American Midcentury Rectangle Walnut Coffee Table by Knoll
View Similar Items
American Midcentury Rectangle Walnut Coffee Table by Knoll
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer),Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Width: 45 in (114.3 cm)Depth: 23 in (58.42 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU936611207651
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.
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.
- American MCM Walnut Coffee Table with Acid Etched Copper Top by Harry LunsteadBy Harry LunsteadLocated in San Diego, CAA gorgeous American MCM walnut coffee table with acid etched copper top by Seattle furniture designer Harry Lunstead, circa 1968. Lunstead is r...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCopper
- Midcentury Bench / Coffee Table by John Van Koert for DrexelBy John Van Koert, DrexelLocated in San Diego, CAModernist bench or table by John Van Koert for Drexel, superior quality and construction. Scaled down version of the Classic dining table, simple, elegant design. solid and sturdy fr...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- American Midcentury Knoll Studio Armchair by Linda & Joseph RicchioBy Joe & Linda Ricchio, KnollLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful single armchair by Knoll great condition solid and sturdy. retains medallion with signature and date.Category
20th Century American Post-Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Beech
- Minimalist Walnut Coffee Table by Kipp Stewart for Drexel, Declaration LineBy Kipp Stewart, DrexelLocated in San Diego, CAAn exceptional minimalist low profile walnut coffee table by Kipp Stewart for Drexel - Declaration line, circa 1960s. The table has both a gorgeous tone and grain which is contrasted...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Mid-Century Modern Square Coffee Table in WalnutLocated in San Diego, CAMid-Century Modern square coffee table in walnut, circa 1970s. The table is 32" W x 32" D x 15" H and is in very good vintage condition. #1395.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- American Solid Mahogany Live Edge Wood Coffee Table BenchLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful Solid Mahogany live edge coffee table/bench with nice black enameled solid metal tapered legs, custom made in 2012 can be used as a coffee...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Coc...
MaterialsMetal
- Florence Knoll American Mid-Century T-Bar Walnut Coffee / Cocktail TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century rectangular coffee / cocktail table with a walnut top supported on a T-shaped black metal base. (FLORENCE KNOLL).Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Parallel Bar Walnut Coffee Table by Florence Knoll for KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAFlorence Knoll designed this circular coffee table for Knoll, part of the Parallel Bar Series, produced from 1955-1968, model 404. It has a walnut top supported by four stainless ste...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll Square Walnut Coffee TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CADesigned by Florence Knoll in the 1950s, this simple coffee table has four square legs of chromed steel. The square tabletop sits flush with the frame and is made of a walnut veneer....Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Florence Knoll T-Bar Walnut Laminate Coffee / Cocktail TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century rectangular coffee / cocktail table with a walnut laminate top in three sections supported on a T-shaped black metal base. (FLORENCE KNOLL)(Similar table: DUF0082).Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Mid Century Florence Knoll Square Coffee Table in WalnutBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Detroit, MIThis vintage Mid-Century Modern Florence Knoll for Knoll Associates, Inc. square wood coffee table is circa 1960 and features a walnut wood top on a steel frame. This iconic table is a mid century modern classic and exemplifies the clean, minimalist design of the period pairing well with a wide selection of design styles from classic mid century modern to contemporary. Original Knoll Associates, Inc. label on underside. Please reach out to us with any questions about this item or for further clarification of shipping options by clicking on the “Ask the Seller...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll Coffee TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Dronten, NLFlorence Knoll for Knoll International coffee table in white enameled steel and black laminate. Signed with decal manufacturer's label to underside. Literature: Knoll Furniture: 193...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
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.