Pair of Ceiling Lights
1964s
Painted metal, gold plated copper.
Provenance:
Edgar J. Kaufmann Center, Manhattan, New York
Acquired directly from the above
History:
Designed in 1964, the Kaufmann Conference Center at 809 United Nations Plaza is one of only five Aalto projects in the United States, and one of four remainin by Aalto in the United States, and the only project realised in New York. The conference center was announced in 1962, during the construction of the Institute of International Education (IIE)'s headquarters, and was dedicated in December 1964.
Architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable praised it in a 1964 New York Times review, writing: “It is quite possible, in this country, to forget that wood is so beautiful and that its appeal is due to its qualities as a natural material. American processes of manufacture frequently result in a mechanized and overfinished product that looks as if it had never known a tree.”
Literature:
'Interviewing Aalto', Progressive Architecture, January 1965, pp. 49-50
'Aalto in New York', Progressive Architecture, February 1965, pp. 180-185 which features the Kaufman center in detail.
Ref: 1011666
| H | 27.5cm/10.8" |
| W | 71cm/28.0" |
| D | 31.5cm/12.4" |
H. 27.5cm/10.8"
W. 71cm/28.0"
D. 31.5cm/12.4"