Paul T. Frankl Cork and Mahogany Occasional table, Model 5026, Johnson Furniture Company, USA, 1948-1952. 22 h × 30 w × 20 d in. Stenciled manufacturer's mark to underside '5026 #280'.

Provenance: Private Collection, Chicago, USA.

An émigré from Austria, Frankl settled in New York in 1914 and quickly saw a country awash in reproductions of uncomfortable European styles. From the start, Frankl took a different approach, designing sleek, unadorned pieces that reflected advances in American technology and changes in culture.

In the early 1950s Johnson Furniture Company produced several lines by Paul Frankl, among them the “Contemporary” line, incorporating an early use of biomorphic designs and novel materials such as cork veneers and chairs with “plunging neckline” cutout backs that mimicked women’s fashions of the day.

Frankl wrote several books and magazine articles about the Modern Style and was its most vocal proponent. He later designed production pieces for Brown Saltman of California and Johnson Furniture Company of Grand Rapids, incorporating an early use of biomorphic designs and novel materials such as cork veneer. His style continuously evolved, from early skyscraper furniture to relaxed and casual designs favored by the Hollywood elite in the 1930s to manufactured pieces for the mass market in the 1950s.