Tall Single Arm Floor Lamp by Robert Sonneman
View Similar Items
Tall Single Arm Floor Lamp by Robert Sonneman
About the Item
- Creator:Robert Sonneman (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 75 in (190.5 cm)Width: 59 in (149.86 cm)Depth: 10 in (25.4 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Good vintage condition with some wear to the metal throughout, consistent with age and use. The black-lacquered visor is in structurally fine shape; the original lacquer shows some wear, as expected (see photos).
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU82856808823
Robert Sonneman
Though Robert Sonneman was quite literally born into the lighting business, it took working for another celebrated lighting maker for him to land upon the kind of boundary-pushing modernism for which the New York–based designer is known today.
At the age of 19, fresh off a stint in the U.S. Navy, Sonneman responded to an ad for a position working in the studio of George Kovacs on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where he became the sole employee. “Although my parents were in the lighting business, they came from a traditional perspective, and Kovacs introduced me to modernism,” Sonneman once said. “It was 1961, and I was immediately captured by the movement.”
While working for Kovacs, Sonneman became captivated by the work of the Bauhaus, and he began experimenting with the influential art and design school’s ideas of functional simplicity in lighting. In 1967, he opened his own studio.
Though Sonneman Design Group produced furniture for a brief time, the designer eventually elected to focus on the one category that had always fascinated him; the brand became known for its floor lamps, sconces, pendants and chandeliers that feature unconventional treatments toward shape and balance, often inspired by modern architecture. Sonneman once said of his work: “I saw the lamps that I built as lighting machines that glorified the industrial aesthetic.”
Indeed, in the spirit of Bauhaus functionality — Sonneman has also cited Mies van der Rohe as being an inspiration — the designer’s work takes function-centric forms and motifs and elevates them while prioritizing technology. This spirit of forward thinking continues today, as Sonneman’s brand, renamed SONNEMAN – A Way of Light in 2003, works with LED bulbs to continue to push the boundaries of what functional lighting can achieve aesthetically.
Current-day releases by SONNEMAN – A Way of Light (still overseen by Sonneman himself) feature 95 percent LED lights and include interior and exterior lighting as well as modular suspended lights as an alternative to track lighting. Sonneman’s vintage pieces, however, are still widely collected on the secondary market.
Find vintage Robert Sonneman lighting on 1stDibs.
- Ross Bellah Prototype Floor LampBy Ross BellahLocated in New York, NYAdjustable (up-and-down and pivoting) floor lamp with a Constructivist iron base surmounted by a quirky, almost anthropomorphic hand-molded fiberglass diffuser–an early use of fiberglass in product design. A one-off by Ross Bellah, made in the 1940’s with a design that straddles the Machine Age 1930’s and the Organic Design 1940’s. Bellah (1907-2004), along with his partner Carl Anderson...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsIron
- David Wurster Floor Lamp for RaymorBy David Wurster, RaymorLocated in New York, NYFloor lamp with round disc base and three vertical rods surmounted by tricolor fabric shades. Designed by David Wurster and distributed by Raymor, circa ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Dan Kiley Tall CabinetBy Dan KileyLocated in New York, NYTall cabinet of solid and painted wood, with six drawers and two doors, by renowned architect and landscape designer Dan Kiley. Basically, a freestanding built-in from the Charles an...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsWood
$18,000 - Antonio Salvador Orodea Tall Cylindrical VesselBy Antonio Salvador OrodeaLocated in New York, NYTall and narrow quasi-natualistic cylindrical vessel with incised stippled patterning by Madrid ceramic artist Antonio Salvador Orodea, princip...Category
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsStoneware
- Robert Loughlin Painting "Sky" in Jet Engine Turbine Fan FrameBy Robert LoughlinLocated in New York, NYOil on board titled "Sky" by outsider artist extraordinaire Robert Loughlin, painted in 2011. Set into an aluminum jet engine turbine fan. The only work of numerous I've handled that...Category
2010s American Machine Age Paintings
MaterialsAluminum
- Mutual Sunset Lamp Company Table LampBy Mutual Sunset Lamp Co.Located in New York, NYTable lamp of aluminum and glazed twine wrapping with an original textile shade manufactured by the Mutual Sunset Lamp Company circa 1940’s. Stamped MSLC underneath along with 4729, ...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Triennale Three-Arm Floor Lamp by Robert SonnemanBy Robert SonnemanLocated in New York, NYClassic black and chrome Triennale model floor lamp by Robert Sonneman, circa 1970s. This example is in very fine, original and working condition, having three chrome arms which adju...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Robert Sonneman 3-Arm Adjustable Eyeball Floor LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in Brooklyn, NYAmazing floor lamp designed by Robert Sonneman. Three adjustable arms with pivoting sockets allot for myriad configurations of form and function. All sockets function well. Chrome is...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Robert Sonneman Floor LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in Atlanta, GASculptural Black and Chrome Floor Lamp, designed by Robert Sonneman, American, circa 1970s. It has been rewired and is ready to use.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$1,400 - Robert Sonneman Floor LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in Palm Springs, CASonneman chrome plated steel floor lamp. Lamp measures 18" wide, 18" deep and 65" high. Base is 10" diameter. We had the shade professionally relined. Shade measures 12" wide, 12" de...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Robert Sonneman Eyeball Floor LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in San Diego, CARobert Sonneman eyeball floor lamp circa 1960s, USA. The lamp features a chrome sphere shade on a pivoting arm that can be adjusted to mult...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Robert Sonneman Orbiter Floor LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in San Mateo, CAAdjustable floor lamp designed by Robert Sonneman. The arc portion rotates 360 degrees. The straight arm adjusts the shade up and down as well as side to side. This makes an excellen...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsIron