American Design 
21 February 2019
Richard Schultz, Leisure Collection suite - Image 1 of 3
Richard Schultz, Leisure Collection suite - Image 2 of 3
Richard Schultz, Leisure Collection suite - Image 3 of 3
American Design 
Richard Schultz, Leisure Collection suite - Image 1 of 3
Richard Schultz, Leisure Collection suite - Image 2 of 3
Richard Schultz, Leisure Collection suite - Image 3 of 3
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Richard Schultz

Leisure Collection suite

Knoll International
USA, 1966
enameled aluminum, vinyl, nylon 26 h × 25 w × 75 d in (66 × 63 × 190 cm)
estimate: $2,000–3,000
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Suite includes one chaise lounge, three lounge chairs and one armchair.
provenance: Collection of Charles and Maud Pollock
literature: Knoll: A Modernist Universe, Lutz, pg. 164 Decorative Art 60s, Fiell and Fiell, pg. 287

print

“Why Can't We Make a
Chair that Works?”

Regarded as the first modernist outdoor furniture, Schultz created The Leisure Collection at the direct request of Florence Knoll. After marrying and moving to Florida in 1958, she struggled to find outdoor furniture that held up to the humidity and salty air. Schultz recounts that he “started getting envelopes from her with rusty [Bertoia] bolts or corroded parts and a note saying ‘Why can’t we make a chair that works?’” The collection launched in March 1966 after four years spent producing both an innovative weather-resistant and truly modern form.

Image reproduced from Knoll: A Modernist Universe by Lutz (2010)
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