Modern Design 
1 October 2000
Modern Design 
319

Hugh Acton

Slat bench

Hugh Acton, Inc.
USA, 1956
ebonized wood, brass 14 h × 48 w × 16 d in (36 × 122 × 41 cm)
estimate: $700–900
result: $1,610
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Hugh Acton, a Michigan architect and designer, designed this elegant bench in 1956. Period advertising touts the precision machining used in the manufacturing that allows for knockdown shipping and assembly without screws.

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Hugh Acton 1925–2018

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Hugh Acton was an artist and designer, based primarily in Kalamazoo, Michigan, working in a style that blended the best of the American craft tradition and Scandinavian mid-century design. He is most known for his pioneering Acton Stacker (the first stackable chair with arms) and his epochal wood and metal slat bench.

Acton was born in 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri and soon after adopted by a family who owned a farm and ranch in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. From a young age, he showed a penchant for building things and his time spent on the farm would influence his design ethos of simplicity in form and material.

Auction Results Hugh Acton

Hugh Acton

Rare shelving system

estimate: $2,000–3,000

result: $8,190

Hugh Acton

sofa

estimate: $5,000–7,000

result: $5,313

Hugh Acton

Executive lounge chair

estimate: $1,500–2,000

result: $3,810

Hugh Acton

prototype bench

estimate: $2,000–3,000

result: $3,500

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