An American woodworker known for a wide range of furniture that is sensuous, sculptural and imbued with character, Phillip Lloyd Powell is an iconic figure in design. His organic style transcended the conventions of popular mid-century modern furniture and is best reflected in the vintage cabinets and tables for which he is renowned.
“I am an artist working with furniture,” Powell once said. But the self-taught furniture maker wore a number of different hats throughout his lifetime. He crafted handmade furniture as a teenager at his boyhood home and went on to study engineering at what is now Drexel University. Powell served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, and, on his return, he established his first showroom in New Hope, in his home state of Pennsylvania, stocking furniture from Knoll, Herman Miller and Isamu Noguchi.
In New Hope, Powell encountered fellow furniture designers Paul Evans and George Nakashima. The latter, a master woodworker who preferred a personal approach to design over industrial methods and materials, encouraged Powell to concentrate on making his own furniture. When Powell did so, he’d experiment with Nakashima’s unused stock of wood, drawing on natural world forms for seating and shapely coffee tables.
Evans, who moved to New Hope in 1955, was invited to share Powell’s studio space. Powell’s furniture design practice really took off and a collaboration with Evans put into motion the 1960s American Studio Craft Movement, which came to include furniture designers Wharton Esherick and Sam Maloof. The decade-long partnership between Evans and Powell yielded stone-topped tables, walnut chests with sculptured metal exteriors and more.
Powell was inspired by Evans’s artistry as a jewelry designer — he was a skilled welder whose Cityscape pieces are milestones of brutalism. Powell, in turn, encouraged him to turn his sculptures into furniture. Like Evans, Powell incorporated a range of materials into his work, rendering the interiors of his hand-carved cabinets alluring and distinctive with applications of silver leaf and fabrics.
The sinewy arms of Powell’s famous New Hope lounge chair are representative of his broad expertise with wood and his ability to make graceful yet functional furniture. He worked slowly, and the influence of the natural world remained a driving force in his designs. Powell produced approximately 1,000 pieces while he lived and worked in New Hope until his death in 2008.
Find vintage Phillip Lloyd Powell furniture on 1stDibs.
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
Paul Evans & Phillip Lloyd Powell Box for Designers Inc. USA, 1960's
By Paul Evans, Phillip Lloyd Powell
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Paul Evans & Phillip Lloyd Powell Box for Designers Inc. USA, 1960's
Pewter
Pair of Walnut and Pewter Candlesticks by Paul Evans and Phillip Powell
By Paul Evans, Phillip Lloyd Powell
Located in Toledo, OH
Pair of Walnut and Pewter Candlesticks by Paul Evans and Phillip Powell. circa 1950s. A design from Designer's Inc, an early collaboration between Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powell...
Pewter
Paul Evans & Phillip Lloyd Powell, Very Rare, Walnut and Pewter Bottle
By Paul Evans, Phillip Lloyd Powell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is a very rare bottle. Only 5 were made because it was very difficult to make. This one was a gift to one of our clients.
Pewter
Jens Quistgaard Rosewood Box for Dansk, Denmark, c.1960
By Dansk, Jens Quistgaard
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Jens Quistgaard Lidded Rosewood Box for the Dansk Rare Wood Collection, Denmark, c.1960.
Wood
Paul Evans Mixed Metal Box
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Paul Evans Mixed Metal Riveted Box Good original Surface Useful Size
Metal
$1,278 / item
H 11.42 in W 7.49 in D 3.94 in
Numbered Edition Modern Malevich Vase CSL2 in Oxidized Copper and Steel by NOOM
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Malevich vase, one of the vases from the "Suprematic" collection. Collection inspired by the geometric works of the great Suprematist Kazimir Malevich. Suprematism is a modernist mo...
Copper, Steel
$591 / item
H 14.97 in W 6.7 in D 3.94 in
Vase Genke CS3 - Contemporary Minimalist Decor in Brass and Steel by Noom
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Genke Vase — part of the Suprematic Collection by NOOM, designed by Kateryna Sokolova, embodies the brand’s signature fusion of contemporary, bold, sculptural design with functional ...
Brass, Steel
$591 / item
H 14.97 in W 6.7 in D 3.94 in
Genke Vase CS2 - Bold Minimalist design in Copper and Painted Steel by Noom
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Genke Vase — part of the Suprematic Collection by NOOM, designed by Kateryna Sokolova, embodies the brand’s signature fusion of contemporary, bold, sculptural design with functional ...
Copper, Steel
$4,500 / set
H 12.75 in W 3.75 in D 3.5 in
Pair of Ettore Sottsass Silver Candlesticks for Swid Powell and Reed and Barton
By Swid Powell, Ettore Sottsass, Reed & Barton
Located in Kansas City, MO
Striking pair of silver plated candlesticks designed by Ettore Sottsass and made by Swid Powell in collaboration with Reed and Barton, 1980s.
Silver
$745 / item
H 14.18 in W 5.91 in D 7.09 in
Gabo Vase CS7 - Sculptural Minimalist Design in Copper and Steel by Noom
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Gabo vase, one of the vases from the "Suprematic" collection. Collection inspired by the geometric works of the great Suprematist Kazimir Malevich. Suprematism is a modernist moveme...
Copper, Steel
$1,250
H 1.5 in W 4 in D 2.5 in
Paul Evans, Phillip Lloyd Powell Style Petite Rosewood Box with Brass Inlay
By Phillip Lloyd Powell, Paul Evans
Located in Bainbridge, NY
American mid century rosewood and brass inlay small oval accessory box in the style of Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd, circa 1960. Featuring a handcrafted clam shaped 2-piece smooth da...
Brass
$3,312Sale Price|24% Off
H 1.625 in W 6 in D 4.25 in
Paul Dupré-Lafon Rectangular Cigarette Box for Hermès in Signature Leather, 1945
By Paul Dupré-Lafon
Located in Cheyenne, WY
This cigarette box was designed by Paul Dupré-Lafon for Hermès, Paris. The rectangular box features Hermès’ iconic orange color, with green leather and a hinged flip-top lid, impress...
Metal, Brass
Paul Evans Style Cityscape Mixed Metal Patchwork Chest
By Paul Evans, Maitland Smith
Located in Houston, TX
Paul Evans style cityscape mixed metal patchwork chest. Handsome Paul Evans style cityscape mixed metal patchwork chest, box, coffer or document box. ...
Metal
Masons Ironstone Bottle Vase in Chinese Dragon Pattern very rare, circa 1820
By Mason's Ironstone
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
This is a very rare ironstone vase, in the Chinese style, all hand painted in the coloured dragon pattern, made by the Mason's factory in the early 19th century. Both the vase shape and the pattern are very rare. The vase has a bottle shape with a fairly tall neck, having two dolphin head handles, with attached loops. (NOTES ON SHAPE This vase style is a copy of a much earlier Chinese bronze vase shape produced in the Ming, Hongwu period of 1368 - 1398, which had similar decorative animal head side handles with loops. ( See the book Chinese Ceramics by He Li, page 216, published by Thames & Hudson. ). Also On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 204; The square handles and rings illustrate the metal origins of the shape of the vase. Similar examples have been excavated in Chinese tombs dating to the fifteenth and sixteenth century, suggesting that the shape was particularly popular at that time.) This vase is beautifully hand decorated in a more complex variant of the Coloured Chinese Dragon pattern, with strong coloured enamels depicting a green dragon on one side and a pink dragon...
Pottery, Ironstone
$700
H 5.99 in W 2.76 in D 2.76 in
Japanese Colorful Antique Sake Bottle / 'Kutani Ware' / 1830-1900 / Small Vase
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
Kutani ware is a color-painted porcelain produced around Kanazawa City in the southern part of Ishikawa Prefecture, starting in 1655. It features a colorfu...
Pottery
Phillip Lloyd Powell Wood Lamp
By Phillip Lloyd Powell
Located in Atlanta, GA
Sculptural handcrafted lamp by Phillip Lloyd Powell, American, circa 1960s. Signed "PLP" underneath. Retains warm original patina. It has been rewired and is ready to use. Shade incl...
Walnut
Pair of Early Candlestick by Paul Evans and Phillip Powell
By Phillip Lloyd Powell, Paul Evans
Located in Atlanta, GA
A design from Designers Inc, an early collaboration between Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powell in the 1950s where they had their studios and joined showroom in New Hope, PA. The pai...
Pewter
Pair of Early Candlesticks by Paul Evans and Phillip Powell
By Phillip Lloyd Powell, Paul Evans
Located in Atlanta, GA
A design from Designers Inc, an early collaboration between Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powell in the 1950s where they had their studios and joined showroom in New Hope, PA. The pai...
Pewter
Phillip Lloyd Powell Candlesticks
By Phillip Lloyd Powell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of three brass and walnut candlesticks.
Brass