George Nelson: The Design of Modern Design

Stanley Abercrombie

foreword by Ettore Sottsass, Jr.

appendixes compiled by Judith Nasatir

The MIT Press

Cambridge, Massachusetts

London, England

Venturi, Robert, 34

Versus exhibition, New Yo rk, 23

Victor Emmanuel Ill, 10

Wachsmann, Konrad, 76-77

Wagenfeld, Wilhelm, 38

Warnecke, John Carl, & Associates, 220

Weese, Harry, 90

Welton Becket & Associates, 162, 164, 170

Whit ehead, Alfred North, 136

Whitman, Wait, 20

Whitney, Charles, 57

Wilder, Billy, 163, 173

Williamsburg Info rmat ion Center. See Co-

lonia l Williamsburg

Wirkkala, Tapio, 38, 181

Wolf, Henry, 58

Woman's Medical Clinic, Lafayette, Indi-

ana,2 16

Workplace, theory of , 228--229, 233

Works Progress Administration, U.S., 15

Wormley, Edward, 90, 101

Wright, Fran k Lloyd, 3,16-20,32- 33,38,

54,57,65, 68,72,128--133,185,190,

235

Wright , Henry (Jr.), 17,67-68, 185

Wright, Henry (Sr.), 185

Wright, Olgivanna, 17

Wright, Russel. 15, 50, 83

W urman, Richard Saul, 58

Yale University, 2- 6,142,152

Yamasaki, Minoru, 30, 74, 80, 167,231

lanuso, Marco, 181

l ion & Breen, 167, 220

lion, Robert, 167

Zucker, Paul. 30--32

Index 353

Contents

Foreword by Ettore Sottsass, Jr. vii

Acknowledgments XI

A Personal Preface xv

1 Preparing for an Unknown Career

2 A New Cause: Modern Architecture 23

3 A New Profession: Industrial Design 49

4 The House 67

5 Furniture for the House 83

6 Education 141

7 Exhibitions 151

8 The City 185

9 The Office 207

10 Some Common Themes 233

Appendixes

Biographical Chronology 243

Chronology of Work 247

Awards and Honors 267

Writings by Nelson 271

Writings about Nelson and His Firms 283

Notes 299

Index 347

LLRC , ~CAST

Index

Bold numbers refer to pages on which

figures appea r.

Aalto, Alvar, 12,90,101, 103, 107

Ackerson. Einour, 58

Acti on Office, 211 - 216, 212, 214, 215

Act ion Office Two, 219- 220

Adams & Prent ice. 4

Aid Association for Lutherans interiors,

App leton, Wisconsin, 220-226

Albers, Joseph. 23, 55

Albinson, Don. 77

Alien. Deborah, 58

Alien. George V., 154

Alien, Terry, 211

Aluminum Extrusions, Inc., 119- 120

American Academy, Rome (see also Rome

Prize), 8, 9, 7, 10, plate

American Express logo, plate

American Institute of Architects, 20, 75,

101

American Institute of Graphic Arts. 191

American Inst itute of Interior Designers.

213

American National Exh ibition, Moscow, 77,

80, 159-176. 187,207, 166, 168, 169,

171 , 172,174, 17S,plate

American Radiator Co., 75

American Revolution Bicentennial exhibi­

tion, 179

Ansul Chemical factory, 77

Architectural Forum, 9, 15-17, 19- 20, 68,

70,77,84,92,151,186-187

Archit ectural league of New York, 23, 91,

152, 155

Architectural Record, 77

Architecture, 4

Armour Institute, 23

Arp, Hans, 28

Art Digest, 52

Artek, Ltd .• 107

Arts & Decoration. 67

Art X presentation, 141- 149, 163, 202, 146

Aspen design conference, 54-56, 190, 57,

58

Atherton. John, 154

Atoms for Peace exhibition, 159, 161

Auerbach, A lfred, 91, 96, 101

Bardagy, Joan, 58

Bayer, Herbert, 23, 55, 154, 159, 156

BecVar, Arthur. 72

8aldwin, Ben, 90

Ball Clock. 103. 111, 115, 179. 114

Barrett Specification Roofs, 77

Barrett. WHliam, 59

Barringer, Richard, 154

Bass. Sau l, 58

Bauhaus, 3. 75

8aum, Joe. 220

8eaudouin, Eugene, 11

Beckman, Rona ld, 211. 218

Behrens, Peter. 15

Beinart, Julian, 58

Bel Geddes, Norman. 23, 50, 83, 176

Belluschi, Pietro, 80

Benedict, Fitz, 34

Bernstein, Elmer, 167

Serto ia. Harry, 90

Black Mountain College, 23

Blaich, Robert, 219

Blake & Neski, 167

Slake, Peter, 56, 60, 154, 167, 170,187, 189

Bonniers shop, New York, 117

Born, Ernest, 15

Brasi lia, 193

Breuer, Ma rceJ, 23, 68, 75-76, 93- 96

Brooklyn M useum, 154

Brown, Denise Scott, 234

Bubble Lamp, 117-119, 179, 118, 120

Bunshaft, Gordon, 24, 38, 209

Business Week, 213

Cabin, Betty, 141

Cage, John, 235

"Camera Three" (television program), 60

Caplan, Ralph , 20, 210, 58

Carvel Co., 128

Catenary Group furn iture, 133, 134, 135

Cathol ic Univers ity, 6

Chadwick, Gordon, 34, 67, 159, 176, 35, 36,

37, plate

Chapman, Dave, 55

Chermayeff, Ivan, 185, 58

Chermayeff, Serge, 99

Chrysler exh ibition, New York World's Fair

(1964),176-179, 177, 178, 179,plate

Civilized City, plate

Clock designs, 112, 113, 114

Coconut Chair, 128, 169, plate

Colonial Williamsburg, 154, 159, 156, 157,

158

Columbia University, 28-30, 142

Comprehensive Panel 5ystem, 216

Comprehensive 5torag e System, 207, 216,

126

Conant Ball Co., 83

Cooseil 5uperieur de la Creat ion Esthe­

tique Industrielle, 191

Constantine, MHdred, 167, 191, 197

Continuing Education ( enter, Athens,

Georg ia, 147

Cooper-Hewitt Museum, 199- 200, 201

"Countdown" (slide show), 204, p late

Cranbrook Academy of Art, 90

Creative Playthings logo, plate

Crosby,Theo,43,220

De Bure, Gilles, 201

De Pree, Dirk Jan, 33, 55, 83-86, 88, 91, 96-

97,107, 136-138,210, 237- 238, 137,

139

De Pree, Hugh, 210, 228

De Pree, Max, 11 9, 128, 228

Index

Design, 207

Design Issues, 181

Design Since 1945 exh ibition, Philadelphia,

179- 181 , 180, 183

Desi gn Today in Europe and Ameri ca exh i-

bit ion, New Delhi, 176

Deskey, Donald, 50, 52

d' Harnoncourt, Rene, 55

Diffrient, Niels, 181 , 58

Dixon, John Morris, 13

Dobl]n, Jay, 59

Oodd, Lamar, 141- 142, 144---147

Oohner, Donald, 50-51

Drexel furn iture company, 101

Drexler, Arthur, 56--57, 59, 80, 110

Dreyfuss, Henry, 23, 50, 191

Du, 62

Dunbar furn itu re company, 101

Dunbar, Jack, 34

Dunlap, William E., 11 9- 128

Ounlap house, Charlotte, Michigan, 129

Dymaxion Corp., 9

Eames, Charles, 20, 21, 44, 55, 59, 80, 90-

92, 99,101 , 103, 107, 110, 142- 148,

154, 163,165, 167, 177, 181 , 191,230,

139, 169, 174

Eames Memorial Lecture, 205, 230

Eames, Ray, 90, 103, 173, 139

Eckerstrom. John, 58

Eng le, Dolores, 125, 128

Eppinger, Jim, 84---85, 91 , 138

Erv;n, Don, 154, 165

Esherick, Joseph, 68

Esquire, 213

Evans, Joan, 211

Evans Products Co., 90-9 1

Everbrite Electric logo, plate

Execut ive Office Group, 207, 208

Exhib ition for Modern Living, Detro it, 103,

105,1 04

Experimenta l House, 77-80, 216, 78, 79

Fa irchi ld house, New York, 24---28, 67, 24,

25, 26 , 27

Fairchild, Sherman, 24

348

Fallion, Dtto, 4

Farmer, Ernest, 92, 99, 107,208

Farson, Richard, 58

Federal Reserve 8ank interiors, New York,

216,217

Fehlbaum, RoJf, 203

Florence dinnerware, 179

Foote, Nelson, 64

Forbes, 51

Fordyce & Hamby, 23

Fortune, 17, 27, 49, 51- 54, 67, 72, 86, 88,

92-93, 197 Fromm, Erich, 59, 143,191,230,237

Frykholm, Stephen, 96

Frost, Carl, 211

Fu ller, R. Buckminster, 4, 33, 55, 75-76, 80,

108--116,141,148,152,163- 164,173,

190,200,230,235,237,109,168

Ga lbraith, John Kenneth , 176

Gans, Herbert, 181

Gartner & Bender, 152, 154

Gateleg Table, 97

Geddes, Patrick, 185

Genera l Electric, 72- 75, 73

Gensler, Arthur, 228

George, PhiHp, 141, 154, 170

Gill, Eric, 32

Girard, Alexander, 103- 106, 143- 146, 148,

154,139 Girard, Susan, 103

Glaser, Milton, 56, 58

Golden Gate Internat ional Exhibition, San

Francisco, 17

Good Design exhibitions, New York and

Chicago, 154

Goodman, Paul, 138

Goody, Joan, 43

Graham, John, 187

Grass on Main Street proposal, 186--188

Graves, Michael, 29, 34, 43

Gropius, Waiter, 3, 11, 38, 68, 75- 77, 143

Grotz, PaU l, 16-17, 68

Gruen, Victor, 187

Gueft, Dlga, 72

Guild, Lurelle, SO-51

Index

Gump, Richard, 55

Gutkind, E. A., 188

Ha ll, Edward, 211

Halpert, Edith, 173

Hamby & Nelson, 24-28

Hamby, WilHam, 24, 67

Hardware designs, 98

Harnden, Peter, 154

Harper, Irving, 92, 96, 99, 107, 111, 159,

102

Harrison, WalJace, 209

Harvard Graduate School of Design, 23,43,

75 Hauserman Co., 216

Heany, Jack, 169

Hedrich+Blessing, 17, 68

Helweg-MoeHer, Bent, 11

Herman Miller Furn iture Co., 33- 34, 47,

50,77,83- 88,91-105,128-139,190,

207,211- 220,228,37,87,94-95,97-

98,100,102,104,130-131 , 134- 135,

169 Herman Miller Research Corp ., 210

Hernmarck, Helena, 226

HewJett, lames Monroe, 9

Heyer, Pau l, 38

Hiesinger, Kathryn, 179, 181

Hine, Thomas, 111, 179

Hitchcock, Henry-RusseJl, 11

Holden & McLaughlin, 75

Holiday, 189, 192

HoHein, Hans, 200

House Beautiful, 19, 93

House on Poles, 207

Howard, Ebenezer, 185

Howard Miller Clock Co., 117, 112-114,

118,121

Howard, Thomas c., 115

Howe & Lescaze, 209

Howland, Will iam 5., 147

Huxtable, Ada Lou ise, 57

Industrial Design, 60, 64, 77,176,213

Industrial Design USA exhibit io n, Moscow,

179

349

Industrialized housing, 74-81

Interior Design, 234

Interiors, 33, 38, 56--57, 59,72,93,197,218

International Competition for low-Cost

Furniture Design, 101

Internat ional Design Conference, Aspen .

See Aspen design conference

Isozaki, Arata, 200

Jacobsen, Arne, 181

Jacobsen, Egbert, 55

lames, Gamble & Rogers, 4

Jeanneret, Pierre, 93

Jensen, Gustav, 50

Jerusalem Museum, 179

Johnson, O. R., house, Amagansett, N.Y.,

37

lohnson, Phil ip, 11, 28, 68, 116, 177

Johnson, Sidney, house, East Hampton,

N.Y., plate

Juhl, Finn, 154

Jung , Carl, 234

Kafka, Franz, 2, 139

Kahn, Albert, 15- 16, 116

Kahn, louis, 55 Kann, Henry Robert, 123

Katavalos, Willi am, 154

Kaufmann, Edgar, jr., 17, 55, 67, 101, 103,

154,191

Ketchum, Morris, 187

Kierkegaard, 5"Jren, 2

Kiesler, Frederick J., 141

Kirkpatrick house, Kalamazoo, Michigan,

31

Kitchen design, 72- 74

Knapp, John, 128

Knobel, lance, 207

Knoll, Florence, 90, 103

Knoll furniture company, 101, 107

Knoll, Hans, 101

Knopf, Alfred A., 55

Koch, Carl, 68, 76---77, 80, 164

Koch & Lowy, 135

Kratka, Charles, 107

Khrushchev, Nikita, 173, 176

Index

l-Shaped Desk, 207,209

lacha ise, Gaston, 170, 171

Lacy, Bill, 49, 218, 58

La Fonda del Sol restaurant, New York,

107

la liberte, Norman, banners by, plate

lambert, Eleanor, 167

La Potagerie restaurant, New York, 38

larsen, Jack lenor, 105

laszlo, Paul, 99,107

latham, Richard, 38, 59, 197

Latham-Tyler-Jensen,197

Laverne furn iture company, 105

Le Corbusier, 3, 9- 11, 13- 14, 75, 93, 185,

20.

lee, Richard, 189

Lee, Tom, 167

Lescaze, William, 24, 27

l'Etoile restaurant, New York, 107

Levine, Jack, 173

Liebes, Oorothy, 105

Ufe, 19,70,72,152

Lionni, Leo, SS

Lippold, Richard, 191

Loewy, Raymond, 38, 50, 52, 116, 154

Luce, Henry, 17, 19

luckhardt, Hans and Vassifi, 11, 13, 75

Luckman, Charles, 177

Lustig, Alvin, 57, 105

MacOowell, Edward, 1, 9

MAN transFORMS exhibition, New York,

200 Marcus, Stanley, ss Marshmallow Sofa, 128, 130, plate

Marsh, Reg inald, 154

Masey, Jack, 162-163, 167, 170

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 99

Mathsson, Bruno, t03

McAusland, Randolph, 64

McClellan , Harold Chadick, 162, 170

McGrath , Raymond, 11

McKim, Charles Fallen, 8

McKim, Mead & Wh ite, 8

Mechanized Storage Unit, 72, 73

Meeks, Everett Victor, 3

350

Meier. Richard. 34, 200

Meikle. Jeffrey l., 181

Mendelsohn. Eric. 83

Merchandise Mart, Chicago. 1 S4

Metropolitan Museu m of Art. New York.

51

Mies van der Rohe. ludwig. 3. 10- 11. 75.

101.107

Miller, Herman. See Herman Miller Furni­

ture Co.

Miller. Howard. See Howard Miller Clock

Co.

Mind lin, Henrique . 195

Misfits, The, graphics for, plate

Moholy-Nagy.lasz lo. 23, 202

Morgue, Olivier. 181

Moscow exhibition . See American National

Exhibition

Motherwell. Robert. 191

Mount. Charles Morr is. 38

Mumford, lewis. 185

Museum of Modern Art, New York, 11- 12.

23. 51,67,80. 90, 101 , 115-116. 154.

167.176,188

Myers, Howard, 9, 16

Nelson & Chadwick. 34, 74. 31 . 35-37,

plate

Nelson & Hamby. 72

Nelson. Frances. 15

Nelson, Jacquellne. 170. 57

Nelson. LiBian Cantarow. 1

Nelson, Mico, 63, 57

Nelson, Norbert, 1

Nelson, 5imeon. 1

Nelson Workspaces, 220- 227.221-223.

225, 227

Nessen Lighting, 132

Neutra, Richard. 15. 68. 191

New Bauhaus. Chicago, 23

New York Times. 68. 119, 154. 165. 181

New York World's Fair (1939). 23. 151- 152

New York World's Fa ir (1964). 176-179

New Yorker, 27

Nixon, Richard M .. 176

Noguchi. Isamu, 85, 92, 99. 103

Noyes, Eliot. 49, 67.173

Index

Omni System. 207, 124

Organic Design in Home Furnishings exhi ·

bitio n, New York. 90

Ortega y Gasset. Jose, 2, 138--139. 203. 235

Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles. 228

Pad office system project. 226-228

Paepcke, Waiter, 55

Papanek. Victor. 181

Paris Prize, 6, 8

Paul, Bruno, 93

Pedersen. Wil1iam. 220

Pencil Points, 4, 9- 15, 75

Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. 72

Philadelphia Inquirer. 179

Ph iladel ph ia Museum of Art, 179-181

Photography. 20-21, plates

Piacent in i, Marcello, 11. 12

Pierce Foundation, 75

Pile, Joh n, 115. 159

Ponti, Gio. 11

Pratt. Tom, 228. 230

Pravda, 173

Pretzel Chair. 128, plate

Prolon dinnerware. 61

Pro-Phy-Lac-Tic Brush Co., 61

Propst, Robert, 210-211. 213. 228, 139

Progressive Architecture. 4. 13

Pullman, (h ristopher. 60

PUshkarev, 80ris, 64

Quickborner Team, 210

Rams, Dieter, 181

Rand. Paul, 92

Rapson. Ra lph. 90

Reconstruction Finance Corp .. U.5., 76

Revere Copper & Brass (0., 186

Risom. Jens. 90, 103

Roberts. Jack, 58

Robertson. Jaqu elin. 58

Robsjohn-Gibbings. T. H .. 90

Rohde. Gilbert. 15,83.92-93,207

Rome Prize (see also American Academy),

6-9, 185. 7

Roosevelt Memorial competition, 34

Rosenthal Ch ina offices. Bavaria, 218

351

Rosenthal, Ph ilip, 218

Rosenthal Studio~Haus, New York, 38, 39-

42

Rovirosa, (onsuela, 58

Royal Society of Arts, London, 191

Rudofsky, Bernard, 57, 116

Rudolph , Paul , 154

Ruskin, John, 185

Saarinen, Aline, 165

Saarinen, Eero, 15,90, 10 1, 103, 117, 165

Saarinen, Eliel, 176

Sargeant, Winthrop, 19

Sakier, George, 50-51

Sanders, Morris, 93

Sao Pau lo biennial exhibit ion, 159, 162,

160

Saturday Evening Post, 186, 213

Saturday Review, 193

Scarab fratern ity, 17

Schiffer Prints, 105, 155

Schnel1e, Eberhard and Wolfgang, 210

Schroeder, Francis deN., 57

Schwartz, Joe, 219 , 228

Scot! Paper logo, pla te

Scurly, Vincent, 177-179

Sears, Roebuck & Co., 50,83,93

Sennett, Richard, 237

Shahn, Ben, 154

Shared Office project, 228

Shelter, 9

Skiddablewalls, 218-219

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 209

Slat Bench, 93, 87, 94-95

Slesin, Suzanne, 181

Sling Sofa, 132, 179, 134

Snow, C. P., 108

Social Security Administration, U.S., 59-60

Soft Wall project, 228

Sottsass, Ettore, Jr., 63,74, 181,200, iv, 201

Spaeth house, Southampton, N.Y., 34, 74,

35-36, plate

Sparke, Penny, 115

Star furniture company, 83

Steinberg, Saul, 103

Steichen, Edward , 167

Index

Stein, Clarence, 185

Steubenville Pottery, 84

St oller, Ezra, 18, 68, 96, 173

Stone, Edward Durrell. 68

Storagewall, 69- 72, 83, 96, 105, 119, 233,

71

Storwal International, 220-227

StrucTube System, 154,207,153

Sullivan, louis, 3

Sumner, Robert, 211

Swaged-Leg Furn iture, 128, 131, plate

Synergetics, Inc., 115

Tabib ian, Jivan, 58

Taylor, Francis Henry, 141

Taylor, Lisa, 201

Teague, Waiter Dorwin, 15, 50-51, 55, 65

Tecton Group, 11

Tengbom, Ivar, 11

Textiles & Objects shop, New York, 105

Thompson, Jane, 56-59, 164,58

Thompson, Jim, 105

Thoreau, Henry David , 235

Track lighting, 34, 37

Travelstead, G. Ware, 220

Tray Table, 106

Treitel-Gratz, 169

Troia development, Portugal, 194-198,

196, 198, pia te

Unistrut display system, 154

United States Information Agency, 154,

plate

Un ited States Pavilion, Osaka, 45 , 46

United States Steel, 75

Un it Kitchen. 74

Un ive rsity of California at Los Angeles, 147

University of Georgia, 141- 149, 163

Un iversity of Michigan, 205

University of Tennessee, 218

U.S.- Us exhibition, New York, 188

Vaccaro, Giuseppe, 11

Van Doren, Harold, 50-51

Vassos, John, 50

Venice, plate

352