Edward S. Cooke, Jr.
The Long Shadow of William Morris: Paradigmatic Problems of Twentieth-Century American Furniture

American Furniture 2003

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Sam Maloof working in his shop, 1978. (Photo, Jonathan Pollock.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    F. Hollyer, Portrait of William Morris, 1887. Photograph. (Courtesy, Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.)

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Exterior view of the Sam Maloof home and studio, Alta Loma, California. (Photo, Jonathan Pollock.)

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Exterior view of the Wharton Esherick home and studio, Paoli, Pennsylvania. (Courtesy, Wharton Esherick Museum.)

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Living room interior of the home owned by Lawrence and Alice Seiver, Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Courtesy, Wharton Esherick Museum.) Esherick provided much of the paneling, built-in furniture, lighting, and movable furniture in the 1950s and 1960s.

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    James Krenov, cabinet. Fort Bragg, California, 1982. Maple, red oak, and partridge. H. 67", W. 27", D. 11". (Courtesy, Pritam & Eames.)

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    View of the cabinet illustrated in fig. 6 with the door open.

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Wendell Castle, lady’s desk with two chairs, Scottsville, New York, 1981. Curly English sycamore, purpleheart, ebony, delrin, and Baltic birch plywood. Desk: H. 40 3/4", W. 41 1/2", D. 22 1/4"; chair: H. 34 3/4", W. 21", D. 26". (Courtesy, Wendell Castle.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Wendell Castle, Ziggeraut, Scottsville, New York, 1985. Gabbon ebony, curly koa veneer, leather, and gold-plated brass; weightdriven movement. H. 71", W. 39", D. 15". (Courtesy, Wendell Castle.)

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Brand used by Sam Maloof from the late 1950s to 1971. (© Smithsonian Institution; photo, Jonathan Pollock, 2001.)

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Burned signature used by Sam Maloof from 1975 to 1992. (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Burned signature used by Sam Maloof after 1992. (© Smithsonian Institution; photo, Jonathan Pollock, 2001.)

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Carved inscription used by Wendell Castle before 1978. (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.)

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Carved inscription used by Wendell Castle from 1978 to 1984. (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.)

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Signature used by Wendell Castle from 1984 on. (Courtesy, Pritam & Eames.) The signature is visible on the right front leg.

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Sam Maloof workshop, 1981. (Photo, Jonathan Pollock.)

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Sam Maloof, armchair, Alta Loma, California, 1975. Walnut and black vinyl. H. 38", W. 30", D. 22 1/2". (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; purchased through funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Gillette Corporation.)

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Sam Maloof, armchair, Alta Loma, California, 1975. Walnut and black vinyl. H. 38 1/2", W. 30", D. 25 3/4". (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; purchased through funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Gillette Corporation.)

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Sam Maloof, armchair, Alta Loma, California, 1975. Walnut. H. 39 3/4", W. 22", D. 23". Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; purchased through funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Gillette Corporation.)

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Wendell Castle, Molar chair, manufactured by Northern Plastics Corporation for Beylerian Limited, 1969–1970. Glass-reinforced polyester. H. 26", W. 36", D. 30". (Courtesy, Detroit Institute of Arts.)

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Wendell Castle, protoype for the Atlantis desk, designed for the Gunlocke Company, 1982. Ebonized and lacquered cherry, flakeboard, beeswing narra veneer, plastic inlay, and gold-plated brass. H. 29", W. 72", D. 36". (Courtesy, Wendell Castle.)

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Wendell Castle, Huevos table, 1999. Mahogany. Dimensions not recorded. (Courtesy, Wendell Castle.)

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Stamp used by Wendell Castle on his designs for Icon Furniture. (Courtesy, Wendell Castle.)

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Sam Maloof, settee, Alta Loma, California, 1987. Curly maple. H. 30", W. 42", D. 25". (Photograph 2003 © Metropolitan Museum of Art; gift of the artist and purchase, anonymous gift.)

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    Sam Maloof, spindle-back rocking chair, Alta Loma, California, 1968. Walnut and leather. H. 44 7/8", W. 26", D. 42 1/8". (© Smithsonian Institution; photo, Jonathan Pollack, 2001.)

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    Sam Maloof, rocking chair, Alta Loma, California, 1975. Walnut. H. 44 1/2", W. 27 3/4", D. 46". (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; purchased through funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Gillette Corporation.)

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    President Ronald Reagan accepting the gift of a Maloof rocking chair, November 11, 1981. (Courtesy, Sam Maloof.) Sam and Freda Maloof and Clement Conger look on.

  • Figure 28
    Figure 28

    Sam Maloof sitting in one of his rocking chairs. (Photo, Rick Mastelli.)