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Paul Evans Tables

American, 1931-1987

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.

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Creator: Paul Evans
Curvilinear Dining Table with extension Paul Evans for Directional
By Paul Evans
Located in Atlanta, GA
A fantastic Curvilinear dining table by Paul Evans for Directional circa 1970s. Model PE-509 with Olive Burl wood patchwork contrasting the shades of brass. Heavy and substantial, th...
Category

1970s American Modern Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Brass

Paul Evans Custom Cabinet or Coffee Table
By Paul Evans
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A great early form, consisting of patinated copper, bronze and pewter. Original red painted interior.
Category

1960s American Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Bronze, Copper, Pewter

Paul Evans Cityscape Dining Suite, Eight Chairs with Table
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in Chicago, IL
This listing is for a Dining Suite in desirable chrome cityscape and white leather. Includes a dining table (not pictured at this moment) with two armchairs and six side chairs. Dini...
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Metal

Paul Evans City Scape for Directional Cubes as End Tables or Coffee Table
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Ferndale, MI
Pair of Paul Evans designed cubes from the city scape series for directional. Each cube is a patchwork of brushed stainless steel and polished brass geometric forms. Each measures 12...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Brass, Stainless Steel

Paul Evans Burl and Chrome Cityscape Game Table & Accent Table, 1970's
By Paul Evans
Located in Culver City, CA
This 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

1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Chrome

Mid-Century Cityscape Console Shelf in Chrome W/ Smoked Glass Top by Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
This sleek and artfully designed Mid-Century Modernist City Scape Console shelf in Chrome W/ Smoked Glass Top is by the esteemed artist and designer Paul Evans and originates from t...
Category

1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Chrome

Mid Century Modern Paul Evans Signed Burlwood Patchwork Expandable Dining Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
A mid century modern Paul Evans signed burlwood patchwork expandable dining table. This is a jaw-droppingly gorgeous table from Paul Evans featuring one of his many iconic designs. T...
Category

Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Burl

Paul Evans Rare and Important Argente Cabinet (Signed and Dated 1968)
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Rare and important Argente 2 door cabinet in welded and enameled aluminum with natural cleft slate top by Paul Evans, American 1968 (signed and dated “Paul Evans 68” on bottom of rig...
Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Slate, Aluminum, Enamel

Paul Evans Stalagmite Bronze and Resin Dining Table PE102, Signed and Dated 1970
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in Culver City, CA
One of the most recognizable and important names in the American studio Craft movement of the 1960's and 70's, Paul Evans was a groundbreaking Pioneer in brutalism. Collaborating as ...
Category

1970s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Bronze

Exceptional Paul Evans for Directional Model PE24 Brutalist Welded Dining Table
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Purchased from the Long Island estate of the original owners, this stunning welded and polychromed steel Paul Evans dining table is one hundred percent original and a great example that's also pre-1970s. The psychedelic colors are vibrant, have a warm patina, and a nice satin sheen luster. The brass/bronze areas have the perfect golden hue. The original 3/4 inch thick glass top shows little to no wear, definitely no chips. This table is fresh to you from a time capsule and original owners home. 1970s iterations of this table tend to have darker finishes and less intricate, and therefore interesting, welded graphics. Note that this example has a welded signature and is dated "PE69." Also observe the welded pinwheel and striated sections. Tastefully filled with the colors that made the 60s synonymous with the psychedelic era. Please know that I have a number of Paul Evans pieces, some of which are currently published and others not. My collections includes: Sculptured Bronze custom wall unit...
Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Brass, Bronze, Steel

Paul Evans PE-11 Hand-Welded Zig Zag Coffee Table 1969 'Signed And Dated'
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Artisan welded coffee table with hand-painted polychrome enamels, zig zag design with glass top, by Paul Evans, American 1969 (signed and dated “PE...
Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Enamel, Steel

Paul Evans Brutalist Skyline Dining Table
By Paul Evans
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Paul Evans brutalist sculpted bronze dining table with 48" x 96" x 3/4" thick glass top. With smaller glass top can be used as a desk. Signed PE70 Only base is 65" x 27".
Category

1970s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Bronze

Large Paul Evans Slate-Top Patchwork Coffee Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Middlesex, NJ
Large Paul Evans slate-top patchwork coffee table.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Metal

Paul Evans Brutalist Mixed Metals Patchwork Coffee Table with Exotic Slate Top
By Paul Evans
Located in Dallas, TX
1960s Paul Evans patchwork coffee table for Directional. The slate top on this example has a honed finish and a very subtle veining.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Paul Evans Tables

Paul Evans Sculptured Metal Dining Table, 1969
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in New York, NY
Sculptured metal dining table model no. PE 102 in bronze composite with thick glass top by Paul Evans for Directional Furniture, American 1969. Signed and dated “P.E. 69” near the bo...
Category

1960s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Bronze

Mid Century Paul Evans Brutalist Dining Table Stalagmite Bronze & Resin, 1970
By Paul Evans
Located in Bedford Hills, NY
A spectacular and very rare sculptural brutalist Paul Evans stalagmite base dining table, model PE102, signed PE70. The bronze and resin composite base is in extraordinary condition ...
Category

1970s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Bronze

Paul Evans for Directional "Sculpted Metal Collection" Bronze Resin Coffee Table
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Bainbridge, NY
Brutalist Paul Evans Sculpted Metal Collection PE-101 Bronze Resin Coffee Table, circa 1970. Produced exclusively for Directional. Cylindrica...
Category

1960s American Brutalist Vintage Paul Evans Tables

Materials

Bronze

Paul Evans tables for sale on 1stDibs.

Paul Evans tables are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Paul Evans tables, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original tables by Paul Evans were created in the mid-century modern style in north america during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider tables by Charles Hollis Jones, Milo Baughman, and Herman Miller. Prices for Paul Evans tables can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $795 and can go as high as $130,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $11,500.

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