The well-known examples of mid-mod decor above, the marshmallow sofa and the ball and sunburst clocks, are usually attributed to George Nelson, but actually were designed by Irving Harper, who worked for Mr. Nelson's firm from 1947 to 1963 and who died last month at the age of 99. They were and are produced by Herman Miller. Mr. Irving had a long and successful career, including designing exhibits at the 1939 New York World's Fair (working for Gilbert Rohde) and the 1964 World's Fair designing the Chrysler exhibit; creating department store interiors at Raymond Loewy Associates; he even devised the abstract M still used as Herman Miller's logo back in 1946. He started his own design firm in 1964, where he worked until he retired in 1983. Well done, Mr. Irving.
· Irving Harper, Creator of the Marshmallow Sofa, Dies at 99 [NYT]
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