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Collections

John Kapel
Chaircirca 1958

Not on view
No image
Artist or Maker
John Kapel
United States, California, Woodside, active 1922-2020
Title
Chair
Place Made
Saratoga
Date Made
circa 1958
Medium
Walnut, leather
Dimensions
44 3/4 × 33 3/4 × 26 1/2 in. (113.67 × 85.73 × 67.31 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Accession Number
M.2019.248.2
Classification
Furnishings
Collecting Area
Decorative Arts and Design
Curatorial Notes

While John Kapel designed popular production lines for companies like Glenn of California, he was and remains most passionate about making unique or limited-production furniture for individual clients. Kapel made this chair for his own home, for which he designed and handcrafted all the interior finishes and many of the furnishings. Its strong, elegant lines demonstrate his belief that “a chair is sculpture.”



(California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way," 2011-12)

Selected Bibliography
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011.
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. Living in a Modern Way: California Design, 1930-1965. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013.
Selected Exhibition History
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". March 20, 2013 - June 3, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". March 20, 2013 - June 3, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". July 6, 2013 - September 29, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". July 6, 2013 - September 29, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". November 2, 2013 - February 9, 2014
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". November 2, 2013 - February 9, 2014
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". March 29, 2014 - July 6, 2014
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". March 29, 2014 - July 6, 2014