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Collection by Diana Budds

Modern Design Icons You Should Know

From the photographer who shaped how mid-century architecture was communicated to the furniture designer whose work is synonymous with the "space-age pop" aesthetic, we profile five icons you should know.

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“A wonderful mess” is how Shulman describes his desk. Interspersed among the family snapshots, mementos, and tchotchkes are several enlarged quotations, including one from Art News: “If buildings were people, those in Julius Shulman’s photographs would be Grace Kelly: classically elegant, intriguingly remote.”
“A wonderful mess” is how Shulman describes his desk. Interspersed among the family snapshots, mementos, and tchotchkes are several enlarged quotations, including one from Art News: “If buildings were people, those in Julius Shulman’s photographs would be Grace Kelly: classically elegant, intriguingly remote.”
The architect with her side chair designs, year unknown. Photo courtesy Espasso.
The architect with her side chair designs, year unknown. Photo courtesy Espasso.
Jens RisomJens Risom’s spot in the canon of mid-century American design is one marked by displacement. Some of the accolades heaped upon the great designers should rightly have gone to Risom, who, with Hans Knoll, began priming the market for modern design as early as 1941 with the Risom-designed 600 line for Knoll. It included the first Knoll chair ever. View his prefab house in Rhode Island here.
Jens RisomJens Risom’s spot in the canon of mid-century American design is one marked by displacement. Some of the accolades heaped upon the great designers should rightly have gone to Risom, who, with Hans Knoll, began priming the market for modern design as early as 1941 with the Risom-designed 600 line for Knoll. It included the first Knoll chair ever. View his prefab house in Rhode Island here.
Photo from: designmuseum.org
Photo from: designmuseum.org