Paul Evans "Cityscape" Dining / Game Table 1970s, 'Signed'
View Similar Items
Paul Evans "Cityscape" Dining / Game Table 1970s, 'Signed'
About the Item
- Creator:Directional (Manufacturer),Paul Evans (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Diameter: 60 in (152.4 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Condition: Very good - a few light scratches/dings to metal consistent with age. Wood is in excellent condition.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: diningtable1891stDibs: LU783828418922
Cityscape Dining Table
The Cityscape dining table created by artist, sculptor and furniture designer Paul Evans (1931–87) is one of the most recognizable examples of brutalist design. Evans, whose favored material was metal, is best known for his 1970s contributions to the American Studio Craft movement as well as his breakthroughs in brutalism. In the early 1950s, Evans studied at Philadelphia’s Textile Institute and then at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art, which has counted among its students and faculty Charles and Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen and many more towering design figures.
Later in the decade, Evans moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania, not far from the Bucks County town in which he was raised, and joined with woodworker Phillip Lloyd Powell in a decade-long partnership. Evans and Powell collaborated on a significant series of pieces, often procuring discarded wood from furniture maker George Nakashima, who had a neighboring studio. In 1964, Evans teamed with North Carolina manufacturer Directional Furniture, for which he designed classic lines, including the 1970s-era Cityscape series, which in addition to the dining table, included a coffee table, floor lamps, a credenza and more.
Although based in Pennsylvania, Evans found the inspiration for his Cityscape dining table in New York City’s crowded skyline — specifically, in the Art Deco office buildings and stately spires. Beneath the piece’s beveled glass tabletop, in a base fashioned from brass, chromed steel and walnut burlwood, Evans’s decorative clusters of boxy forms echo Manhattan’s blocky building tops and wealth of window glass. It’s clear that the Cityscape series has roots in Evans’s affinity for urban landscapes, but the line’s sculptural attributes rendered the work outlandish in modest living spaces — so much so that a Directional print advertisement characterized the designs as “startling.”
Paul Evans
A designer and sculptor, Paul Evans was a wild card of late 20th century modernism. A leading light of the American Studio Furniture movement, Evans’s sideboards, credenzas, coffee tables and other work manifests a singular aesthetic sense, as well as a seemingly contradictory appreciation for both folk art forms and for new materials and technologies.
Evans’s primary material was metal, not wood, which was favored by his fellow studio designers, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, neighbors George Nakashima and Phillip Lloyd Powell. He trained in metallurgy and studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the famed crucible of modern design and art in suburban Detroit. For a time early in his career, Evans also worked at Sturbridge Village, a historical “living museum” in Massachusetts, where he gave demonstrations as a costumed silversmith.
Evans’s earliest work unites these influences. The pieces that made his reputation are known as “sculpted-front” cabinets: wood cases faced with box-like high-relief patinated steel mounts laid out in a grid pattern. Each mount contains a metal emblem, or glyph, and the effect is that of a brawny quilt.
Evans’s later work falls into three distinct style groups. His sculpted-bronze pieces, begun in the mid-1960s, show Evans at his most expressive. He employed a technique in which resin is hand-shaped, and later sprayed with a metal coating, allowing for artistic nuance in the making of chairs, tables and case pieces. Later in the decade and into the 1970s, Evans produced his Argente series for celebrated manufacturer Directional (a brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere): consoles and other furniture forms that feature aluminum and pigment-infused metal surfaces welded into abstract organic forms and patterns.
Last, Evans's Cityscape design series — a milestone in the history of brutalist design — meshed perfectly with the sleek, “high tech” sensibility of the later ’70s. Evans constructed boxy forms and faced them with irregular mosaic patterns that mixed rectangular plaques of chromed steel, bronze or burlwood veneer. These, like all of Paul Evans’s designs, are both useful and eye-catching. But their appeal has another, more visceral quality: these pieces have clearly been touched by an artist’s hand.
Find a collection of authentic Paul Evans furniture today on 1stDibs.
- Paul Evans Iconic "Faceted Dining Table" in Walnut Burl and Polished Brass, 1970By Paul EvansLocated in New York, NYIconic "Faceted Dining Table" in walnut burl and polished brass with thick glass top by Paul Evans for Directional Furniture, ca 1970. This is one of Evans’ most sought after designs...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Paul Evans Wall-Mounted "Cityscape" Console in Tessellated Chrome 1970s 'Signed'By Paul EvansLocated in New York, NYWall-mounted console table, supporting brackets in tessellated chrome with glass top, by Paul Evans, Cityscape Series, for Directional Furniture, American 1970s (signed “Paul Evans”).Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Tommi Parzinger Elegant Center/Game Table, 1970sBy Parzinger Originals, Tommi ParzingerLocated in New York, NYChic center / game table model 701 with tessellated birch wood top and polished chrome base by Tommi Parzinger for Parzinger Originals, American 1970's. The artisan tessellated top m...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Center Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Philip and Kelvin LaVerne Unique Dining/Game Table with Glass Top 1970s (Signed)By Philip and Kelvin LaVerneLocated in New York, NYSculpture dining/game table with hand-welded pewter base finished in bronze tones with negative space and thick glass top by Philip & Kelvin LaVerne, American 1970's (signed on top “...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsPewter
- Karl Springer "Art Moderne Game Table" in Gunmetal with Shagreen Top 1970sBy Karl SpringerLocated in New York, NYStunning "Art Moderne Game Table" in polished gunmetal with polished chrome accents and tessellated pale plum shagreen top by Karl Springer, American 1970's. This table is a wonderf...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Game Tables
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Paul Evans Rare Double Pedestal in Polished Brass and Chrome, 1970s, 'Signed'By Paul EvansLocated in New York, NYRare sculpture double pedestal from the 200 Series in tessellated polished brass and chrome by Paul Evans for Directional Furniture, Cityscape Series, American 1970's (signed “Paul E...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Pedestals
MaterialsBrass, Chrome
- Paul Evans Cityscape Game, Side TableBy Directional, Paul EvansLocated in New York, NYNice signed example from the Cityscape series by Paul Evans for Directional. Hard to find form, usable as a game, side, or occasional table. This table is in good, original condition...Category
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Game Tables
MaterialsBrass, Chrome
- Paul Evans "Cityscape" Dining / Console TableBy Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in Denton, TXPaul Evans cityscape for Directional dining / console table with chrome-plated steel and burled wood base. Glass not included Base dimensions: 63 L x 19 D x 28.38 Glass: 71 3/...Category
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Paul Evans Burl and Chrome Cityscape Game Table & Accent Table, 1970'sBy Paul EvansLocated in Culver City, CAThis game table is absolutely stunning. Patchwork burl with chrome inlay, this table can be glammed up to be as maximalist or minimalist as you want – straight from the mind of the l...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
MaterialsChrome
$7,840 Sale Price20% Off - Paul Evans, "Cityscape" Dining Table, Mirror, Wood, Directional, USA, c. 1970By Directional, Paul EvansLocated in High Point, NCA wood and mirror "Cityscape" dining table designed by Paul Evans and produced by Directional, circa 1970.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMirror, Wood
- Paul Evans Cityscape Expandable Dining Table. Burl Wood and Chrome. Signed.By Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in Kansas City, MOStunning extension dining table designed by Paul Evans for his Cityscape series and manufactured by Directional. Patchwork burl top and chrome base. Without leaves it is a 47 inch ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBurl
- Paul Evans Cityscape Dining TableBy Paul EvansLocated in Miami, FLPaul Evans Cityscape dining table in chrome with two leaves.Category
Vintage 1970s Saint Pierre and Miquelon Mid-Century Modern Dining Room T...
MaterialsChrome