Florence Knoll Marble and Rosewood Desk, 1960
View Similar Items
Florence Knoll Marble and Rosewood Desk, 1960
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.93 in (76 cm)Width: 51.19 in (130 cm)Length: 29.93 in (76 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Grenoble, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3821111701891
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.
- Michel Boyer Console Table with Modular Aluminum Structure in XBy Michel BoyerLocated in Grenoble, FRMichel Boyer (1935-2011) Console table with modular aluminum structure in X, supporting a glass top Around 1968 AG Bibliography:- FAVARDIN Patrick, Les Décorateurs des 1970s, éd....Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Poul Cadovius Bench Coffee Table in RosewoodBy Poul CadoviusLocated in Grenoble, FRPoul Cadovius bench coffee table in rosewood, base lacquered in black. Rare and original piece in very good condition.Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Poul Hundevad Trolley in Rosewood by Poul Hundevad & Co in DenmarkBy Poul HundevadLocated in Grenoble, FRRare rosewood trolley designed by Poul Hundevad. Produced by Poul Hundevad & Co Vamdrup in Denmark.Category
Vintage 1950s European Mid-Century Modern Dessert Tables and Tilt-top Ta...
MaterialsRosewood
- Fabricius & Kastholm FK 90 Table for Kill International, 1960By Jørgen Kastholm & Preben FabriciusLocated in Grenoble, FRFabricius & Kastholm FK 90 table for Kill International - 1960 stone and iron chrome feet.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsIron
- Pedestal Table in Lacquered Wood and Fossilized StoneBy Ado ChaleLocated in Grenoble, FRPedestal table in lacquered wood and fossilized stone, Belgian work in the spirit of teenager Chale from the 1970s.Category
Vintage 1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsStone
- Zanine José Caldas Style off Articulated Bench in Teak Wood and RopeBy José Zanine CaldasLocated in Grenoble, FRFolding and articulated bench in teak wood and rope, production of the 1960s from Brazil in the style of Zanine Caldas' creations.Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Canapes
MaterialsCord, Teak
- Rosewood Desk Brazilian Midcentury Design by Joaquim Tenreiro, 1960sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYOriginal condition.Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWood
- Florence Knoll Table DeskBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CADesigned by Florence Knoll in the 1960's, this simple dining table has a steel chrome plated base and gorgeous marble table top. The tabletop featu...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble, Steel, Chrome
$10,000 - Rosewood Desk by Joaquim Tenreiro, Bloch Editors, 1960s, Brazilian MidcenturyBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYThis exquisitely crafted Rosewood Desk designed by Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992) belonged to BLOCH EDITORES S.A. BUILDING, a Brazilian publisher founded in 1952 and closed in 2000, wh...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Classic Midcentury Walnut and Chrome Florence Knoll Desk KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Buffalo, NYClassic midcentury walnut and chrome Florence Knoll desk features richly grained walnut top chromed steel frame, pencil drawer and file drawer. Retains early Knoll label.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Rosewood Desk with Painted Glass Top by Joaquim Tenreiro, Bloch Editors, 1960sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYThis exquisitely crafted rosewood desk designed by Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992) belonged to Bloch Editores S.A. Building, a Brazilian publisher founded in 1952 and closed in 2000, wh...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsRosewood, Glass
- Florence Knoll Model 17 DeskBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Saint Paul, MNAlongside the model 75 stool, this desk was part of Florence Knoll's first collection of designs. The louvre drawers follows the same design language used in a variety of casegoods s...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMaple
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.