Pair of Alexander Girard Armchairs
View Similar Items
Pair of Alexander Girard Armchairs
About the Item
- Creator:Alexander Girard (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 25.5 in (64.77 cm)Width: 39 in (99.06 cm)Depth: 26.5 in (67.31 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1966
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Cathedral City, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85912550962
Alexander Girard
The director of design for the textiles department at Herman Miller, Inc., from 1952 to 1973, mid-century modern visionary Alexander Girard introduced bright, bouncy colors to upholstery and drapery fabrics, created jaunty graphics for marketing and advertising materials and devised motifs for everything from textiles to ceramics based on his true love: folk art from cultures around the globe.
The son of an American mother and an Italian father, Girard (known as Sandro to his friends) was born in New York City in 1907 but raised in Florence. He came from a creative family — his father was a master woodworker — and Girard began drawing and making his own playthings as a youngster. He had a fascination for nativity crèche tableaux, an enthusiasm that likely was the germ for his later interest in folk art. He went on to earn degrees in architecture at schools in both Rome and London before returning to New York in the 1930s and working in interior design.
By the 1940s, he and his wife, Susan, had moved to Detroit, where Girard was head of design for Detrola, a firm specializing in tabletop radios. The elegant bentwood housings that he developed for the devices won him acclaim, but, more importantly, at Detrola he met Charles Eames. The two became lifelong friends, and it was Eames who drew Girard toward Herman Miller, which had no dedicated textile department until Girard arrived, and most of its furniture was upholstered in mundane, “safe” hues. Girard changed all that, introducing fabrics in vivid shades of red, orange, yellow and blue. His early designs incorporated geometric motifs — stripes, circles, square, triangles and such. But toward the end of the 1950s he began to introduce folk art themes into his designs.
Girard did not collect important or expensive folk pieces. Rather he was drawn to simple objects such as handmade toys, figurines and models of animals, buildings and plants. The fabrics that emerged had whimsical, lighthearted motifs depicting, for example, angels, children, birds and flowers. Toward the end of his term with Herman Miller, in an effort to achieve what he termed “aesthetic functionalism,” Girard produced a group of what he called “Environmental Enrichment” pieces — silk-screened cotton panels emblazoned with various graphic designs, from bold geometric patterns to folk art themes. They were meant to divide spaces in offices or the home in lieu of walls while simultaneously functioning as art. Today, panels of vintage Girard upholstery textiles have become premium collectibles. The designer's furniture is less well known, primarily because most of it was created for private commissions.
Girard’s most lasting contribution may be his folk art collection. He and Susan had begun gathering pieces shortly after their marriage, in 1936. By the 1970s, they had amassed the world’s largest collection of cross-cultural folk art, composed of more than 100,000 pieces from around the world. The Girards donated their holdings to the Museum of International Folk Art, in Santa Fe (where they had moved in the ’60s), quintupling the institution’s collection, and a new wing — named for the Girards — had to be built to hold it.
Find a striking range of vintage Alexander Girard seating, tables, textiles and other furnishings on 1stDibs.
- Vintage Alexander Girard Side Chair for Herman MillerBy Alexander Girard, Herman MillerLocated in Pasadena, TXA vintage Alexander Girard armchair. The chair is upholstered in a olive color fabric. The classic color tone allow for the armchair to be a g...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAluminum
$7,920 Sale Price20% Off - Ray Charles Eames Herman Miller Padded Arm Shell Chairs Alexander Girard a PairBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller, Alexander GirardLocated in Forest Grove, PAA pair of fiberglass arm shell chair designed by Ray & Charles Eames and produced by Herman Miller in 1972. The white shells contrast nicely with cerulean blue seats and royal blue p...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Alexander Armchair by DomkapaLocated in Geneve, CHAlexander armchair by Domkapa Materials: Natural Leather, Rose Gold Brushed metal. Dimensions: W 88 x D 90 x H 96 cm. Also available in different materials. Please contact us. ...Category
2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Eames Girard Armchair by Herman MillerBy Alexander GirardLocated in Kalamazoo, MIIconic Eames fiberglass armchair upholstered in Alexander Girard fabric on a zinc plated base. The chair has new foam making it very comfortable. The fabric cover shows some loose ar...Category
Mid-20th Century Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
- Charles Eames Alexander Girard Shell Chairs in Two-Tone CheckerboardBy Alexander Girard, Charles EamesLocated in Chicago, ILA good pair of orange and yellow Charles Eames and Alexander Girard chairs for Herman Miller. Custom order label on underside. Dated May 6, 1974. More pics to come. Upholstery is in...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Pair of ArmchairsLocated in New York, NYPair of Russian neoclassical parcel-gilt mahogany armchairs Each armchair made during the Empire period in Russia. The mahogany veneered frame with gilded details. With unusual tu...Category
Antique 19th Century Russian Empire Armchairs
MaterialsGiltwood
$18,500 Sale Price / set32% Off