deep x 16 inches high Excellent Vintage Condition. We take our ph...
Bronze, Steel
Gorgeous Paul Evans Mixed Metal Patchwork Coffee Table Mid-Century Modern
By Paul Evans
Located in Pemberton, NJ
Gorgeous patchwork coffee table by the iconic Paul Evans. This table is comprised of welded copper, bronze and steel. Evans designed this table for Directional in the 1970's. This ta...
Brass, Bronze, Steel
Signed Paul Evans City Scape Polished Chrome Double Pedestal Mid Century Modern
By Paul Evans
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Signed Paul Evans City Scape Polished Chrome Double Pedestal Mid Century Modern.
Chrome
Set Paul Evans for Directional Chrome Brass Cityscape Shelf Brackets Console
By Paul Evans
Located in Pemberton, NJ
Stunning set signed Paul Evans for Directional shelf brackets or console tables. The glass is not pictured but is included and is 12" w x 48" l and is brand new. This set is truly fa...
Brass, Chrome
Cityscape Dining Table Base Only by Paul Evans Published Model
By Paul Evans
Located in Atlanta, GA
An unusual table as part of the cityscape series by Paul Evans for Directional. Constructed with chrome plated cubes and lacquered surface and it is currently shown with a 42 by 84 glass top and functions as a dining table. However, it is in a very versatile size to accommodate glass tops of a wide range of sizes and shapes so it can also functions as a striking center table, or a console table. Table base only...
Chrome
Paul Evans Brutalist Side Table Welded Metal and Slate Top, Signed and dtd 1977
By Paul Evans
Located in Dallas, TX
Paul Evans unique signed brutalist side table. Painted and welded steel with a slate top. A timeless design. Signed Paul Evans and dated 1977.
Slate, Steel
Paul Evans Welded Steel 1967 Brutalist Cocktail Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Buffalo, NY
Paul Evans welded steel 1967 Brutalist cocktail table. Wonderful patina, class Evans design, retains original glass. Heavy base can hold much l...
Steel
Vintage MCM Paul Evans Cityscape Dining Table – Gunmetal Base, Smoke Glass Top
By Paul Evans
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Beautiful vintage Mid-Century Modern Paul Evans “Cityscape” dining table in a polished gunmetal finish. The table is signed and features a brand-new smoke glass top, perfectly comple...
Chrome
Price Upon Request
Sculpted Steel Low Table
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Paul Evans (1931–1987) was a visionary American furniture designer, sculptor, and artist celebrated for his groundbreaking role in the American Craft Movement of the 1970s. Renowned ...
Steel