Pair of Mid-Century Modern Wingback Lounge Chairs by Paul McCobb

While a lot of mid-century-era furniture has attributes we describe as “futuristic,” others, like the Symmetric Group lounge chair — as well as the collection’s sofa — are demonstrably modern interpretations of traditional aesthetics.

For this 1962 chair, Massachusetts-born furniture maker Paul McCobb (1917–69) was inspired by the art and design found in New England — such as classic Shaker furniture, which prioritizes function over form, displays a handcrafted quality and was itself a pared-back version of much older designs. This was a radical departure from the design decisions of his contemporaries, many of whom instead cited Europe and Asia as being influential on their work. The Symmetric Group lounge chair, which McCobb designed for Widdicomb, features turned walnut legs and a seat with a tall back; the seat is comfortable and practical, featuring very little ornamentation, save for velvet upholstery.

A five-time recipient of MoMA’s Good Design Award, McCobb was best known for his furniture, but he actually got his start in the art world, studying painting at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston. His design career began after a move to New York City, where he secured a job as a decorating consultant at Martin Feinman’s Modernage Furniture. He would go on to create not only furniture, but also radios and televisions. While his Symmetric Group lounge chair isn’t the most recognized of his works — that distinction belongs to his Planner line for Winchendon Furniture Company — it does showcase the designer’s simple, sculptural aesthetic.

The single aesthetic attribute of vintage Paul McCobb furniture is that the designer completely forsook ornament — his pieces have no flourishes. And yet, because they are honest — McCobb’s chairs, desks and dining tables are made of solid wood, usually maple or birch, often paired with frames and legs of wrought iron; the cabinets are traditionally scaled; the seating pieces have historic antecedents such as the Windsor chair — his mid-century modern work has warmth and presence.

You could call the Massachusetts-born McCobb a man of parts. As a furniture designer, his work combined the attributes of many of his now better-known peers. 

Like the work of Bauhaus designers such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, McCobb's furniture had purity of form and line. Like the designs of Florence Knoll and George Nelson and his associates, McCobb’s work was efficient and purposeful. And even like George Nakashima, he was adept at interpreting traditional forms, in particular those of chairs, for the 20th century.

More than any other designer besides Russel Wright, with his ubiquitous ceramic tableware, McCobb was arguably responsible for the introduction of modern design into middle-class American households — if for no other reason than that he designed the 1952 set for the original Today show. 

McCobb, a repeat recipient of the Good Design Award from the Museum of Modern Art, also designed cohesive lines of furnishings, such as his best-known Planner Group, that gave homes an instant “look.” He designed for several companies, most notably Directional, which was home to McCobb’s Origami chair. 

In 1949, in partnership with New York furniture salesman B.G. Mesberg, McCobb set up the Directional Furniture Company, a​ brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere. Directional opened its doors after McCobb created the high-end Directional Modern line of sofas distributed by the New York-based Modernage Company. Directional also produced designs by other legends such as Paul Evans and Vladimir Kagan. 

As you can see from the offerings on 1stDibs, McCobb designs are the pin-striped suit, or the little black dress, of a decor: an essential.

Find vintage Paul McCobb credenzas, bookcases, nightstands and other furniture on 1stDibs.