from Designing Modern Women 1890–1990, October 5, 2013–October 1, 2014 Licensing of MoMA images and videos is handled by Art Resource (North America) and Scala Archives (all other geographic locations). All requests should be addressed directly to those agencies, which supply high-resolution digital image files provided to them directly by the Museum. This record is a work in progress. "Queen Anne" Side Chair Designer: Robert Venturi (American, born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1925)Manufacturer: KnollDate: 1984Medium: Molded plywood with laminated finishDimensions: H.38-1/2, W.26-1/2, D.23-1/2 in. (97.6 x 67.3 x 59.7 cm) Seat H. 17-1/2 in. (44.5 cm)Classification: Woodwork-FurnitureCredit Line: Gift of Knoll International Inc., 1985Accession Number: 1985.113.1 From the late 1970s through the '80s, many architects and designers, reacting against the dictates of modernism, looked to Neoclassical forms and materials for inspiration. Visual references derived from art and architecture superseded functionalism.
Overt historical references and decoration transformed architecture, furniture, tabletop accessories, and jewelry into objects of fantasy. Well-known architects Robert Venturi, Michael Graves, and others accepted commissions to design products for such diverse international companies as Knoll, Alessi, and Formica. Over a period of more than five years, beginning in the late 1970s, Robert Venturi designed his first furniture line. Knoll International initially asked for three seating types, to which Venturi added six more chairs, three tables, and a sofa. The collection included a variety of major historical furniture styles-Chippendale, Queen Anne, Empire, Hepplewhite, Sheraton, Biedermeier, Gothic Revival, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco. Designer: Robert Venturi (American, born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1925)Manufacturer: KnollDate: 1984Medium: Molded plywood with laminated finishDimensions: H.38-1/2, W.26-1/2, D.23-1/2 in. (97.6 x 67.3 x 59.7 cm) Seat H. 17-1/2 in. (44.5 cm)Classification: Woodwork-FurnitureCredit Line: Gift of Knoll International Inc., 1985Accession Number: 1985.113.1
A maverick of 20th century architecture, Robert Venturi delights in design that is purely decorative. Venturi studied architecture at Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude in 1947, and earned his M.F.A. there in 1950. The recipient of a Prix de Rome, he continued his education at the American Academy there, studying and touring throughout Europe for two years. Venturi found his other half, both professional and personal, in architect Denise Scott Brown. After marrying in 1967, Scott Brown joined Venturi and John Rauch, becoming partner in charge of planning in 1969. From there, they electrified the postmodern movement with controversial writings and buildings that challenged the modernist rejection of ornamentation and introduced whimsy and wit into what they felt had become an overly severe discipline. The collection of chairs, tables and sofa created for Knoll in the 1980s by Venturi served as a physical statement of their willingness to reference and indulge in the more traditionally ornate styles of design.
The chairs exemplified Venturi’s fascination with the façade; the idea that period styling could be applied for purely decorative purposes to a more functionalist frame. Breaking down barriers between traditional and modern design, Venturi’s collection incorporated a wide range of major historical furniture styles such as, Chippendale, Queen Anne, Empire, Hepplewhite, Sheraton, Biedermeier, Gothic Revival, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco.Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi Gothic Revival chair, 1984 Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi candlesticks, set of six, 1985–1986 Empire chairs, set of four, 1984 Queen Anne chairs, pair, 1984 Chippendale chairs, pair, 1985 Queen Anne chair, 1984 Urn dining table, 1984 Knoll Center - Ceiling Design, 1989 Art Deco chair, 1986 Chippendale chairs, set of six, 1985 Chippendale chairs (pair), 1986 Rare black “Hepplewhite” chair, 1984 Rare red “Hepplewhite” chair, 1978–1984
The American Institute of Architects has named Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown as the 2016 AIA Gold Medal laureates, giving them the joint recognition that the Pritzker Prize organisers refused. Innumerable StudiesProduced InnumerableFurniture HistoryEuropean FurnitureModern FurnitureFurniture DesignPainted FurnitureFloor FocalChairs OddForwardA dedicated student of American and European furniture history, Venturi re-interpreted the cliched forms of significant period designs in his series of nine chairs for Knoll. He produced innumerable studies in the development of these chairs and many prototypes are in existence.Robert Venturi (b. United States, 1925)and Denise Scott Brown (b. Zambia, 1931) Queen Anne Chair, designed 1979-84; manufactured byKnoll International, Inc. since 1984 Molded multiplex and laminated plastic Gift of Tyra Byers, Patricia Gebhard Estate Robert Venturi is one of the chief theorists of Postmodernism. He famously countered Mies van der Rohe’s Modernist slogan “less is more” with “less is a bore.”