Florence Knoll Three-Seat Sofa
View Similar Items
Florence Knoll Three-Seat Sofa
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer),Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 90 in (228.6 cm)Depth: 31 in (78.74 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU923310331611
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.
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.
- Florence Knoll ArmchairBy Florence Knoll, 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 - Floating Sofa in the style of Milo BaughmanBy Thayer Coggin, Milo BaughmanLocated in Chicago, ILMid-Century Modern floating sofa with curved ends on a chrome frame. This sofa is all newly upholstered in a black and white/gray tweed fabric with all new cushions. Sofa has the illusion of floating in air and looks fantastic from every angle, Very comfortable three seat sofa that needs your new pillows to complete the decor. In the style of Milo Baughman...Category
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsSteel
- Milo Baughman Button Up Sofa for Thayer CogginBy Thayer Coggin, Milo BaughmanLocated in Chicago, ILMade by Thayer Coggin and designed by Milo Baughman in 1959, the Button Up sofa is a timeless midcentury modern sofa. The Button Up sofa features button...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMohair, Walnut
- Harvey Probber Tuxedo Sofa in Jack Lenor Larsen VelvetBy Jack Lenor Larsen, Harvey ProbberLocated in Chicago, ILHarvey Probber tuxedo style sofa in original Jack Lenor Larsen green velvet floral upholstery. This sofa is in incredible original condition showing very minimal wear for its age and sits very comfortably with good cushions and spring support. It was displayed in a North shore Chicago...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsVelvet, Wood
- Pair of Joseph D'urso Swivel Lounge Chairs from KnollBy Knoll, Joseph D'UrsoLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Joseph D'Urso swivel lounge chairs on polished aluminum chrome bases in all original red boucle fabric and adjustable seats. Measurements with adjustable seat height variatio...Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Design Institute of America Dining Chairs, Set of ThreeBy Design Institute AmericaLocated in Chicago, ILThree 1970s dining chairs by Design Institute of America on heavy chrome sled frames. Excellent condition and recently upholstered with one chairs showing some light fading on the fa...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- 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
- 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
$2,170 Sale Price44% Off - Early Florence Knoll 3-Seat Model 26 SofaBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Brooklyn, NYVery early Florence Knoll sofa, circa late 1940s, in vintage oatmeal nubby wool Knoll fabric, with down seat and back cushions. The six inset legs make...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsTextile, Maple
- Florence Knoll 2-Seater Sofa, Classic Mid Century Modern, KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Buffalo, NYVintage Florence Knoll 2 seater 'lounge series' sofa with original 2nd generation upholstery in a coarse woven off-white mottled wool fabric. This sofa d...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsChrome
- Completely Restored Florence Knoll 25 BC Three-Seat Sofa by Wohnbedarf, 1950sBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Renens, CHThree-seat sofa designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International, and produced under license by Wohnbedarf AG, in the early 1950s. The sofa still has the original Wohnbedarf metal shield on the underside, which is in many cases lost after almost 70 years of age. The “25 BC...Category
Vintage 1950s European Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsWool
- 1950s Florence Knoll Associates Three Seat Sofa Redone by East Penn UpholsteryBy Florence Knoll, 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.