Authentic Early Florence Knoll Chrome Bench in Original Tweed
View Similar Items
Authentic Early Florence Knoll Chrome Bench in Original Tweed
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)Width: 72 in (182.88 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)Seat Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Las Vegas, NV
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1399214627011
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.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- 1970s Black Leather and Chrome Steel Daybed BenchLocated in Las Vegas, NVThis oversized bench is more like a daybed, you can use it as either really. Would be beautiful on a focal wall with a massive piece of deserving art pl...Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel
- Pair of Modern Chrome Stainless Steel BenchesLocated in Las Vegas, NVGorgeous and substantial pair of mirrored stainless steel benches, with floating frames, one with an attached seamless, white laminate table. Sofas are incredibly well made, easily w...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Benches
MaterialsStainless Steel
$3,800 / set - Antique Hourglass Bench in Burn-Out VelvetLocated in Las Vegas, NVThis gorgeous antique, art deco bench is a lovely feminine hourglass shape, that has been refreshed with a stunning burn out velvet on the top and a ne...Category
20th Century Art Deco Benches
MaterialsVelvet
- Mid Century Bentwood Slat BenchBy Hans BrattrudLocated in Las Vegas, NVLove this unique Mid Century bentwood slat bench. The curve of the seat and the rattan X details are everything. A truly unique piece. Can only find one other example, a lounge ch...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsMetal
- Antique Primitive Wooden Pew BenchLocated in Las Vegas, NVBeautiful handcrafted piece with beautiful patina. This antique bench has all the character a piece of this nature should. I imagine it was used in an old church or schoolhouse. Th...Category
Antique 19th Century Primitive Benches
MaterialsWood
- Pair of Primitive Bespoke Bench ChairsLocated in Las Vegas, NVGreat primitive bespoke pair of bench style chairs. This pair is incredible, pictures do them no justice. If you've been looking for a unique pair of statement chairs, look no furthe...Category
Mid-20th Century Arts and Crafts Chairs
MaterialsWood
$6,500 / set
- Early Midcentury Florence Knoll Bench 36''By Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in BROOKLYN, NYFor your consideration is this exceptional midcentury bench featuring tufted cushions on a chrome frame. The height is 17 inches and the depth is 18 inches. The total length is 3 fee...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsChrome
- Custom Florence Knoll BenchBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Houston, TXFlorence Knoll Bench USA 2017 leather, steel Measures: 48 W x 19.5 D x 16.75 H inches. Custom sized Florence Knoll bench in a custom flat steel finish with leather upholster...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel
- Vintage Florence Knoll BenchBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAA vintage Florence Knoll bench purchased out of a local Palm Springs estate. It had been nicely reupholstered and we liked the fabric and left i...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel
- 1960's Mid-Century Modern Florence Knoll Style Aluminum & Tweed BenchBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Burbank, CAVintage original Midcentury Modern bench for sale. Knoll style with an aluminum frame and reupholstered in new Knoll style black tweed and foam. It's stitch tufted and very elegant. ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsAluminum
- Florence Knoll Leather Bench, Knoll Associates Inc.By Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAFlorence Knoll bench with early label Knoll Associates, Inc. Madison Ave, NY. We had the bench redone in brown leather. Bench measures 80" wide, 20" deep and 17.5" high. The bench...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll for Knoll 72” Black Leather BenchBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAFlorence Knoll 72" Black Leather Bench for Knoll. Classic Knoll Design! Fits in perfectly to so many spaces! Functional and Elegant. All Original Condition with some nice patina....Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsChrome
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
10 Trailblazing Female Designers
From pioneering visionaries to contemporary talents, get to know some of the most important women in design.
Remembering Design Visionary Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019)
A loving look back at the life and career of a doyenne of mid-century-modern style, who died last week at the age of 101.