Design appeal is based on integrity of form, simplicity of line and true organic function.
Paul McCobb 1917-1969
Published by Ark Journal
Shapes of Paul McCobb
An American Accent An Original Voice
Accents are a funny thing. You hear them very clearly if they are foreign to your ears, yet not at all if they are local. A Manhattanite can immediately recognize a Frenchman speaking English, yet not a fellow New Yorker from the Bronx or Brooklyn. This paradoxical situation extends beyond vocal pitches into things like culinary tastes; color democracy (pink is the navy blue of India, as Diane Vreeland famously stated); and certainly to design preferences. Take, for example, Paul McCobb. He had the best-selling collection of modern furniture in America for more than a decade, from 1949 to 1962. During this same period he had a syndicated design column and appeared on numerous radio and television talk shows. He was even a recipient of MoMA’s Good Design Award five times between 1950 and 1955. Yet for the past three decades, as mid-century designs were re-evaluated at the museum or the auction house, McCobb was nowhere to be seen. As desirability and prices for blue-chip designs by George Nelson and Charles & Ray Eames skyrocketed, McCobb’s creations were left behind at the second-hand shops and flea markets. His most popular designs were not found in museum collections nor retrospective surveys of mid-century modernism. The Museum of Modern Art does not have anything by McCobb in its permanent collection. How do we account for this discrepancy? Some of the blame can be placed on McCobb’s aesthetic itself. Highly influenced by 19th century Shaker design of the American Northeast where he grew up, his well-made but simple designs, which some would call too plain, were not radical enough, luxurious enough, nor flamboyant enough to be viewed as characteristic of an age. They were from the time, but not necessarily representative of the time. In other words, his ‘accent’ is not perceived in his own country as distinctive enough to be recognized. It is not a surprise then, that another group of design experts, the Danish in fact, heard Paul McCobb’s original voice and took the lead to revive his highly distinctive designs. A bit later than his contemporaries, McCobb is celebrated again for his understated designs: elegantly simple and consummately all-American. In other words a truly original voice.
Dung Ngo Founder and Editor-in-chief, AUGUST
Perimeter Pull
Linear Group Bow-Tie Chair
Calvin Group Chair
Connoisseur Collection Occasional Table
Perimeter/Planner Group Bow-Tie Chair
Graphic
His designs have an essence. An elegance of forms, the capacity to be integrated silently, and there’s a geometric or graphic signature on all of his work. The silhouette of the Wing Back is clean and simple and one of the first expressions of the armchairs that followed years after. Working in a period in the US when the best of the iconic pieces were generated, McCobb stood out for the quality and coherence of his design. His work was characterized by a constant level of excellence of project innovation and of taste.
Roberto Gavazzi CEO, Boffi | DePadova
Delineator Group Coffee Table
Delineator Group Dining Chair
Oval Coffee Table
Delineator Round Dropleaf Table
Planner Group Sculptural Dining Chair
Cigarette Box
Linear Group Room Divider
Executive High Back Swivel Chair
Excelsior E11 Floor Lamp