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Florence Knoll Sofa

About
Details
- CreatorFlorence Knoll (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 33 in. (83.82 cm)Width: 92 in. (233.68 cm)Depth: 32 in. (81.28 cm)
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1947
- ConditionReupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use. Fully Restored.
- Seller LocationDallas, TX
- Reference Number1stDibs: U1207148785527
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Dallas, TX
- Return Policy
This item cannot be returned.
About the Designer
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.

- Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll InternationalBy Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXAcquired from the original owner who bought it new in 1967 from Knoll. Two-seat sofa with loose back cushions with the original upholstery. Sofa sits on walnut base and is in excelle...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsTextile
$5,400 Sale Price / item20% Off - Architectural Florence Knoll T-Angle Table BenchBy Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXEarly Florence Knoll 'T-Angle' table bench with original black laminate tops. Would serve well and an oversized coffee table or cocktail table but it is built in a way that would eas...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Beautiful Early Florence Knoll Desk and Return for Knoll InternationalBy Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXFlorence Knoll Desk model #1544 EWR with natural woven cane KC-4 kneehole modesty panel. Top drawer retains the original pencil tray and functional locking device for all three drawe...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsCane, Laminate, Wood
$4,800 Sale Price20% Off - Four Drawer Chest by Florence Knoll for Knoll InternationalBy Florence Knoll, Knoll & DrakeLocated in Dallas, TXPair of four drawer chests designed by Florence Knoll, 1948 for Knoll International.Category
Mid-20th Century North American Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMaple
- Florence Knoll Table Desk in Exotic Brazilian RosewoodBy Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXEarly table/desk with a beautiful Brazilian rosewood top designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International, 1961. This table is in excellent condition and was in the Joslyn Art Muse...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Wall Mount Credenza after Florence Knoll Mid-Century Modern, 1960sBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXCustom-made wall mount credenza after Florence Knoll. The cabinet is an exotic rosewood laminate and the doors are white laminate. A large quality crafted piece with great style at a...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsLaminate, Wood
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