Knoll Lounge Chairs
View Similar Items
Knoll Lounge Chairs
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer),Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Design:Florence Knoll Lounge ChairLounge Series
- Dimensions:Height: 31.25 in (79.38 cm)Width: 32.25 in (81.92 cm)Depth: 32.25 in (81.92 cm)Seat Height: 18.25 in (46.36 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2018
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. There is very light soiling on the arms but this can be easily cleaned and is not very noticeable. Otherwise they are in good condition, with minor imperfections.
- Seller Location:Palm Springs, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU835017012902
Florence Knoll Lounge Chair
It doesn’t get more timeless or starkly modern than the boxy chrome-footed Florence Knoll lounge chair.
Designed in 1954 by Florence Knoll Bassett (1917–2019) for the legendary furniture manufacturer Knoll Inc. that she helped establish with her husband Hans Knoll, the chair is representative of all her signature gestures, from the sturdy construction to the button tufting, and like the rest of her work, it embodies the very essence of modernism.
In many ways, Knoll was destined to become a household name. Orphaned at a young age, she was enrolled at Kingswood School, part of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, which became home to many stars of mid-century modern design. She later flourished in her architecture studies with Bauhaus masters like Marcel Breuer and others. Knoll was a protégé of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at Columbia University’s School of Architecture, and her lounge seating, with its clean architectural lines, takes cues from her mentor.
Deeply inspired by the Bauhaus and its belief in melding art with industrial techniques, Knoll revolutionized the workplace. “Every time you see Barcelona chairs and a table in a lobby, that’s her [influence],” Kathryn Hiesinger, a curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, told the New York Times.
When Knoll designed this chair as part of her lounge series, which included a sofa, she called it “meat and potatoes” furniture and believed she was merely filling a need. While there’s no disputing the utilitarian properties of her classic pieces, they’re geometrically striking objects. The Florence Knoll lounge chair — with its low seat height and simple profile — would work in any setting, and Knoll was equally versatile. It’s hard to imagine modernism without her.
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 polished, efficient design and skillfully realized office plans.
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. Her main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture Florence 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.
- Red Florence Knoll Lounge ChairsBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAA pair of vintage Florence Knoll lounge chairs on steel bases. We have these totally refurbished and re-upholstered in red Maharam Messenger fabric. The bases have been polished, and...Category
20th Century American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$4,550 Sale Price / set30% Off - Warren Platner for Knoll big Easy Lounge Chair with Bronze FinishBy Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAA beautiful Warren Platner Big Easy Chair for Knoll. Originally purchased in the 1980's this chair was recently re-upholstered in a pretty Knoll fabric. It is in the Bronze Metallic ...Category
Vintage 1980s American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBronze
- Hand Welded Unusual Steel ChairLocated in Palm Springs, CAAn unusual handmade and welded steel chair in new upholstery. This chair was thought to have been sold at auction as part of the Mama Cass estate.Category
Vintage 1970s American Club Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- 1970s Chromed Steel Leather ChairsLocated in Palm Springs, CAA beautifully re-upholstered chromed steel armchairs. They have been redone in a wonderful distressed heavy leather. Not sure as to the manufacturer but they clearly look to be influ...Category
Vintage 1970s Unknown Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin Leather T ChairsBy Thayer Coggin, Milo BaughmanLocated in Palm Springs, CAA lovely pair of black leather and steel T chairs deisgned by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin. The design originates in the 1970's although these were produced sometime in the 2010's...Category
2010s American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$8,250 / set - 1960's Eero Saarinen for Knoll Womb Chair and OttomanBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAA lovely example of the Iconic Womb Chair and Ottoman designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll. We have had it re-upholstered in a genuine Knoll fabric, Crossroads in a Honey Bee color. T...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Pair of Classic Florence Knoll for Knoll Studio Tufted Tan Leather Lounge ChairsBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in St. Louis, MOClassic Florence Knoll tufted leather lounge chairs, originally designed in 1954, this pair is of recent production. Original Spinneybeck tan leather on satin chrome frame, both an u...Category
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Florence Knoll Aluminum Lounge ChairBy Florence KnollLocated in Chicago, ILInteresting lounge chair in the style of Florence Knoll. Aluminum Construction with Allen bolt connection. Looks to be original Gerard black and white checkerboard fabric. An uncommon chair...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Florence Knoll Lounge Chair on Steel Base in Heather Grey Tweed FabricBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Chattanooga, TNVintage original Florence Knoll lounge chair in heather grey tweed fabric. Although unsigned or tagged, this is 100% knoll, and most likely from the 1980's. Purchased from an estate ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$1,996 Sale Price20% Off - 1 Charles Pfister for Knoll Lounge ChairBy Knoll, Charles PfisterLocated in Pasadena, TXCharles Pfister for Knoll Lounge Chairs Designed by Pfister and manufactured by Knoll, these cube lounge chairs are a classic design that ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
$1,600 / item - Knoll Mid-Century Modern Box Shape Lounge ChairBy KnollLocated in Rockaway, NJBox chair by Knoll yellow velvet like upholstery.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Florence Knoll ArmchairBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Chicago, ILFlorence Knoll armchair on a gold tone steel frame. Upholstered in a cream color linen with removable cushions.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$2,316 Sale Price20% Off