Ambient Modernism: The domestic furniture designs of the George Nelson Office, 1944-1963

Histories of the Modern visual arts are often limited to the study of established art historical fields such as painting, sculpture, architecture and photography. The contributions to the material culture of an era by individuals working in the fields of decorative art and furniture design, however, can often provide important and intimate insights into the assimilation of "high art" concepts in everyday life. This study concerns itself with the contributions of American architect and designer George Nelson (1908-86) to the field of domestic furniture design after World War II, contributions that seamlessly connect the ideals of Modernism with the evolving nature of postwar domesticity.;The designs that Nelson and his talented office of designers developed for home use between 1944 and 1963 are examined for their rich cultural value, both as bearers of aesthetic standards and social meaning. Nelson Office furniture reflects the changing attitudes within the field of progressive architecture during the fertile postwar era, and also the evolving landscape of the domestic interior. In architecture the marriage of art and industry was an ideal of Modernist practice, and Nelson, as both architect and designer, also pursued this goal in his approach to furniture design. During the course of many years of close collaboration with the Herman Miller Furniture Company, Nelson developed a multi-faceted line of furniture that was not only aesthetically advanced, but also attuned to progressive methods of manufacture. This study aims, through the examination of the George Nelson collection of domestic furniture, to present a more well-rounded understanding of the successes and failures of Modernist practice in the second half of the twentieth century.