Sofa by Florence Knoll
View Similar Items
Sofa by Florence Knoll
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Width: 1 in (2.54 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 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. Please contact dealer to discuss upholstery services.
- Seller Location:Cambridge, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU95332306592
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 Sofa for Knoll InternationalBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAA classic mid-century tufted sofa by Florence Knoll Sofa for Knoll International c.1950s, USA. It can easily be floated in the center of a room as the b...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Florence Knoll Parallel Bar Sofa for KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAFlorence Knoll Parallel Bar Armed Sofa. Newly reupholstered in a great weave fabric in shades of red, gray and purple. Very solid and subst...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsStainless Steel, Metal
$4,640 Sale Price38% Off - Florence Knoll Three-Seat SofaBy Knoll, Florence 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
- Wonderful No. 26 Sofa by Florence Knoll for Knoll InternationalBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Munich, DERare no.26 by florence knoll in showroom condition. Hardly used only re-upholstered and used one time for a photo shooting and very exclusive model redone with very cosy fabric in wa...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- Pristine Florence Knoll Sofa for Knoll InternationalBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAPristine Florence Knoll sofa for Knoll International. Upholstered in gorgeous Sina Pearson fabric. Florence Knoll was a pioneering designer and entrepreneur who created the modern look and feel of America’s postwar corporate office with sleek furniture, artistic textiles and an uncluttered, free-flowing workplace environment. To connoisseurs of Modernism, the mid-20th century designs of Florence Knoll, were — and still are — the essence of the genre’s clean, functional forms. Transcending design fads, they are still influential, still contemporary, still common in offices, homes and public spaces, still found in dealers’ showrooms and represented in museum collections. Ms. Knoll learned her art at the side of Modernist masters. She was a protégé of the German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and teacher and the father of the architect Eero Saarinen. And she worked with the renowned Bauhaus architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. Throughout her career, influenced by the German Bauhaus school of design, she promoted the Modernist merger of architecture, art and utility in her furnishings and interiors, especially — although not exclusively — for offices. In the 1940s, she married and became a business partner of the German-born furniture maker Hans Knoll, and over 20 years she was instrumental in building Knoll Associates into the largest and most prestigious high-end design firm of its kind, with 35 showrooms in the United States and around the world. While her husband handled business affairs, Ms. Knoll was the design force of Knoll Associates. It grew to become the leading innovator of modern interiors and furnishings in the 1950s and ’60s, transforming the CBS, Seagram and Look magazine headquarters in Manhattan, the H. J. Heinz headquarters in Pittsburgh and properties across the United States, Europe, Asia and South America, including American embassies. Her “total design” favored open work spaces over private offices, and furniture grouped for informal discussions. It integrated lighting, vibrant colors, acoustical fabrics, chairs molded like tulip petals, sofas and desks with chrome legs...Category
Early 2000s American Modern Sofas
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Pristine Florence Knoll Sofa for Knoll InternationalBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAPristine Florence Knoll Sofa for Knoll International. Upholstered in gorgeous Sina Pearson fabric. Florence Knoll was a pioneering designer and entrepreneur who created the modern look and feel of America’s postwar corporate office with sleek furniture, artistic textiles and an uncluttered, free-flowing workplace environment. To connoisseurs of Modernism, the mid-20th-century designs of Florence Knoll, were — and still are — the essence of the genre’s clean, functional forms. Transcending design fads, they are still influential, still contemporary, still common in offices, homes and public spaces, still found in dealers’ showrooms and represented in museum collections. Ms. Knoll learned her art at the side of Modernist masters. She was a protégé of the German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and teacher and the father of the architect Eero Saarinen. And she worked with the renowned Bauhaus architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. Throughout her career, influenced by the German Bauhaus school of design, she promoted the Modernist merger of architecture, art and utility in her furnishings and interiors, especially — although not exclusively — for offices. In the 1940s, she married and became a business partner of the German-born furniture maker Hans Knoll, and over 20 years she was instrumental in building Knoll Associates into the largest and most prestigious high-end design firm of its kind, with 35 showrooms in the United States and around the world. While her husband handled business affairs, Ms. Knoll was the design force of Knoll Associates. It grew to become the leading innovator of modern interiors and furnishings in the 1950s and ’60s, transforming the CBS, Seagram and Look magazine headquarters in Manhattan, the H. J. Heinz headquarters in Pittsburgh and properties across the United States, Europe, Asia and South America, including American embassies. Her “total design” favored open work spaces over private offices, and furniture grouped for informal discussions. It integrated lighting, vibrant colors, acoustical fabrics, chairs molded like tulip petals, sofas and desks with chrome legs...Category
Early 2000s American Modern Sofas
MaterialsStainless Steel