Florence Knoll Armless Three-Seat Sofa with Walnut Frame and New Gray Upholstery
View Similar Items
Florence Knoll Armless Three-Seat Sofa with Walnut Frame and New Gray Upholstery
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 84 in (213.36 cm)Depth: 29 in (73.66 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU882613446002
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.
- One-Off American Studio Craft Movement Modern Sofa in Black Walnut and Raw SilkLocated in Brooklyn, NYAn exceptional American Studio Craft sofa executed in black walnut and finished with a raw silk seat cushion, designed and built by Larry an...Category
20th Century American Modern Sofas
MaterialsSilk, Walnut
- Unusual Freeform Ceramic Bowl in Gray and Red Glazes, Czech Republic, 1950sLocated in Brooklyn, NYA striking and highly unusual slip cast ceramic vessel in a rather complex matte, gray glaze that nearly resembles stone, finished with an intense glossy red glaze to the interior. C...Category
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Aldo Londi for Bitossi Ceramic Vessel with Walnut Lid, 1950sBy Bitossi, Aldo LondiLocated in Brooklyn, NYEarly (pre 1956) mid-century modern ceramic vessel with walnut lid designed by Aldo Londi for Bitossi. Signed to the underside.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Jars
MaterialsCeramic, Wood
- Hans J Wegner The Chair Model JH501 in Teak with Original Cane SeatBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Brooklyn, NYA beautiful example of Hans Wegner's timeless The Chair or Round Chair built by cabinetmaker, Johannes Hansen, in solid teak with its original cane seat. The caning is 95% intact and...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsCane, Teak
- Charles Dudouyt Fireside Low Chair or Stool in Stained Oak with Rush SeatBy Charles DudouytLocated in Brooklyn, NYA low fireside chair (chauffeuse) or stool in stained oak attributed to Charles Duduouyt, with turned, truncated cone-shaped legs floating over rece...Category
Vintage 1940s French Organic Modern Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Rush, Oak
- American Studio Dovetailed Box in Walnut and Birds Eye MapleLocated in Brooklyn, NYA rectangular box in satin-finished walnut and bird's-eye maple with dovetailing to both body and lid, large wood hinges, and a spring-loaded button closure. Aside from what seem the...Category
20th Century American Organic Modern Decorative Boxes
MaterialsBirdseye Maple, Walnut
- Florence Knoll Three-Seat SofaBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Chicago, ILFlorence Knoll Three-Seat Sofa reupholstered with Great Plains "Teddy" warm silver heavy boucle made of alpaca, and wool. Solid maple-turned tapered legs.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsBouclé, Maple
- Early Florence Knoll Armless Sofa and Chair SetBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is an early and rare Knoll sofa and chair set. This sets one and only home was non-other then a Richard Nuetra estate in the Hollywood Hills. N...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Florence Knoll 3-Seat SofaBy Florence KnollLocated in Munich, DEFlorence Knoll 3-seat sofa. Nice original condition.Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric
$2,184 Sale Price44% Off - 1949 Florence Knoll Associates 26 BC Upholstered 3-Seater Sofa New UpholsteryBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a 1949 Florence Knoll for Knoll Associates 26 BC upholstered 3-seater sofa, which was just freshly reupholstered by Forthright, a renowned upholstery shop based in...Category
Vintage 1940s American Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric
- Attributed to Florence Knoll Three-Seat Mid Century Sofa in black upholsteryBy Florence KnollLocated in Chicago, ILAttributed to Florence Knoll Three-seat sofa in black upholstery. Circa late 20th or 21st century. 84.5" W Unmarked on the bottom. Condition: Overall very good condition. No rips o...Category
Early 2000s Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsChrome
- 1950s Florence Knoll Associates Three Seat Sofa Redone by East Penn UpholsteryBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is an original Florence Knoll three-seater sofa, designed by the renowned Florence Knoll and produced by Knoll Associates. This example was produced during the later ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Sofas
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.