Florence Knoll Model 65 Slipper Lounge Chair, 1956
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer),Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Design:Florence Knoll SofaLounge Series
- Dimensions:Height: 31.11 in (79 cm)Width: 27.96 in (71 cm)Depth: 27.17 in (69 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1956
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Dronten, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU931434339322
Florence Knoll Sofa
Although Michigan native Florence Knoll (1917–2019) modestly described her furniture as “meat and potatoes” designs that were largely “fill-in pieces” for the Knoll Associates catalog, works like the Florence Knoll sofa demonstrate her artful expression of modern proportions. Introduced in 1954, the sofa was made during the American designer and entrepreneur’s direction of the Knoll Planning Unit, the company’s pioneering “design consultant service” that would define the look of the postwar workplace. The versatile Florence Knoll sofa, with its angular silhouette and tasteful mix of textures — from the colorful upholstery options to its exposed metal frame and legs — could as easily fit into the glass lobby of a skyscraper as the living room of a home.
Before she met her husband, Hans Knoll, with whom she built Knoll Associates into an international tastemaker of mid-century style, Florence studied under architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology and worked for architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. That mentorship — from the major figures of the Bauhaus — had a significant impact on her approach to “total design,” in which each part of an interior was not just an object, it was a component of a comprehensive whole. Mies’s influence in particular is evident in the simplicity of the Florence Knoll sofa, its modern materials and restrained design channeling his “less is more” ethos. Its polished chrome steel legs and cushions with their clean lines further provided an architectural contrast to more sculptural pieces being created for Knoll Associates by designers such as Harry Bertoia, Eero Saarinen and Isamu Noguchi.
The numerous pieces Florence Knoll designed for the Knoll Associates furniture line were envisioned as design solutions for the changing needs in residential and office spaces. The Florence Knoll Lounge chair, also released in 1954, was a scaled-down companion to the sofa, so together they could offer flexible seating for a meeting space or entertaining area in the home.
Knoll may have designed her sofa because she needed a minimal piece as an element in the diverse interiors being filled with her company’s furnishings, but it’s now among the most celebrated of the company’s designs. Knoll, Inc. continues to produce the Florence Knoll sofa over half a century after it was introduced, and vintage models are still prized for their sturdy construction and timeless qualities.
Florence Knoll
Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her skillfully realized office plans and polished, efficient designs for sofas, credenzas, desks and other furnishings.
Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi.
Florence Knoll's main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture she created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.
Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.
Find vintage Florence Knoll sofas, benches, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Dronten, Netherlands
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Dining Table Model 578 in Walnut by Florence KnollBy Nordiska Kompaniet, Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Dronten, NLFlorence Knoll model 578 dining or conference table. The table features a boat shaped top in walnut with an enameled square tubular steel base. The beautiful book matched walnut tabl...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll Coffee TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Dronten, NLFlorence Knoll for Knoll International coffee table in white enameled steel and black laminate. Signed with decal manufacturer's label to underside. Literature: Knoll Furniture: 193...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Red Leather 72" Bench by Florence Knoll for Knoll InternationalBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Dronten, NLWhat a bold statement! Not the obligatory black leather, this Florence Knoll 72" Bench for Knoll is executed in the most exquisite red spinneybeck leather. Classic Knoll Design, fits...Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Pair of Kho Liang Ie Model 703 Lounge ChairsBy Kho Liang IeLocated in Dronten, NLPair of lounge chairs by Kho Liang Ie for Stabin Woerden, the Netherlands. Elegant and very comfortable minimalist design by the Dutch modernist master. Beautiful matte chrome frame...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Black Leather Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Barcelona Chairs, Matching Set of TwoBy Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, KnollLocated in Dronten, NLPair of Barcelona chairs by Mies Van der Rohe for Knoll International in black leather. Engraved with signature in the frame and marked with Knoll logo at the bottom of the cushions....Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Black Leather Italian Lounge ChairBy Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Dronten, NLStrikingly modern 1960's Italian lounge chair in dark brown stained ash with a tubular steel frame and black leather sling seat and back. According the original owner from Sicily, It...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Mid Century Florence Knoll Model 65 Slipper Lounge Chair Brown LeatherBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in BROOKLYN, NYVintage Mid Century original mid century Model 65 chairs by Florence Knoll for Knoll International. Classic great lines. The chrome bases are good shape...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Pair of Florence Knoll Model 65 Chrome Slipper Lounge Chairs, 1973By Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Bainbridge, NYClassic pair of florence Knoll chromed steel and Earthen Fabric Lounge chairs. Featuring 1 inch reflective sturdy, solid Chromed Steel constructed framework, angled rear legs and bac...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Florence Knoll Model 31 Lounge ChairBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Garnerville, NYEarly Florence Knoll (Florence Knoll Bassett) designed Model 31 lounge chair, circa 1958-62. She designed the chair in 1954 and it was in production until 1968. Black enameled steel ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Vintage Florence Knoll Slipper Lounge Chairs Restored in LeatherBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXA beautiful set of unique and very high-quality 'slipper chairs' model 51W, an early design by American designer Florence Knoll dates from 1955 and is becoming more rare to find nowa...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Red Florence Knoll Lounge ChairsBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAA pair of vintage Florence Knoll lounge chairs on steel bases. We have these totally refurbished and re-upholstered in red Maharam Messenger fabric. The bases have been polished, and...Category
20th Century American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- 1973 Florence Knoll International Slipper Lounge Chair Brown/Burnt Orange FabricBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is an original 1973 Florence Knoll for Knoll International slipper lounge chair in burnt orange/brown fabric. This example is beautifully preserved and in honest orig...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal