Florence Knoll Parallel Bar Armless Sofa
View Similar Items
Florence Knoll Parallel Bar Armless Sofa
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 71 in (180.34 cm)Depth: 30 in (76.2 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1962
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New London, CT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1269211191663
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.
- 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
- Parallel Bar Sofas By Florence KnollBy Florence KnollLocated in Sagaponack, NYA "parallel bar" frame sofa with a button tufted back on chromed steel legs.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel
$9,500 / item - Florence Knoll, Sofa "Parallel Bar" for Knoll, 1954 / 1960. Newly upholstered.By Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Paris, FRLovely Two seat sofa model 52 also known as ‘Parallel Bar’ designed by Florence Knoll in 1954 and produced by Knoll International from 1955 to 1973 This sofa is an edition from the v...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel, Chrome, Metal
- Mid century Florence Knoll Sofa #57 Parallel Bar System - needs upholsteryBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in BROOKLYN, NYVintage circa 1960 Midcentury Florence Knoll Parallel Bar System sofa Model #57 three-seat sofa with arms. Designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll Int. USA. Solid Steel frame and is in ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel
$2,520 Sale Price30% Off - Early Florence Knoll Armless Sofa and Chair SetBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is an early and rare Knoll sofa and chair set. This sets one and only home was non-other then a Richard Nuetra estate in the Hollywood Hills. N...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsStainless Steel
- off White Leather and Stainless Steel Parallel Bar Sofa by Florence KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAOff white leather and brush stainless steel parallel bar sofa designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll. This came out of the Australian embassy and retains their label. This was reupholstered about 10 years ago. Was used only in winter home...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsStainless Steel
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.