I have just published on Amazon a new book. It is about constructing outdoor furniture with distinctive designs, without making complicated cuts, not using complex equipment and no purchasing of expensive materials. All the furniture is made with only 90-degree cuts, utilizing only 1x4s and 2x4s. The book includes 200 illustrations of furniture construction and…Continue reading My New DIY Book on Furniture
Jean Prouve
Born in Paris to a creative family and imbued with the spirit of design, Jean Prouvé could only have become the prolific designer and architect. His father, Victor Prouvé, was an artist and his mother, Marie Duhamel, a pianist. His father and mother were abundantly involved in an artistic circle which heavily influenced Jean. Jean…Continue reading Jean Prouve
Ralph Haver
[1]Ralph Haver designed homes as an architect in Phoenix, Arizona during the mid 40s to the 80s of the previous century. He built American style, mid-century modern tract houses affordable to the average budget. The number of buildings constructed by Haver is amazing and certainly dwarfs the production of Eichler in California. Over 20,000 dwellings were…Continue reading Ralph Haver
Notes on the Death of Andrew Wyeth
*This is a repost from Howard Bosler Artist website. I have included it because it does involve 20th century art and modern art criticism: First of all, this is not an article on the history of the Wyeths, in particular, Andrew Wyeth, but a musing about the nature of art and art criticism. I have…Continue reading Notes on the Death of Andrew Wyeth
Maxfield Parrish: The Beautiful View
[1]Normally one does not think of Maxfield Parrish as a mid-century artist. He was born in 1870 and died in 1966. However, during the decades of the 60s and 70s his resurgence was remarkable. His pictures, with their breathtaking views and their mythical characters, had a strong influence on those looking for the idyllic. Because…Continue reading Maxfield Parrish: The Beautiful View
Quonset Hut: A Modern Dwelling
I remember as a child traveling in the car with my parents in the direction of what are called the Foothills in Yuma, Arizona. Yuma, situated on the Colorado River on the border with California and a stone’s throw from Mexico, was only around 14,000 people at the time and surrounded by a true desert…Continue reading Quonset Hut: A Modern Dwelling
The Wiley House: A Philip Johnson Masterpiece
It is a shame that the architect can not emulate Monet and build one building after another in experimentation and variation. The Wiley House leads to one creative idea after another, and not just in the form of the house, but also in the use and types of materials. The fact that the design follows…Continue reading The Wiley House: A Philip Johnson Masterpiece
Paul McCobb
[1]Paul McCobb (June 5, 1917 – March 10, 1969), like a few other famous American designers, did not start out creating furniture. He desired the life of an artist and studied drawing and painting at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, Massachusetts. Although in actuality art and design intimately embrace, art schools rarely…Continue reading Paul McCobb
5 Tips to Add Mid Century Modern Style
So you live in an Arts and Crafts style home or a traditional Victorian? Not everyone who prefers modern over anything else can choose the house that one lives in. Some houses are easier than others to remodel into a MCM style. The ranch house that dominates the Southwestern area of the country comes to…Continue reading 5 Tips to Add Mid Century Modern Style
A-frame: Very Groovy!
When thinking of the mid-century, one rarely thinks of the A-frame. Yet the A-frame was a familiar notion at the time, mainly as a mountain getaway. Indeed, even to this day, the A-frame’s association with the woods and mountain cabins, strikes people as unusual when seen in other environments. Nevertheless, the A-frame has certain advantages…Continue reading A-frame: Very Groovy!
Chairs: A Designers Joy!
Chairs From a Personal View The love affair of modernist designers with the chair provides an abundance of choices to admire. Howard Bosler A WARNING The following article makes no attempt at an objective look at the chair design by modernists. This is simply a list of some chairs that I admire. I will attempt…Continue reading Chairs: A Designers Joy!
Chicago’s Marina City
Bertrand Goldberg, the architect of Marina City, actually worked briefly for Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Bauhaus. After returning from Europe, Goldberg worked in the offices of the modernist firms of Keck and Keck, Paul Schweikher, and Howard Fisher, finally opening his own office in 1937. Before and after World II, he mainly…Continue reading Chicago’s Marina City
Mac Conner Illustrator
Art of the 20th Century Mac Conner Illustrator extraordinaire I have always admired the American illustrators of the early to mid 20th century. N. C. Wyeth, father to Andrew Wyeth and grandfather to Jamie Wyeth, made so many fanciful illustrations from pirates to English knights. Gloriously colored and carefully designed, his pictures were meant…Continue reading Mac Conner Illustrator
William Haines: Hooray for Hollywood?
William (Billy) Haines started out as an actor in the early days of Hollywood and starred in quite a few films, both silent and sound. His career in film lasted from 1922 through 1936 and he quit acting in 1935. Known for a relationship he had with another man, Jimmy Shields, the stories vary as…Continue reading William Haines: Hooray for Hollywood?
Domes: The Geodesic Kind
When we look back on the artistic accomplishments of the mid 20th century, many times we neglect the significance of the geodesic dome. Not only was this design original, but it served as a symbol of the modern impulse of glorifying technology and science and refined the image of modern humanity as the accumulation of…Continue reading Domes: The Geodesic Kind
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