Famed Furniture Designer Charles Pollock Dies

Charles Pollock (B.I.D. ’53)

Pratt mourns the loss of legendary furniture designer Charles Pollock (B.I.D. ’53) who died on August 20 in a fire at his studio in South Jamaica, Queens.

"Charles was a distinguished alumnus who made significant contributions to the field through his work, most notably the Pollock Executive Chair for Knoll," said Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte. "His dedication to pushing the frontiers of design has left an impact on all of us at Pratt Institute, and he will be deeply missed."

During his time at Pratt, Pollock studied under Industrial Design Professor Rowena Reed Kostellow. Upon graduation, he worked with designer George Nelson. He later presented a portfolio of designs to Knoll and in 1961, a chair, his 657 Lounge, was introduced. Two years later, he designed the Pollock Executive Chair for Knoll, which utilized “rim technology”— the use of a single aluminum band around the chair’s perimeter to hold the design together, structurally and visually. The chair has since been praised as the best-selling executive chair in the history of office design and was featured last year at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery’s Top 125 Icons show, part of the Pratt 125^th anniversary celebration.  

Pollock also designed chairs for Thonet and Castelli and was the recipient of many awards including the Institute of Business Designers Bronze Medal and the Dutch Institution for Industrial Design Award. This past April, Pratt honored Pollock with the Rowena Reed Kostellow Award for his outstanding work in industrial design.

Pollock Executive ChairTo learn more about Pollock’s life and career, read the in-depth obituary published in The New York Times.

There was a memorial service for Pollock on September 9 at Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan. Gifts in memory of Charles Pollock may be made to Pratt Institute, to support the Rowena Reed Kostellow Fund.  Please send contributions to: Pratt Institute, Institutional Advancement, 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205. Please include “In Memory of Charles Pollock” in the check’s memo line.

Text: Kate Ünver
Photos: Knoll, Inc.

Comments

[Frank M. Grunwald]

I have great respect for Charles Pollock and I have admired his designs - particularily his
Executive Chair for many years. I have five of his Executive Chairs in my home.

Frank M. Grunwald, BID 1956