Gustav Stickley was born in Osceola, Wisconsin, in 1858 and began to train with his father in stonemasonry and woodworking at the age of 12. At 18 he became an apprentice in his uncle's Pennsylvania factory, where he produced chairs and caned seats. He and two of his brothers, all educated in the fam

Arts & crafts furniture, Clean, Elegant, Minimal, Organic, Sincere

William Morris saw the art world through the idealistic lens of socialism. He and the like-minded designers who clustered around him wanted nothing less than to redefine art by restoring "craft" to a place of value. True art for them was based in time-honored, populist traditions; the sometimes raw b

Arts & crafts furniture, Decorative, Egalitarian, Organic, Political, Subtle, Surface

With Madeleine Vionnet, modern style and elegance stepped onstage. The 'Queen of the Bias Cut,' she replaced the upholstered look of bustles and petticoats with flowing lines and draped fabrics. She liberated women from the torture and constraint of the corset; she allowed them to breathe, to move gr

Art nouveau fashion, Classical, Clean, Elegant, Glamour, Organic

Kenzo Tange's career began with a rather daunting task: the rebuilding of Hiroshima after World War II. His country had seen the greatest single destruction of the twentieth century with the dropping of the atomic bomb. Tange seized upon this tragic event, transforming it into one of his greatest cre

Contemplative, Metabolism and the japanese new wave, Organic, Pioneering, Urban