The Production and Reception of Tubular Steel Furniture in the 1930s. Further Studies to the Catalogue Raisonné of the Furniture and Furniture Designs of Mies van der Rohe

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Wolf Tegethoff
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 264953825

The project aims at completing the catalogue raisonné of the furniture and furniture designs of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. It focuses on a systematic documentation and scientific analysis of the entire source material including original pieces of furniture as well as furniture produced in accordance with Mies van der Rohe's original designs. Hitherto unknown material relates to open questions about the production, distribution and reception of Mies van der Rohe's furniture. This concerns in particular the serial production of tubular steel furniture. Substantial material in the estate of Mies's one-time business associate Anton Lorenz, as well as in various archives of license-holding companies, will close some of the gaps in the catalog raisonné for the pivotal period in-between 1931 and 1938. As a consequence, our present understanding of the production of tubular steel furniture, of the production sites and of the reception and acceptance of steel furniture in the Nazi period will ask for major revision.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants