Illustrated with the days own archive material and drawing on unique indepth interviews with the designers, this landmark book provides a comprehensive survey. Hailed as the british counterparts to charles and ray eames, robin and lucienne day electrified the british design scene in the 1950s with their startling furniture and textile designs. When did both lucienne and robin get their big breaks in the industry. Robin and lucienne day went to see the robin and lucienne day exhibition at chichester. The book is a great mix of photos and text, fabulous for anyone interested in 20th c design. The book is a great mix of photos and text, fabulous for. Working chiefly for the london store heals, her work was unified by. Living design tells the story of days design career, unfolding in a sequence of photographs drawn from the archives of the robin and lucienne day foundation. In the spirit of the age is a welcome addition to publisher antique collectors club series on textile design. I love that you can really see her hand in her designs, the quality of her line is very studied and just a little naive. I can appreciate robin s cleverness but lucienne is the girl for me. The women who designed the pattern for modern britain art. Robins low cost, massproduced furniture, among which is the multimillion selling polypropylene chair, and luciennes abstract, colourful.
Pioneers of contemporary design, mitchell beazley, 2001, p. Sep 16, 2015 robin and lucienne days design oeuvre is complete. See more ideas about lucienne day, textile design and textile patterns. Both robin and lucienne day died last year and this exhibition aims, in the words of its curator, shanna shelby, to honour their artistic elegance and contributions to the history of design.
They played an instrumental role in persuading postwar british society to welcome minimalist, progressive, massproduced designs into domestic settings. Photograph robin and lucienne day foundation, courtesy of antique collectors club. Interestingly, the painterly styles of these two patterns were soon put to one side by. Robin and lucienne day pioneers of contemporary design posted the designs showcased in this book are timeless and illustrate an almost effortlessly stylish approach, products that are beautiful and yet restrained but never fashion led. John lewis marks lucienne day centenary with textile.
Robin and lucienne day pioneers of contemporary design. Dec 19, 2014 robin day, the son of a police constable in high wycombe, and desiree lucienne conradi, who grew up in croydon, the daughter of belgian reinsurance broker, met at a royal college of art dance in 1940. The book shop is also fantastic at the pallant house gallery. Now it must not be allowed to disappear into the design history archives, nor be exploited and.
Upon fingering through the book, it is easy to tell that all of the designers of the time were aware of each others work, as many pieces of lucienne and robin day look very similar to other designers of the time. As britains most distinguished designers of the postwar period, robin and lucienne day pursued celebrated careers for more than fifty years. An exhibition of lucienne days textiles and robin days furniture, robin and lucienne day. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. Robin and lucienne day, the firstever fulllength monograph on their designs, features neverbeforeseen archival material along with over 250 color images of the full range of their work, including furniture, ceramics, textiles, wallpaper, interiors, appliances, exhibit designs, and graphics. Feb 26, 2014 6 information from the lucienne day accounts book. Robin day hillestak dining table and vhairs by hille midcentury design, circa 1950 hillestak dining set by robin day for hille, dining table and four dining chairs, circa 1950, wi. See more ideas about lucienne day, robin day and robin. Robin day, obe, rdi, fcsd 25 may 1915 9 november 2010 was one of the most significant british furniture designers of the 20th century, enjoying a long career spanning seven decades.
This updated book celebrates and offers an insight into their remarkable success and was specially produced to accompany the 2011 exhibition robin and lucienne day. Indeed, their influence over the next five decades has been so profound that their early products were. Shop authentic robin day furniture and other robin day furniture from the worlds best dealers. British textile designer lucienne day had a transformative effect on pattern design from the 1950s onwards. Robin and lucienne day were phenomenally influential in the postwar design world, wo. Design textile textile prints textile art fabric design digital print textiles digital prints indigo prints blue. Paula day, lucienne and robin days daughter and director of the foundation dedicated to her parents legacy, believes luciennes enduring influence can be compared with that of william morris. For these room settings he needed a wallpaper and furnishing fabric that would sit comfortably with his modern furniture. Lesley jackson hailed as the british counterparts to charles and ray eames, robin and lucienne day electrified the british design scene in the 1950s with their startling furniture and textile designs. Robins low cost, massproduced furniture, among which is the multimillion selling polypropylene chair, and luciennes abstract, colourful prints led them to become key players in the 1951. An accomplished industrial and interior designer, he was also active in the fields of graphics and exhibitions.
Robin day, the creator of the bestselling polypropylene chair,was renowned as afurniture designer, but also excelled in many other fields over the years, includingexhibition design, graphics and product design. My parents both achieved public recognition for their work for the festival of britain in 1951. Lesley jackson robin day, the creator of the bestselling polypropylene chair, was renowned as a furniture designer, but also excelled in many other fields over the years, including exhibition design, graphics and. This is a super coffee table book, it looks fabulous and has the bonus of being a very interesting read too. Apr 01, 2011 robin and lucienne day robin and lucienne day are respectively product and textile designers who bought a breath of fresh air to british design back in the 50s thanks to robins cheap mass produced furniture and luciennes vibrant and colourful textiles. The first thought that came to mind when looking into robin and lucienne days work was how their designs, created 60 years ago were still so very appealing to todays modern society. This exhibition was accompanied by a book by design historian and curator lesley jackson called robin and lucienne day pioneers of contemporary design mitchell beazley, 2001, which documented the couples careers in detail and traced the evolution of their styles. Photographs show the lead up to her career breakthrough at the festival of britain 1951, with her pioneering contemporary design calyx. Living design tells the story of luciennes design career, unfolding in a sequence of images and textiles drawn from the archives of the robin and lucienne day foundation. Nov 23, 2010 in 2001 he and lucienne were the subjects of a major retrospective at the barbican art gallery curated by lesley jackson, author of the book robin and lucienne day pioneers of contemporary.
Pioneers of contemporary design during the 1950s and 1960s, and joint design consultants to the john lewis partnership from 1962 to 1987, robin and lucienne day,who both died in 2010,were legendary figures with an international reputation. In close collaboration with the robin and lucienne day foundation, case furniture revisited the original design of the 675 chair and faithfully reinstated, in the 2014 chair, the element and detail of the 1952 original. Design and the modern interior, will be held in spring 2011 at pallant house gallery in chichester the city where the days retired in 2000, in order to be. Pioneers of contemporary design by lesley jackson isbn. Robin day s early designs reflected the optimistic, forwardlooking mood of the postwar era. Enid marx, minnie mcleish and lucienne day a generation of revolutionary print creators vanessa thorpe sat 26 may 2018 16. The range was created in partnership with the robin and lucienne day foundation who previously worked with the british brand to relaunch robin days injectionmoulded school chair. Robin days use of simple minimalist shapes when designing furniture and lucienne days use of abstract colourful shapes when creating fabrics are still. Aug 01, 2011 this is a super coffee table book, it looks fabulous and has the bonus of being a very interesting read too. May 26, 2018 enid marx, minnie mcleish and lucienne day a generation of revolutionary print creators vanessa thorpe sat 26 may 2018 16. Now it must not be allowed to disappear into the design history archives, nor be exploited and abused by companies looking to get rich quick. The robin and lucienne day foundation is a design education charity established by their daughter paula day in 2012. The design of the 1950s and 1960s are of course very fashionable, but my mothers work is timeless in the same way as that of william. Design and the modern interior, pallant house gallery, chichester, until 26 june.
Pioneers of contemporary design is at the barbican gallery, london ec2 0207638 8891, from tomorrow until april 16. This exhibition was accompanied by a book by design historian and curator lesley jackson called robin and lucienne day pioneers of contemporary design. Hailed as the british counterparts to charles and ray eames, robin. Mar 07, 2016 went to see the robin and lucienne day exhibition at chichester. Lucienne day in conversation with jennifer harris author of lucienne day.
Lucienne also conceived a new textile design, calyx, intended to complement robins more costly livingdining room. He had already left the college in 1938, having specialised in furniture and interior design. Hailed as the british counterparts to charles and ray eames, robin and lucienne day electrified the british design scene in the 1950s with their startling. Lesley jacksons book accompanying the exhibition is. In 2001 he and lucienne were the subjects of a major retrospective at the barbican art gallery curated by lesley jackson, author of the book robin. The development of their styles can be traced in lesley jacksons book robin and lucienne day.
She was in her final year studying printed textiles. The book was written with the support of the family of lucienne day, and her daughter, paula, writes a fascinating foreward, with her own personal insight on what made her mother so extraordinary. Provence wallpaper, a previous design by lucienne day, was chosen for one room to illustrate an affordable interior. Robin and lucienne day foundation lives and designs. Lucienne day, an outstandingtextile designer, gained early recognition with calyx, her acclaimed furnishingfabric for the festival of britain in 1951, and she also designed. Robin and lucienne day foundation news lucienne day. History of modern design david raizman pdf download ebook. Robins revolutionary furniture designs introduced materials such as plastic, steel and plywood to homes, offices and schools. Robin and lucienne day transformed british design after world war ii with striking furniture and textiles that signaled a new era of modernist sensibilities for everyday living.
Photographs courtesy of the robin and lucienne day foundation by andrew casey lucienne day is best known today for her pioneering textile designs from the 1950s and 60s, particularly her iconic calyx pattern, which was shown at the festival of britain in 1951. Husbandandwife designers robin 19152010 and lucienne day 19172010 were britains leading pioneers of modernist design in the 20th century. Photograph lucienne and robin day foundation, courtesy of antique collectors club. From a 1960s biology book, illustration by charles harper science and art used to be match made in haven but that time is over. But i think that kind of mutual admiration was one of the reasons that period of design 1930s1960s was so important. I can appreciate robins cleverness but lucienne is the girl for me. Nov 09, 2010 the development of their styles can be traced in lesley jacksons book robin and lucienne day. Jan 05, 2017 paula day, lucienne and robin days daughter and director of the foundation dedicated to her parents legacy, believes luciennes enduring influence can be compared with that of william morris. A career in design contrary to their fears, lucienne day s new design turned out to have great market appeal and became one of many commercial successes in a longstanding partnership between heals and the designer. Photographs show the lead up to her career breakthrough at the festival of britain. Category 1950s british midcentury modern vintage robin day furniture.
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