Mid-Century Design

In 1983, the US-American journalist Cara Greenberg published her book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s, thus coining the style terminology for design of the 1950s. Although the style came from the United States, it rapidly spread internationally: designers and architects from Scandinavia, Germany and Italy could also be found among its representatives.

Wooden table on three legs with glass top in the middle. A second glass top on the left-hand side is attached by four legs.
Anonymous/Unknown, Kidney table, around 1950, Inv. No. OV00185, Photo: © Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln, Marion Mennicken

Mid-century modern is characterised by two seemingly opposing poles: on the one hand, there are soft, organic-flowing forms, on the other, there are strictly reduced and geometric shapes. Between these extremes, from the kidney table to the Ulm Stool, there are other aspects such as the foregoing of decorative elements or the way transparency is used. The acrylic glass lid of the Braun Phonosuper SK4 music system (Snow White’s Coffin) and the wireframe Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia are good examples of this.

Simple stool made from three spruce boards joined together in a U-shape and round wood to stabilize the U.
Max Bill, Hans Gugelot, Ulm Stool, 1954, Inv. No. A01813, © Estate of Max Bill, Hans Gugelot, Photo: © Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln, Marion Mennicken

The colours range from black, white and the basic colours red, yellow and blue to soft natural tones that sometimes soften the stronger shades. But, of course, there are also exceptions to the rule: for their RAR rocking chair, Ray and Charles Eames chose, among other things, a pink seat shell made of fibreglass-reinforced polyester.

Rocking chair with pink seat shell and base frame made of black steel wire struts. Light wood runners.
Ray and Charles Eames, rocking chair “Rocking Armchair Rod” (RAR), Inv. No. A01946, © Estate of Ray and Charles Eames, Photo: © Sascha Fuis Photographie, Cologne