United States
1960s
Maple, rush
27” high x 47” wide x 24” deep

Bronx-born Mel Smilow (1922-2002) began his career selling wholesale furniture to retailers in the New York metropolitan area. In the late 1940s, he entered a partnership with Morton Thielle, and the two of them began designing and manufacturing their own line of stylish modern furniture. Smilow’s designs, a hybrid of early American furniture and 20th century Scandinavian design, were instant classics. Through the 1950s, Smilow and Thielle’s business grew until they had five retail locations in New York and Washington DC. In 1969 the two men dissolved their partnership and Smilow continued the business under his own name, continuing to design and make high quality and reasonably priced furniture until his retirement in 1981.

This vintage bench with arms and back is rare. It is low and light, with a geometry softened by tapering arms and legs and the subtle curves of the frame.