Designers

American · 1907–1978 / 1912–1988

The husband-and-wife team whose experiments with moulded plywood and plastic defined American mid-century modernism, believing good design should serve the many, not the few.

Hungarian-American · 1902–1981

A Bauhaus student turned master who pioneered tubular steel furniture before becoming one of the 20th century's most influential modernist architects.

German-American · 1886–1969

Last director of the Bauhaus and apostle of 'less is more,' whose furniture shares the crystalline clarity of his glass-and-steel architecture.

Danish · 1914–2007

A trained cabinetmaker who designed over 500 chairs, Wegner was the quiet master of Danish Modern, obsessed with honest joinery and organic comfort.

Danish · 1926–1998

The most colourful and futuristic of the Danes, Panton embraced plastic, psychedelic colour and total 'living environments.'

Finnish-American · 1910–1961

Architect of sweeping structures like the TWA Terminal, Saarinen brought the same sculptural fluidity to his pedestal furniture.

Danish · 1912–1989

The designer who introduced Danish Modern to America, treating chairs as free sculpture floating on refined wooden frames.

German-Austrian · 1796–1871

Inventor of industrial bentwood furniture, Thonet's steam-bending techniques made the mass-produced chair possible.

Various · —

Chairs made by unnamed country craftsmen and bodgers, whose regional forms evolved through use rather than authorship.

British · 19th c.

Mass-produced parlour furniture from Victorian factories that brought decorative revival styles to the growing middle class.

French · 18th c.

The menuisiers and gilders who furnished the palaces of Louis XV with elaborately carved seating.

British · Various

Traditional English upholsterers and cabinetmakers behind enduring forms like the wingback and Chesterfield.

French · 1920s–30s

The moderne workshops that streamlined furniture for the age of ocean liners, cinema and jazz.

American · 18th–19th c.

Religious communities whose belief in simplicity and utility produced some of history's purest furniture.

Various · —

Well-made pieces representative of their period whose specific designer is not documented.

Various · 21st c.

Present-day makers reinterpreting historical silhouettes with new materials and manufacturing.