Modern Americana: Studio Furniture from High Craft to High Glam

In the current world of twentieth-century design collecting, the trend has shifted away from accessible, mass manufactured modernist furniture and toward designs that were custom-made or produced in very limited editions, with emphasis on American studio design of the 1940s to the 1990s. In contrast to the mass produced mid-century furniture by Knoll and Herman Miller, American studio designs of the same period focused on novel forms and exquisite craftsmanship. Ranging from the organic shapes of George Nakashima and Vladimir Kagan to metalworks by Paul Evans, these limited production designs were highly sought after in their days by original tastemakers and movie starts. In the last decade, a revival for these rare designs began with connoisseurs such as Tom Ford.
Modern Americana is the first full survey of the designs of this prolific but forgotten period, bringing to life again the works of Samuel Marx, Billy Haines, Wendell Castle, T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Karl Springer, James Mont, and many others.

Todd Merrill is the proprietor of Todd Merrill Antiques in New York City, one of the premier galleries for limited-edition furniture designs. He was the head of communications at Christie’s from 1993–1994. Julie Iovine is the executive editor of The Architect’s Newspaper and was a regular contributor to the New York Times’ House and Home and Style sections.