I walk in a commercial area by a contemporary furniture store. In my hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma, population of 50, 218 in 2018, there is no designation of a “contemporary” furniture store. There are simply furniture stores that include all types of furniture, including contemporary. I don’t have anything against contemporary design. I really prefer it in a kitchen. And I like the clean lines of the furniture, but I also like the comfier and more padded traditional furniture. I think contemporary furniture was designed with young people in mind, people with bony frames who fit in furniture with only right angles. I truly like contemporary furniture’s appearance, but as I get older, I don’t believe it’s very practical. As people age, they become rounder and need more cushions.
According to the July 28, 2017 article “MCM Designers” at roveconcepts.com, mid-century modern is one of the most popular trends in architectural, interior, product and graphic design. Roughly spanning the period between 1933 and 1965, mid-century modern design focuses on improving daily life through making simple things beautiful. With a functional twist, this is what makes mid-century modern design, particularly furniture, so sought-after. The period is recognized as one of the most significant design movements, taking into consideration the influence of industrial design and Scandinavian design.
Charles Eames
According to Wikipedia, Charles Eames (June 17, 1907 – August 21, 1978) was an American designer, architect and film maker. In creative partnership with his spouse, Ray Kaiser Eames, he was responsible for groundbreaking contributions in the field of architecture, furniture design, industrial design, manufacturing and the photographic arts.
Charles studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis on an architecture scholarship. After two years of study, he left the university. Many sources claim that he was dismissed for his advocacy of Frank Lloyd Wright and his interest in modern architects. The university reportedly dropped him because of his "too modern" views. Other sources, less frequently cited, note that while a student, Charles Eames was also employed as an architect at the firm of Trueblood and Graf. The demands on his time from this employment and his classes led to sleep-deprivation and diminished performance at the university.
Early architectural practice
In 1930, Charles began his own architectural practice in St. Louis with partner Charles Gray. They were later joined by a third partner, Walter Pauley.
- Sweetzer House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1931
- St. Mary's Church, Helena, Arkansas, 1934
- St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Paragould, Arkansas, 1935
- Meyer House, Huntleigh, Missouri, 1936- 1938
- Dinsmoor House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1936
- Dean House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1936
Charles Eames was greatly influenced by the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, whose son Eero — also an architect — would become a partner and friend.
Cranbrook and the beginning of furniture design
Cranbrook and the beginning of furniture design
At the elder Saarinen's invitation, Charles moved in 1938 with his wife Catherine and daughter Lucia to Michigan to further study architecture at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Charles quickly became an instructor and the head of the industrial design department. In order to apply for the Architecture and Urban Planning Program, Eames defined an area of focus — the St. Louis waterfront. Together with Eero Saarinen he designed prize-winning furniture for New York’s Museum of Modern Art "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition. He met Ray Kaiser during this project; she was a student at Cranbrook and helped with graphic design. Eames and Saarinen's work displayed the new technique of wood molding — originally developed by Alvar Aalto — that Charles would further develop with Ray in many molded plywood products, including: chairs and other furniture, and splints and stretchers for the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Ray Kaiser
In 1941, Charles and Catherine divorced, and soon after, he married his Cranbrook colleague Berniece Alexandra “Ray” Kaiser. He relocated with her to Los Angeles, California, during their honeymoon, where they worked and lived together until their deaths. They were vital in popularizing new materials and techniques for crafting furniture, such as using molded plywood, fiberglass, plastic resin and wire mesh and are regarded as some of the most iconic designers of the mid-century era. Together, Charles and Ray Eames internationally became two of the most recognized and celebrated designers of the 20th century.
The Eames House
Three years after arriving in Los Angeles, Charles and Ray were asked to participate in the Case Study House Program, a housing program sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine in the hopes of showcasing examples of economically priced modern homes that utilized wartime and industrial materials. John Entenza, the owner and editor of Arts & Architecture magazine, recognized the importance of Charles and Ray’s thinking and design practices — alongside becoming a close friend of the couple. Charles and Eero Saarinen were hired to design Case Study House No. 8, which would be the residence of Charles and Ray, and Case Study House No. 9, which would house John Entenza, in 1945. The two homes — alongside other Case Study houses — would share a five-acre parcel of land in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood north of Santa Monica, which overlooked the Pacific Ocean. Because of post-war material rationing, the materials ordered for the first draft of the Eames House — called “the Bridge House” — were backordered. Charles and Ray spent many days and nights on-site in the meadow picnicking, shooting arrows and socializing with family, friends and coworkers. They learned of their love for the eucalyptus grove, the expanse of land and the unobstructed view of the ocean. They made the decision to not build the Bridge House and instead reconfigured the materials to create two separate structures nestled into the property’s hillside. Eero Saarinen had no part in this second draft of the Eames House; it was a full collaboration between Charles and Ray. The materials were finally delivered, and the house was erected from February through December 1949. The Eameses moved in on Christmas Eve, and it became their only residence for the remainder of their lives. It remains a milestone of modern architecture operated by the Eames Foundation, a nonprofit organization instituted by Lucia Eames.
Lounge chair and ottoman by Charles Eames in 1955
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the Washington Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., TWA Flight Center in New York City and Gateway Arch in St. Louis Missouri. He was the son of noted Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen.
Saarinen first received critical recognition while still working for his father, for a chair designed together with Charles Eames for the Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition in 1940, for which they received first prize. The Tulip chair — like all other Saarinen chairs — was taken into production by the Knoll furniture company, founded by Hans Knoll, who married Saarinen family friend Florence Schust Knoll. Further attention came also while Saarinen was still working for his father when he took first prize in the 1948 competition for the design of the Gateway Arch National Park — then known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial — in St. Louis. The memorial wasn't completed until the 1960s. The competition award was mistakenly sent to his father because both he and his father had entered the competition separately. When the committee sent out the letter stating Saarinen had won the competition, it was mistakenly addressed to his father.
During his long association with Knoll he designed many important pieces of furniture, including the Grasshopper lounge chair and ottoman in 1946) Womb chair and ottoman in 1948, Womb settee in 1950, side and arm chairs in 1948–1950 and his most famous Tulip or Pedestal group in 1956, which featured side and arm chairs, along with dining, coffee and side tables, as well as a stool. All of these designs were highly successful except for the Grasshopper lounge chair, which — although in production through 1965 — was not a big success.
Eero Saarinen was famous for his flexible style, which varied from pared-down silhouettes to cold rationalism. Throughout his career, Saarinen remained close friends of the Eames and Florence Knoll, whom he had collaborated with in product design and production over the years. Saarinen's work has accredited him as being one of the great masters of the mid-century.
Hans Wegner
Hans Jørgensen Wegner (April 2, 1914 - January 26, 2007) was a Danish furniture designer. His work — along with a concerted effort from several of his manufacturers — contributed to the international popularity of mid-century Danish design. His style is often described as Organic Functionality, a modernist school with emphasis on functionality. This school of thought arose primarily in Scandinavian countries with contributions by Poul Henningsen, Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen.
Wegner has been referred to as the "King of Chairs" for his proliferated work designing seating. In his lifetime, he designed over 500 different chairs, over 100 of which were put into mass production and many of which have become recognizable design icons.
Wegner received several major design prizes in his lifetime, from the Lunning Prize in 1951 and the Grand Prix of the Milan Triennale in the same year, to the Prince Eugen Medal in Sweden and the Danish Eckersberg Medal. In 1969, he was made honorary Royal designer for industry by the Royal Society of Arts in London.
Early career in Aarhus
In 1938, Wegner took a one-year leave from his studies to work on the Aarhus City Hall project on the recommendation of his teacher. Arne Jackobsen and Erik Møller had won a bid to design the Aarhus City Hall and employed Wegner to create the furniture. However, World War II caused delays in the City Hall project, and he was first assigned to work on the Nyborg Public Library under Møller and Flemming Lassen. Today, the library displays early photos of Wegner's contributions to the library, as well as a website dedicated to the historic design. While the library was well-received and Møller and Lassen were awarded the Eckersberg Medal, Wegner's contributions weren't as widely publicized at the time. From 1939-1942, Wegner worked on the Aarhus City Hall project and was responsible for all the furnishings. He began working on three lines of modular office furniture for Planmøbler while working on the City Hall. Some of the Planmøbler furniture was used in the office wings of City Hall.
Wegner was employed by his classmate Børge Mogensen, who was the head of furniture design for FDB Møbler, a division of the Danish cooperative FDB. Wegner would only complete a few items for FDB Møbler before he was recruited by one of FDB's subcontractors, Fritz Hansen. He created the China Chair series for Fritz Hansen in 1944. While living in Aarhus, Wegner spent much of his time at the library where he learned about different furniture movements and styles. He saw a Chinese chair in a book by Ole Wanscher that served as inspiration for this chair series. Two of the four China Chairs would go into production.
Wegner's two most notable works — the Round Chair and the Wishbone Chair — both came in 1949. That year, Wegner presented three chairs for the annual exhibition of the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers' Guild while employed by Johannes Hansen: a three-part (tripartite) plywood shell chair, the Folding Chair and the Round Chair The Danish press that attended the event initially paid attention to the tripartite chair. While the tripartite chair had captured the attention of the Danish press, American journalists attended the event for the first time and were drawn to the Round Chair. The American journalists shared the news of this chair back home, and it became the subject of much attention internationally. The American magazine “interiors” featured the chair in its piece on the event and christened it “most beautiful chair in the world.” This was the first coverage of Danish Modern in the American press. Ten years after its initial release, the Round Chair became the subject to even greater attention and more accolades when chosen for the seating of the first televised U.S. presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy on September 26, 1960.
That same year, Wegner also created the Wishbone Chair. Carl Hansen & Søn commissioned Wegner to create a chair that was both high quality and able to be mass produced. Wegner presented four chair designs for Carl Hansen: CH22, the Wishbone Chair or CH23, CH24 and CH25. While all the chairs went into production the following year, the Wishbone Chair became his greatest commercial success and has remained in continuous production.
After a falling out with the Salesco manufacturer, Wegner became more attached to PP Møbler. It was a supplier to A.P. Stolen but didn't produce furniture under its own name. From 1962 to 1968, Wegner used the PP Møbler workshop to create prototypes and experiments; when successful, the designs would go into production with other manufacturers like Getama and A.P. Stolen. In 1969, he urged the company to produce under its own brand name, and his first chair especially for PP Møbler was PP201. Wegner also designed their logo. As Wegner's other manufacturers closed down, he moved production of many pieces originally designed for Andreas Tuck, A.P. Stolen and Johannes Hansen to PP Møbler.
Notable designs
The China Chair series was inspired by a portrait of Danish merchants sitting in traditional Ming chairs. The first, produced by Fritz Hansen, is the closest to its source material: the back splat is sculpted into the arm rail, which terminates in a decorative curved finial.
Lightweight with a cane seat, drawing on historic folding chairs. Wegner created a hook so the chair could be hung on the wall to save space.
An upholstered armchair with exposed wood hand rests that evoke a bear's paws. Sometimes referred to as the Teddy Bear Chair.
Wegner created this office chair inspired by Doctor Egill Snorrason's critique of how Danish furniture ignored ergonomics.
Originally designed in 1965 but put into production in 1985.
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