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Johnson Furniture company - Paul Frankl  

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emanuel
(@emanuel)
Active Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 16
18/08/2015 8:48 pm  

based on what I have been able to fine online I believe this cabinet to be designed by Paul Frankl. It is unlike most of his other work but matches up with a low table that went up for auction at the Wright auction house a while back. Same pulls, same metal corner and same notches on the legs. I would love to hear your thoughts thanks.
<img class="wpforo-default-image-attachment w


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(@deleted)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 969
19/08/2015 7:01 pm  

Some auction houses had misattributed many items in the past. You can try contacting Los Angeles Modern Auctions and see if they will be helpful to you. Have you contacted Wright about the low table you are comparing your piece to?
Peter Loughrey of LAMA just had an auction on Paul Frankl pieces last February 2015 and had mentioned Frankl's furniture as 'sometimes inflected by asian aesthetics'.
https://lamodern.com/2015/02/peters-pick-of-the-day-paul-frankl/
Is your piece marked by Johnson Furniture Co.? Other designers for Johnson's Furniture besides Paul Frankl include names like John Wisner, Robert and Pipsam Swanson, D. Robinson Smith, Eliel Saarinen and other names.
Also check out the book 'Paul T. Frankl and Modern American Design' by Christopher Long published by Yale University Press in 2007.


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emanuel
(@emanuel)
Active Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 16
21/08/2015 8:06 am  

Thank you Minimoma. You bring up some really good points. I have actually sold a few things thru Peter at LAmodern. and I agree with you I've seen auction house miss-attribute furniture more then once. I also notice the longer ago the auction took place the more likely the auction house was to make a mistake. My cabinet does have a Johnson Furniture stamp and when I purchased it the seller thought it was Renzo Rutili. I didn't feel like Rutili to me. the legs just didn't seem right.
I was considering calling Peter for an estimate but I usually like to have as much information before calling, If this is a Frankl I would think it would be after his sky-scrapper line and before his cork furniture. Looks like a transitional period. Thanks again.


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(@deleted)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 969
21/08/2015 6:54 pm  

A quick online search of Renzo Rutili shows what looks like furniture with obvious asian influences similar in style to the piece you have and it looks like that designer had a prolific career at Johnson Furniture Co. (30 years).
It needs more research but your cabinet is starting to look like a Lorenzo (Renzo) Rutili(?) design. Even if it is not by Paul Frankl, it looks like a very good find.


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emanuel
(@emanuel)
Active Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 16
15/09/2015 6:57 pm  

For the record - Not Paul Frankl, found in one of my reference books. Designed by Renzo Rutili.


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