Paul Evans, Table, Steel, Glass, USA, 1971
About the Item
- Creator:Paul Evans (Designer),Directional (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)Diameter: 42 in (106.68 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:Glass,Steel
- Place of Origin:United States
- Period:1970-1979
- Date of Manufacture:1971
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:High Point, NC
- Reference Number:
Paul Evans
A designer and sculptor, Paul Evans was a wild card of late 20th century modernism. A leading light of the American Studio Furniture movement, Evans’s sideboards, credenzas, coffee tables and other work manifests a singular aesthetic sense, as well as a seemingly contradictory appreciation for both folk art forms and for new materials and technologies.
Evans’s primary material was metal, not wood, which was favored by his fellow studio designers, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, neighbors George Nakashima and Phillip Lloyd Powell. He trained in metallurgy and studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the famed crucible of modern design and art in suburban Detroit. For a time early in his career, Evans also worked at Sturbridge Village, a historical “living museum” in Massachusetts, where he gave demonstrations as a costumed silversmith.
Evans’s earliest work unites these influences. The pieces that made his reputation are known as “sculpted-front” cabinets: wood cases faced with box-like high-relief patinated steel mounts laid out in a grid pattern. Each mount contains a metal emblem, or glyph, and the effect is that of a brawny quilt.
Evans’s later work falls into three distinct style groups. His sculpted-bronze pieces, begun in the mid-1960s, show Evans at his most expressive. He employed a technique in which resin is hand-shaped, and later sprayed with a metal coating, allowing for artistic nuance in the making of chairs, tables and case pieces. Later in the decade and into the 1970s, Evans produced his Argente series for celebrated manufacturer Directional (a brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere): consoles and other furniture forms that feature aluminum and pigment-infused metal surfaces welded into abstract organic forms and patterns.
Last, Evans's Cityscape design series — a milestone in the history of brutalist design — meshed perfectly with the sleek, “high tech” sensibility of the later ’70s. Evans constructed boxy forms and faced them with irregular mosaic patterns that mixed rectangular plaques of chromed steel, bronze or burlwood veneer. These, like all of Paul Evans’s designs, are both useful and eye-catching. But their appeal has another, more visceral quality: these pieces have clearly been touched by an artist’s hand.
Find a collection of authentic Paul Evans furniture today on 1stDibs.
Directional
A brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere, Directional Furniture opened its doors after American furniture designer Paul McCobb created the high-end Directional Modern line of sofas distributed by the New York–based Modernage Company.
In his pivotal introduction of postwar modernism to the mass market, the revered Massachusetts-born McCobb had established several lines, from the affordable and refined Planner Group for Winchendon to the swooping and unexpected arms of the Symmetric Group for Widdicomb, a Shaker-inspired collection that included a sofa and a lounge chair. Like all of McCobb’s designs, the Directional pieces for Modernage are defined by a sleek aesthetic in which the focus is on elegant functionality, frequently using fine materials such as brass and walnut. In 1949, in partnership with New York furniture salesman B.G. Mesberg, McCobb set up the Directional Furniture Company.
The pair’s first pieces were upholstered chairs, intended to harmonize with the modular Multiplex pieces designed by Martin Feinman. McCobb then designed an array of furniture including storage, dining, seating, desks and other pieces with details such as leather tops, wood finishes and Roman Travertine surfaces. While Directional stopped production of McCobb’s work in the early 1960s, it still released numerous pieces by leading designers manufactured by a variety of companies.
Designer Paul Evans led the factory for a time after joining in 1964. His provocative work for the company often reflected his understanding of materials from his early training as a silversmith, such as the popular Cityscape series — a milestone in brutalist design — with its blocky forms accented with brass and chrome. At his shop in Lambertville, New Jersey, he collaborated with a design team to clad furniture pieces in metallic surfaces, like the Argente line that began production in 1968 and involved an acetylene torch to give its aluminum material a textural quality. He also worked on the Sculpted Bronze series with hand-formed resin shaped over plywood or steel that was then coated with atomized bronze.
Other Directional designers included Vladimir Kagan, who contributed biomorphic sofas and swivel chairs; Milo Baughman, who created tables and dressers inspired by Scandinavian modernism; and Jack Lenor Larsen, who covered sofas in dynamically patterned fabric.
Find authentic Directional Furniture seating, tables, case pieces and storage cabinets from top sellers around the world on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: High Point, NC
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Paul Evans, "Cityscape" Dining Table, Mirror, Wood, Directional, USA, c. 1970By Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in High Point, NCA wood and mirror "Cityscape" dining table designed by Paul Evans and produced by Directional, circa 1970.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMirror, Wood
- Danny Ho Fong, Table, Metal, Rattan, USA, 1950sBy Tropi-cal, Danny Ho FongLocated in High Point, NCA black-lacquered metal and rattan table or dining table designed by Danny Ho Fong and produced by Tropi-Cal, USA, 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Renzo Rutili, Table, Cork, Wood, Johnson Furniture Company, USA, 1940sBy Johnson Furniture Company, Renzo RutiliLocated in High Point, NCA wood and cork table designed by Renzo Rutili and produced by Johnson Furniture Company, Grand Rapids Michigan, USA, 1940s.Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsWood, Cork
- American Designer, Organic Work Table, Painted Iron, Walnut, USA, 1950sLocated in High Point, NCAn iron and walnut organic work table designed and produced in the United States, 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Industrial and Work Tables
MaterialsIron
- Isamu Noguchi, Early "Rudder" Table, Birch, Steel, Herman Miller, 1950sBy Herman Miller, Isamu NoguchiLocated in High Point, NCAn early "Rudder" table by Isamu Noguchi. In birch and zinc-plated steel. Designed in 1949. With an asymmetrical form—balanced on two hairpin legs and a third, rudder-like fin—the...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Isamu Noguchi, Early "Cyclone" Table, Plywood, White Laminate Steel, Knoll 1950sBy Knoll, Isamu NoguchiLocated in High Point, NCAn early "Cyclone" table by Isamu Noguchi. In plywood with white laminate top and steel base. Produced by Knoll Associates, Inc, New York, America. Bears original label.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Midcentury Dining Table by Paul Evans for DirectionalBy Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in Brooklyn, NYStunning vintage dining table by Paul Evans for Directional. Beautiful patchwork burl wood design that sits on a pedestal base with chrom...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Paul Evans Style Mid-Century Steel Coffee TableBy Paul EvansLocated in Countryside, ILPaul Evans style mid-century steel coffee table. The table measures: 36 wide x 17 deep x 15 inches high. All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call restored vintage con...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Vintage Chrome "Cityscape" Dining Table by Paul Evans for DirectionalBy Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in North Hollywood, CAExceptional vintage “Cityscape” dining table designed by Paul Evans for Directional in the United States, circa 1970s. This dining table belongs to ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Paul Evans Cityscape Patchwork Burlwood Console or Dining Table BaseBy Directional, Paul EvansLocated in Houston, TXPaul Evans for Directional cityscape patchwork burlwood console table, center table or dining table base. This stunning Mid-Century Modern Evans att...Category
Vintage 1970s North American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsBurl
- Paul Evans Argente TableBy Paul EvansLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA rare form in the Argente Technique. Only produced by Paul Evans for a short period of time Original surface and cleft slate top Welded script signature and date.Category
Vintage 1970s American Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Paul Evans for Directional Cityscape Style Mid Century Patchwork Burlwood TableBy Directional, Paul EvansLocated in Countryside, ILPaul Evans for Directional Cityscape style mid century patchwork burlwood table The table measures: 39 wide x 39 deep x 29.25 high, with a chair...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBurl