DIMENSIONS

George Nelson was one of the founding fathers of American modernism. He studied Architecture at Yale University, where he graduated in 1928, and received a bachelor degree in fine arts in 1931. A year later while preparing for the Paris Prize competition he won the Rome prize.
George Nelson was part of a generation of architects that found too few projects and turned successfully toward product, graphic and interior design.
By 1940 George Nelson had drawn popular attention with several innovative concepts. He introduced the concept of the "family room" and the "storage wall" which attracted the attention of D.J. De Pree, Herman Miller s president. In 1945 De Pree asked him to become Herman Miller s design director, an appointment that became the start of a long series of successful collaborations with Ray and Charles Eames, Harry Bertoia, Richard Schultz, Donald Knorr and Isamu Noguchi.
He was without doubt the most articulate and one of the most eloquent voices on design in the 20th century. He was a teacher and a writer, publishing several books. Among his best known designs are his marshmallow sofa, the coconut chair and his clocks together with many other products that became milestones in the history of a profession that he helped to shape.