Paul Evans Large Race Track Dining Table, 1970s
View Similar Items
Paul Evans Large Race Track Dining Table, 1970s
About the Item
- Creator:Directional (Manufacturer),Paul Evans (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Width: 72 in (182.88 cm)Depth: 49 in (124.46 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: diningtable161stDibs: LU78387209003
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.
Directional
A brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere, Directional Furniture opened its doors after American furniture designer Paul McCobb created the high-end Directional Modern line of sofas distributed by the New York–based Modernage Company.
In his pivotal introduction of postwar modernism to the mass market, the revered Massachusetts-born McCobb had established several lines, from the affordable and refined Planner Group for Winchendon to the swooping and unexpected arms of the Symmetric Group for Widdicomb, a Shaker-inspired collection that included a sofa and a lounge chair. Like all of McCobb’s designs, the Directional pieces for Modernage are defined by a sleek aesthetic in which the focus is on elegant functionality, frequently using fine materials such as brass and walnut. In 1949, in partnership with New York furniture salesman B.G. Mesberg, McCobb set up the Directional Furniture Company.
The pair’s first pieces were upholstered chairs, intended to harmonize with the modular Multiplex pieces designed by Martin Feinman. McCobb then designed an array of furniture including storage, dining, seating, desks and other pieces with details such as leather tops, wood finishes and Roman Travertine surfaces. While Directional stopped production of McCobb’s work in the early 1960s, it still released numerous pieces by leading designers manufactured by a variety of companies.
Designer Paul Evans led the factory for a time after joining in 1964. His provocative work for the company often reflected his understanding of materials from his early training as a silversmith, such as the popular Cityscape series — a milestone in brutalist design — with its blocky forms accented with brass and chrome. At his shop in Lambertville, New Jersey, he collaborated with a design team to clad furniture pieces in metallic surfaces, like the Argente line that began production in 1968 and involved an acetylene torch to give its aluminum material a textural quality. He also worked on the Sculpted Bronze series with hand-formed resin shaped over plywood or steel that was then coated with atomized bronze.
Other Directional designers included Vladimir Kagan, who contributed biomorphic sofas and swivel chairs; Milo Baughman, who created tables and dressers inspired by Scandinavian modernism; and Jack Lenor Larsen, who covered sofas in dynamically patterned fabric.
Find authentic Directional Furniture seating, tables, case pieces and storage cabinets from top sellers around the world 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
- Beautiful Radiating Rosewood Dining Table, attributed to Ico Parisi, circa 1954By Ico ParisiLocated in New York, NYRacetrack dining table with radiating rosewood top and metal base attributed to Ico Parisi, Italy, circa 1954.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Karl Springer Large Dining Table in Goatskin with Brass Bases 1970sBy Karl SpringerLocated in New York, NYRacetrack dining table with top in lacquered goatskin with 2 half-moon brass bases by Karl Springer, American 1970's. The goatskin finish is both luxurious and stunning. The custom b...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Dining Table in Tessellated Fossilized Coral and Abalone, 1970sBy Maitland SmithLocated in New York, NYDining table with 2 bases in tessellated fossilized coral with abalone and brass inlays with glass top by Maitland Smith, American 1970's. Each base measures 31 inches x 12 inches x ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsCoral, Brass
- Willy Rizzo Dining Table in Chrome and Burl Wood, 1970sBy Willy RizzoLocated in New York, NYSquare dining table in chrome with inset mirror polished book-matched burl wood top by Willy Rizzo, Italian 1970's. This is a very cool design. We have the...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Exceptional Thick Lucite Dining Table with Criss-Cross Design 1970sBy Charles Hollis JonesLocated in New York, NYDining table in thick lucite with stunning criss-cross design incorporated under top, in the style of Charles Hollis Jones, American 1970's. This artisan lucite table is just beautif...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Paul Evans Monumental Burl Wood Parsons Extension Dining Table, Newly RefinishedBy Directional, Paul EvansLocated in South Bend, INA rare and exceptional custom monumental Mid-Century Modern Parsons extension dining table or conference table By Paul Evans for Directional, "Cityscape" Collection USA, 1970s ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBurl
- Paul Evans Patchwork Copper 106" Extendable Dining Table for Directional, c 1967By Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in Los Angeles, CAStunning and very rare copper clad extendable dining table by Paul Evans for Directional, produced circa 1967. This incredible piece of design history is fabricated from patinated pieces of copper, brass, and pewter formed in a patchwork pattern. Perfect statement piece for a discerning collector, design connoisseur or luxury interior designer. Hefty and sturdy construction in this extendable Parsons table which can be transformed from 66" up to a large 106" with the two matching leaves, allowing seating for up to 10 to 12 people. Or consider using as a heavy duty desk / work table. The fusion of these mixed metals of copper, brass and pewter formulates an exemplary piece which would be a welcomed statement to any connoisseur's collection. We have the matching cafe / game table and floating wall console...Category
Vintage 1960s American Brutalist Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass, Copper, Pewter
- Cityscape Dining Table by Paul EvansBy Paul EvansLocated in North Hollywood, CAGorgeous vintage burlwood top Paul Evans dining table with brass base. Large table top with no scratches on it. Base has nice detail and t...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWood
- Large Post Modern Oval Dining Table after EvansBy Milo Baughman, Paul EvansLocated in New York, NYSpectacular oval dining table on Cityscape like architectural brass base, with inset oval glass top, on solid oak racetrack molding. Impressive scale, top quality design and construc...Category
Early 20th Century American Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Large Paul McCobb Calvin Directional Dining Table with 3 LeavesBy Directional, Paul McCobbLocated in New York, NYSpectacular oversized dining, conference table designed by Paul McCobb as part of the Calvin series for Directional. The table comes with three leaves ( each 21 in. W ) making it open to banquet scale, or it can double as a conference or large work table...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsEbony, Walnut
- Modern Brutalist Sculptural Welded Steel & Bronze Dining Table Paul Evans 1970sBy Directional, Paul EvansLocated in Keego Harbor, MIFor your consideration is a stupendous and iconic, glass topped dining table, on sculpturally welded steel and bronze bases, by Paul evans for Directional, circa the 1970s. In excell...Category
Vintage 1970s Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBronze, Steel