Pair Armless Lounge Chairs by Florence Knoll. Restored in Classic Boucle.
View Similar Items
Pair Armless Lounge Chairs by Florence Knoll. Restored in Classic Boucle.
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Width: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)Depth: 29.75 in (75.57 cm)Seat Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:The upholstery is excellent. Fully restored. The frames may show minor signs of wear.
- Seller Location:Kansas City, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1057012170583
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.
- Pair Jens Risom Armless Lounge Chairs. Maple with Red Webbing. Signed.By Jens Risom, KnollLocated in Kansas City, MOPair of Jens Risom lounge chairs from his original 1941 design collection for Knoll. These are more recent production, signed with the Knoll Studio medallion. These have been used ...Category
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsNylon, Maple
- Harvey Probber Lounge Chair, Restored, Purple Maharam Fabric and Brass LegsBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Kansas City, MOLarge and very comfortable lounge chair designed by Harvey Probber. Expertly reupholstered in purple Maharam Hallingdal fabric. Polished brass tubular legs.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Pair Buttercup Lounge Chairs by Estelle & Erwine Laverne, Professionally PolisedBy Laverne International, Erwine & Estelle LaverneLocated in Kansas City, MORare pair of Laverne acrylic or Lucite lounge chairs with white cushions. These have been professionally polished. Only very light scratches may remain. See the photos as one chair h...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
- Frank Gehry Power Play Chair and Ottoman for Knoll, Signed, Great ConditionBy Knoll, Frank GehryLocated in Kansas City, MOPower play chair and ottoman designed by Frank Gehry for Knoll in very close to new condition. There are no chips, cracks or repairs to the wood slats...Category
1990s American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMaple
- Pair Armless Lounge / Slipper Chairs with Brass Frames by Harvey ProbberBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Kansas City, MORare pair of Harvey Probber lounge chairs with brass frames. All original brass feet are intact. The original blue upholstery shows wear, stains and imperfections and is priced acc...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Lucite and Chrome Lounge Chairs Hand Signed by Charles Hollis Jones 1984By Charles Hollis JonesLocated in Kansas City, MOExtremely rare pair of acrylic / Lucite and chromed steel lounge chairs with arms designed by Charles Hollis Jones, 1984. The Lucite is excellent: no chips and very few if any light scratches. One chair arm has a few light scratches. The leather seat pads are unused. Charles engraved his signature on both chairs with the design and production date 1984. These are substantial, heavy chairs. So striking that at a glance it's apparent these are by the master of acrylic furniture...Category
Vintage 1980s American Hollywood Regency Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Pair of Armless Lounge Chairs by Florence Knoll for KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Dorchester, MAFlorence Knoll designed these slipper chairs in 1956 as part of a seating group that joined comfort with a clean-lined modernism. The chromed steel frames are canted at back and the ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- 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 - Florence Knoll Model 31 Lounge ChairBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Garnerville, NYEarly Florence Knoll (Florence Knoll Bassett) designed Model 31 lounge chair, circa 1958-62. She designed the chair in 1954 and it was in production until 1968. Black enameled steel ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$1,560 Sale Price20% Off - Pair of off White Leather and Stainless Steel Lounge Chairs by Florence KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CABeautiful 1950’s off white leather with parallel bar stainless steel legs lounge chairs designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll. This came out o...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Vintage Florence Knoll Slipper Lounge Chairs Restored in LeatherBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXA beautiful set of unique and very high-quality 'slipper chairs' model 51W, an early design by American designer Florence Knoll dates from 1955 and is becoming more rare to find nowa...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- 1960s Lounge Chair by Florence KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Sagaponack, NYA lounge chair formed by an armless button-tufted upholstered seat resting on a matte steel, rectilinear architectural frame.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
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.