Greta Magnusson Grossman, USA, 1952

More from Greta Magnusson Grossman

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  Greta Magnusson Grossman, USA, 1941

  This kidney-shaped sofa was created by Greta Magnusson Grossman in Sweden and redesigned between 1941 and 1942 for Barker Brothers in Los Angeles. She still favored the curved lines of her Swedish production, but this sofa also reveals a possible influence of Hollywood Regency furniture, which comes as no surprise since Grossman very quickly became a part of the Golden Era scene. With a showroom on North Rodeo Drive inaugurated in 1941, she attracted celebrity clients such as Greta Garbo, Joan Fontaine, and Gracie Allen. The present model was acquired from a family estate in San Angelo, Texas.
  
  Curved sofa in ivory bouclé upholstery with button tufted backrest. Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman for Barker Brothers, Los Angeles, 1941-42. Upholstered with "Pebble Wool" fabric in Eggshell, designed by Maharam.

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  Greta Magnusson Grossman, USA, 1954

  Coffee table in walnut, steel, and plastic laminate with folding leaves. Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman in 1954, for Glenn of California.

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  Greta Magnusson Grossman, USA, 1948

  This floor lamp designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman and sold by Barker Brothers became such a ubiquitous part of the California domestic landscape at the time that it even appeared in the popular comic strip “Mary Worth,” as part of a thoroughly modern bedroom. Grossman used this lamp in many of her interiors, and it can be seen in a sketch for the residence of Frank Sinatra, alongside the chaise longue also in this show.
  
  Floor lamp in enameled aluminum on a chrome-plated steel base with two cone-shaped shades.

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  Greta Magnusson Grossman, USA, 1948-49

  Floor lamp in enameled aluminum on a patinated steel base with two cone-shaped shades. Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman and manufactured by Ralph O. Smith, Burbank, California, 1948-49.
  

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  Greta Magnusson Grossman, USA, circa 1950

  Table lamp in black enameled aluminum on a chrome-plated steel base with one cone shade and one "Cobra" shade. Designed for Ralph O. Smith Co., Burbank, California.

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  Greta Magnusson Grossman, USA, 1949

  This chaise longue had a short production run and was one of the last fully upholstered pieces that Grossman designed, similar to another chaise with wrought iron feet she created around the same time. There are a few photographs of this version, produced by Sherman Bertram. Its scale is unusual in comparison to other chaise longues because it is wide and short, almost like a love seat. This piece can be seen in a sketch Grossman created for the residence of Frank Sinatra, alongside the floor lamp also on this show. The present example is upholstered with “Max” fabric designed and handwoven by rruka.
  
  Chaise lounge in ivory upholstery with button tufting and tapered wooden feet. Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman for Sherman Bertram, USA, circa 1949.

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  Greta Magnusson Grossman, USA, 1952

  The same year that Greta Magnusson Grossman won the Museum of Modern Art’s “Good Design” designation in 1952 for the chair she designed for Glenn of California, she developed a comprehensive collection called the “62 Series” for the company, so named because Glenn’s founder and owner Bob Baron felt it was ten years ahead of its time. The prolific designer additionally created this line of dressers for the company, in which the feet structure gives lightness and dynamism to the piece. At the same time, the drawer knobs provide a modern twist.
  
  Single dresser in walnut on wrought iron legs. Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman for Glenn of California, Los Angeles, 1952.

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  Greta Magnusson Grossman

  Greta Magnusson Grossman maintained a prolific forty-year career on two continents, Europe and North America, with achievements in industrial design, interior design, and architecture. Although it was not as frequently exhibited in Good Design exhibitions in the 1950s as her Cobra table lamp, Magnusson Grossman’s Grasshopper floor lamp has become over time one of the most famous lights of midcentury modern design. This example in coral pink dates to the first years of production by Ralph O. Smith, the tiny Californian midcentury lighting manufactory, and allegedly belonged to Andy Warhol.
  
  R & Company represents the Estate of Greta Magnusson Grossman and, over the past decade, has placed more than a half dozen Grasshopper lamps in American museum collections.
  
  "Grasshopper" floor lamp in enameled aluminum and steel with original coral paint.
  Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman for Ralph O. Smith, Burbank, California, 1947-48.
  14" L x 14" W x 48" H
  FL272

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