Lucienne Day

I started this blog September 6, 2010. Some of you have been readers since the beginning. Others have come on board later. From now through the end of the month, I'm going to be on a short blogging break. Not only am I in the middle of a big volunteer project, I'm also trying to help get the new store open, so I've decided share some of my favorite posts from the past four years. I'll throw in a few new photos for you longtime supporters who read the posts when they were first published.


(First posted 9/14/2010)

Lucienne Day (1917-2010) was a British textile designer whose vibrant and innovative work changed the industry.

Her designs, which were used for fabric, carpet, wallpaper and ceramics, were inspired by the modern art of Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró and Alexander Calder, as well as by geometric forms and nature. Her Calyx pattern was launched at the 1951 Festival of Britain and helped launch her career. It was given the International Design Award of the American Institute of Decorators.

Day is known for her ability to combine the traditional British love of nature...as seen in the works of William Morris or John Ruskin, for example...and express that in abstract design.

When interest in 20th century design reemerged in the 1990s, she and her husband of almost 70 years Robin Day, the famed furniture designer, became mentors to young designers.

In Jonathan Glancey's farewell to Lucienne Day at the time of her death in January of this year, he described the woman and her work:

Lucienne had a wonderful way of looking severe, and then breaking into a warm smile and happy conversation. I suppose her best fabrics – and that's pretty much all of them – are a bit like that: disciplined, intelligent, diligently researched, but also warm, playful, colourful and delightful too.

From theguardian.com and classictextiles.com

Calyx
theguardian.com

Dandelion Clocks
classictextiles.com

Helix
designmuseum.com

Flotilla
classictextiles.com

Apollo
dwell.com

Spectators
classictextiles.com

Herb Anthony
the189.com

Trio
classictextiles.com

Classic Textiles is making several of Day's patterns available in a number of colorways. They sell for £75/$120.54 per metre.

Classic Textiles Day reissues
classictextiles.com

Pronunciation Guide

Lucienne Day's silk mosaics

Lucienne Day, one of the first designers from the 1950s to become a celebrity, had a BBC Radio series on design, had her home featured in a 1954 issue of House & Garden, and starred, along with her furniture designer husband Robin Day, in a Smirnoff vodka ad campaign, but she is best known for her textile designs, such as the famous Calyx pattern, which was inspired by her love of Joan Miro and Paul Klee.

However, in her later career, she produced what she called "silk mosaics." These are typically at least 4' x 6' and comprised hundreds--and sometimes thousands--of separate pieces of Thai or Indian silk. She first made paper templates of the designs, and then the silk pieces were placed and sewn by a team of assistants.

Her first show of mosaics was in 1981 at the National Theatre, where she sold 3/4 of her pieces. They soon became highly sought after by private and public collectors. Perhaps her most famous mosaic is Aspects of the Sun, a spectacular 16' x 9' piece.

From independent.co.uk

The Window
gac.culture.gov.uk

Their Exits and Their Entrances
robinandluciennedayfoundation.org

Three Daughters of Mexico
taraleetowers.tumblr.com

Golden Tangram
robinandluciennedayfoundation.org

Aspects of the Sun
robinandluciennedayfoundation.org

Defining "mid-century"

Jonathan Goldstein of Planner, Perimeter, Predictor, Paul McCobb (an expert on the design of McCobb, by the way) left a comment on the post about plinths and asked, to some extent playing the devil's advocate but nonetheless legitimately, "What is the definition of 'mid-century'?" I typed a quick (and somewhat half-baked) response, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the topic didn't need to be buried in the Comments section of an old post. I want to know what mid-century means to the rest of you. Here is the bulk of my response to Jonathan, along with some later thoughts/clarifications.

Great question, Jonathan. If you and I could answer that one today, we'd be famous, since so many before us have tried and failed to agree.

When I first became interested years ago, I thought mid-century meant 1950s and googie...hard to believe I was ever that green...but I daresay many of those "50 people on the street" (referencing the original post about plinths) might have just as narrow a view of the style as I did.

Today I tend to think of mid-century more in terms of a rejection of the superfluous ornamentation of "period" furniture in favor of clean lines, functionality and affordability...and a belief that less could definitely be more*. But then that would leave out Paul Evans, whom I consider a mid-century designer because of his work with Phillip Lloyd Powell, which is why I often include photos of his [highly ornamented] work done in the 70s. If I had to be pinned down on a time frame, I'd say 1930s through the mid-60s, but, on the front end, that leaves out [iconic] pieces like the Wassily and Basculant chairs [which were designed in the 1920s]. But, but, but. See I can't even agree with myself on a definition, and I'm starting to sound a lot like [Supreme Court] Justice Potter "I Know It When I See It" Stewart [in his famous opinion about pornography]. It's true though...mid-century to me is more about a feeling/mindset than a set of parameters, as obvious and lame a cop-out as that is. :)

I've effectively managed to erase the phrase "mid-century" from my vocabulary and substitute "modernist" or "vintage modern." That derives from the fact that I simply don't have the heart to leave out some of the work of designers like Alvar Aalto, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Russel Wright. I guess that's not unheard of, since Cara Greenberg, who is given credit for coining the phrase "mid-century modern" in her book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s, included photos of designs from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

My ending date for "mid-century" comes from memories of when styles in both clothing and furniture shifted to the "mod" designs of the late-60s/early 70s, roughly from the time I graduated high school in 1966 till I finished college in 1970, a time that marked a huge social shift as well...and my own purchase in the early 70s of some of the Mediterranean-style furniture Jonathan mentioned. There are many pieces of furniture from the early 1960s (some Risom, Platner and Wegner pieces, for example) that I simply can't imagine putting into any category other than mid-century.

So now I'd like to hear how you define mid-century. It doesn't have to be long or involved (and my response proves it doesn't have to be brilliant or definitive either). Jonathan and I don't have definitions that are perfectly aligned, and you're free to disagree with both of us. We're not thin-skinned. :) Just shoot from the hip and tell me what it means to you. While you're thinking, I'll show you some of the photos I'd show a to a mid-century novice if I could do a "pictorial definition."

The Lake Shore Drive Apartments by Mies van der Rohe, 1948-1951
photographed by Michael Wolf, from The Transparent City
amazon.com

Le Corbusier's Basculant chair, 1928
1stdibs.com

Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe, 1929
1stdibs.com

Paimio chair by Alvar Aalto, 1930
design-museum.de

Eames LMC, 1946
loeffler.de.com

Hans Wegmer's Papa Bear chair, 1951
1stdibs.com

Jens Risom sofa, 1950s
liveauctioneers.com

Paul McCobb Planner Group desk, 1950s
treadwaygallery.com

Calyx by Lucienne Day, 1951
theguardian.com

Warren Platner lounge chair, 1966
knoll.com

George Nelson slat bench, 1946
uniquesandantiques.com

Arne Jacobsen Ant chair, 1952
treadwaygallery.com

Lamps by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier, 1950s
1stdibs.com

Finn Juhl Poet sofa, 1941
finnjuhl.com

Womb chair by Eero Saarinen, 1946
design-museum.de

Eames lounge chair and ottoman, 1956
hermanmiller.com

Coffee table by Isamu Noguchi, 1945
1stdibs.com

George Nelson spindle clock, 1957
georgenelson.org

Poul Henningsen PH5 light, 1958
1stdibs.com

Edward Wormley for Dunbar
1stdibs.com

Harry Bertoia Diamond chairs, 1952
1stdibs.com

Russel Wright Iroquois Casual carafe, 1946
antiquehelper.com

*"Less is more," while often attributed to Mies van der Rohe or Walter Gropius, is from the poem "Andrea del Sarto" by Robert Browning. The English teacher in me just had to clear that up. :)

Update on my update: Robin and Lucienne Day

A blog friend across the Atlantic actually got to attend the Robin and Lucienne Day Pallant House Gallery exhibit I posted about recently. I am simultaneously green with envy and thrilled that someone has reported back to us about seeing it firsthand. Check out the photos on the chairsmith blog.

Update: Lucienne and Robin Day

Last September I posted about Lucienne Day, and in November I posted about her husband, Robin Day. The celebrated British couple is often compared with their American counterparts, Charles and Ray Eames. Lucienne's textile design and Robin's furniture design pioneered the modern aesthetic in post-war England. Both Lucienne and Robin Day died last year.

Thanks to my daughter's friend Rene's blog, I found out that the work of Lucienne and Robin Day will be exhibited until the end of June at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, West Sussex. Although I don't have the money to hop a plane and attend the show myself, maybe some of you who live across the Atlantic will be able to go and tell us about it afterwards.

If, like me, you can't make the trip, you may have to be content with this excellent slideshow on the BBC site. Not only does it contain stunning images of the Days' work with narration by Simon Martin, the head of curatorial services at the gallery, but it also features music by Duke Ellington and Pink Floyd, Sir Adrian Boult conducting Brahms and The Byrds. It is a treat for the eyes and ears.

Here are a few more of my favorite designs by the Days, some of which you'll see in the slideshow.

interiordesign.net

Lapis by Lucienne Day
dwell.com

Herb Antony by Lucienne Day
designmuseum.org

Parkland by Lucienne Day
dwell.com

Springboard by Lucienne Day
claudiacreated.com

Royal Festival Hall armchair by Robin Day
1stdibs.com

Fauteuil chair by Robin Day
galerieavril.com

Hillestack chair by Robin Day
architonic.com

Update to the update (6/25/11): A fellow blogger across the Atlantic did get to see the exhibit and posted pictures. I'm at the same time green with envy and appreciative of all the wonderful images in the post at chairsmith.

Robin Day (1915-2010)

Robin Day, British furniture designer and husband of textile designer Lucienne Day, died November 9 at age 95.

After World War II, Day turned his hand to exhibition and poster design. In 1948 he and Clive Latimer won first prize in the storage section of the International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture organized by MoMA. The cabinets in their flexible, multi-functional storage system were fabricated from a tube of molded plywood cut into sections--a radical innovation for the time.

Day's success brought him to the attention of a British manufacturer, Hille, which had specialized in period furniture, but was eager to modernize. Seizing this opportunity, he designed a series of simple, functional chairs, tables, desks and storage units that harnessed the latest wood and metalworking techniques. Many of his designs were low-cost, such as the beech-framed 1950 Hillestak chair with its molded plywood seat. Whereas pre-war furniture was solid and bulky, Day’s designs were pared down and seemed to float above the ground. “What one needs in today’s small rooms is to see over and under one’s furniture,” he told a journalist in 1955.

Day’s inventive response to technology reflected the positive, forward-looking mood of the early post-war era, with his sparing use of materials and economical approach to construction. From the outset Robin Day was a deeply moral and highly principled designer, who was not interested in making a design statement, but in solving practical problems in the most rigorous, efficient and cost-effective way. “A good design must fulfill its purpose well, be soundly constructed, and should express in its design this purpose and construction,” he stated in 1962.

The commission to design furniture for the Royal Festival Hall marked a turning point in Day’s career. The project included restaurant and foyer furniture, auditorium seating and orchestra chairs, each with specific functional demands. His talents were also evident in the two room settings he designed for the House and Gardens Pavilion at the Festival: one low-cost, one high-cost, both equipped with his latest storage furniture and chairs.

Robin Day married Lucienne Conradi in 1942. It was their passion for design that drew the couple together and formed the basis of their personal and professional relationship. Acting as mutual catalysts, they spurred each other on to realize their ambitions and to produce their most original work.  Lucienne Day died in January of this year at age 93.

From designmuseum.org

Polypropylene stack chair, 1963
designmuseum.org

Hillestak chair, 1950
designmuseum.org

Royal Festival Hall lounge chair, 1951
twentyfirstcenturyretro.com

Robin and Lucienne Day's living room
designmuseum.org

arts.brighton.ac.uk