Set of Four Paul Evans Sculpted Bronze Armchairs, Late 1960s
View Similar Items
Set of Four Paul Evans Sculpted Bronze Armchairs, Late 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:Paul Evans (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32.29 in (82 cm)Width: 26.38 in (67 cm)Depth: 23.63 in (60 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: M61231stDibs: LU84079561723
Paul Evans
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 Sculpted Bronze ArmchairBy Paul EvansLocated in Dallas, TXA sculpted bronze armchair with original tufted leather by Paul Evans. Signed and dated.Category
Vintage 1970s Armchairs
MaterialsLeather
- Pair of Sculpted Armchairs Rare by Paul Evans for DirectionalBy Paul EvansLocated in San Diego, CADiscover the epitome of Mid-Century Brutalist design with this exceptional pair of sculpted armchairs crafted by the renowned Paul Evans circa 1969. These striking armchairs stand a...Category
20th Century American Brutalist Armchairs
MaterialsBronze
- Paul Evans Sculpted Bronze and Mohair Custom Sofa, 1960sBy Paul EvansLocated in Coronado, CAHere's a piece for all the Paul Evans collectors out there. This sensational, sculpted bronze sofa came from the original owners who custom ordered the piece through Directional Furn...Category
Vintage 1960s American Brutalist Sofas
MaterialsBronze
- Early Paul Evans Sculpted Bronze Throne Chair, Signed and Dated, 1969By Directional, Paul EvansLocated in Culver City, CAOne of the most recognizable and important names in the American studio craft movement of the 1960's and 70's, Paul Evans was a groundbreaking pioneer in brutalism. Collaborating as well as sharing a showroom with Phillip Lloyd Powell until 1964 when Evans met the owner of Directional Furniture and created a line of 6 coffee tables to go into the Directional High Point, NC booth for the spring Market. As the story has been recounted by Dorsey Reading, the tables never even made it to the showroom floor. Evans soon found out the tables never even had the opportunity to be sold; obviously disappointed, owner of Directional, BG agreed to put the tables out on the showroom floor in New York City to placate Paul Evans. What happened can probably best be compared today with "going viral." The coffee tables started flying off the floor, and the orders came rolling in. This fervor led to Evans creating eventually over 800 designs with Directional-- with the very first series being the "Sculptured Metal" Collection which was publicized in 1968. This piece specifically is a throne chair that also swivels. Upholstered in black leather, this throne chair is a wonderful example of Paul Evans Sculpted bronze technique, which involves hand sculpting using an epoxy resin and coating in an atomized cold cast bronze. This piece is signed and dated "PE 69" making it an early example of his goopy cast bronze series and line of furniture for Directional. It's extremely important to note: Directional Furniture showrooms in New York City and Chicago were private to-the-trade only showrooms, so only interior designers and their clients were able to custom order these pieces through the showroom. There was never any "inventory" of furniture. Each and every piece was a custom, hand crafted work of art, created to order. No two of any piece were ever alike. Evans eventually went on to employ a team of nearly 90 people, working two shifts-- helping to hand-craft his designs. This could easily explain why not every piece is hand signed, therefore making an early, had-signed pieces like this even more desirable for a collector. This piece has a wonderful patina, with vibrant colors and while still brutalist in nature, it's a bit more subdued and could effortlessly be blended into any contemporary environment. We currently have this piece in the gallery paired with a Vladimir Kagan serpentine cloud sofa, and a Karl Springer goatskin...Category
Vintage 1960s American Brutalist Armchairs
MaterialsBronze
- Set of Four Chrome Cityscape Chairs by Paul Evans for DirectionalBy Directional, Paul EvansLocated in Culver City, CAA stunning and rare set of 4 chrome cityscape chairs by Paul Evans for Directional. This matched set of PE-241 arm chairs are upholstered in a supple black matte ultrasuede and feature Evans' signature chrome patchwork design. These gorgeous Paul Evans Cityscape chairs...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
$6,000 Sale Price / set59% Off - Set of Eight Unique Chrome Paul Evans Studio Dining Armchairs 1973By Paul EvansLocated in Camden, MEAn original 60 year old set of eight unique chrome armchairs on coasters by Paul Evans produced at the Paul Evans Studio designed as part of an extensive commission for the home of p...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
