George Nelson

George Nelson Hartford, Connecticut (1908–1986)

George Nelson was an American furniture designer and one of the founders of American Modernism. While Director of Design for the Herman Miller furniture company, Nelson and his design studio, George Nelson Associates, Inc., designed much of the 20th century's most iconic modernist furniture.

George Nelson is well known as the designer of the Coconut Chair, Marshmallow Sofa, and Ball Clock

Nelson met with some early recognition while still an undergraduate, when he was published in Pencil Points and Architecture magazines. During his final year at Yale, he was hired by the architecture firm Adams and Prentice as a drafter.

In 1928, he graduated with a degree in architecture. In 1929, Nelson was hired as a Teacher's Assistant while pursuing his second bachelor's degree at Yale. He received a degree in Fine Arts in 1931.

The next year, while preparing for the Paris Prize competition, he won the Rome Prize. The award for the Rome Prize was a year studying architecture, a healthy stipend, and accommodations in a palace in Rome.

The collaboration between Nelson and Vitra began in 1957

While in Rome Nelson married Frances Hollister, A few years later, he returned to the United States to devote himself to writing. Through his articles in Pencil Points he introduced the work of Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Gio Ponti to North America.