Nelson, George, 1908-1986

Variant names

Hide Profile

"[George Nelson was an] American designer, writer and architect. He studied at Yale University, New Haven, CT (BA, 1928; BFA, 1931), and at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC (1932). Winning the Rome Prize in 1932, he was named a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome in 1934; while there he wrote 'Architects of Europe Today', published as 12 articles in Pencil Points in 1936-7, an early introduction of European architects to a wide American audience. From 1934 to 1949 he held a succession of editorial and management posts at Architectural Forum and had a major influence on the magazine's progressive point of view and its success with readers. From 1948 to 1975 he was editor of Interiors magazine. He also wrote Industrial Architecture of Albert Kahn Inc., which in 1939 was an early recognition of Kahn's factories as architecture, and Tomorrow's House (1945), a plea for rationality and simplicity in domestic design. His later books include How to See (1977) and George Nelson on Design (1979). As a designer, Nelson had a series of offices under various partnership names in New York from 1936. Their work included the Storagewall (1944-5), the prototype of the room dividers of the 1950s, as well as many other familiar furniture designs. He was also active as an exhibition designer, and, although not primarily an architect-builder, he designed some houses including the Fairchild house, New York (1940-41), with William Hamby (b 1902) and the Holiday house in Quoque, Long Island (1950), with Gordon Chadwick. In 1946 Nelson became design director for the Herman Miller furniture company, and his own designs and his employment of other designers such as Charles Eames expanded a regional furniture manufacturer into an interiors firm of international influence. He was also an active lecturer as well as an organizer of the International Design Conference at Aspen, CO, from 1965."--Oxford Art Online, viewed November 22, 2010 (http://www.oxfordartonline.com/)

From the description of George Nelson exhibition catalog, 2009. (University of Georgia). WorldCat record id: 688123272

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Dept. of Photography. Records, Exhibition negatives: installations. Home Furnishings, Old and New. Designed by Gruen, Kauffmann, Nelson, and Wormley. 1957. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn William Pahlmann Associates. Publicity books of William Pahlmann Associates, 1936-1976. Hagley Museum & Library
referencedIn Janice Gorn Papers, 1940-1988 New York University. Archives
referencedIn George Nelson : vertical file. Centre canadien d'architecture, | Canadian Centre for Architecture | CCA
referencedIn Mitchell A. Wilder papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Nelson, George, 1908-1986. George Nelson exhibition catalog, 2009.
referencedIn Nelson, George H., 1908-1986 : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
referencedIn Charles Eames and Ray Eames Papers, 1885-1988, (bulk 1965-1988) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn George Nelson & Co., Inc. Records, 1948-1968, 1957-1968 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Noel Martin papers, 1948-2008, 1948-2008 University of Cincinnati, Archives and Rare Books Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Dept. of Decorative Arts. Records, Exhibition views: installations. Home Furnishings, Old and New. Designed by Gruen, Kauffmann, Nelson, and Wormley. 1957. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Department of Decorative Arts. Records, Exhibition views: installations. Home Furnishings, Old and New. Designed by Gruen, Kauffmann, Nelson, and Wormley. 1957. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Herman Miller, Inc. Herman Miller collection, 1923-2006 (bulk 1934-2000). The Henry Ford, Benson Ford Research Center
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Department of Decorative Arts. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Dept. of Decorative Arts. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Dept. of Photography. corporateBody
associatedWith Eames, Charles. person
associatedWith Eames, Charles. person
associatedWith Eames, Ray. Charles Eames and Ray Eames papers. 1885-1988 person
associatedWith George Nelson & Co., Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Gorn, Janice L. person
associatedWith Herman Miller, Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Martin, Noel person
associatedWith Vitra Design Museum corporateBody
associatedWith Wilder, Mitchell A. person
associatedWith William Pahlmann Associates. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1908-05-29

Death 1986-03-05

Americans

English

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nk45hw

Ark ID: w6nk45hw

SNAC ID: 14824640