Not many people would have heard of Max Gottschalk, he was an American mid-century modern interior designer who was best known for his work with leather and industrial materials such as steel and aluminium to create furniture.
Max Gottschalk
Max Gottschalk’s career started when he moved to the colony of Newfoundland during the late 1930’s after been educated at Washington University in St Louis, he was appointed s Chief Technical Advisor of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Reconstruction. Here he was assigned the task of designing furniture for a workshop in the agricultural community of Markland. His designs were created using modernist principles with the use of natural materials. However with the start of World War Two his position became obsolete after the Government abandoned its economic reconstruction programs and Gottschalk returned to the United States.
Much of Max Gottschalks work has a raw edge to it, he favored combining “natural” materials like leather with industrial materials such as aluminum tubing, steel and other modern components, he also like to use some materials that had a less than perfect appearance. Much of the leather he used was than perfect before being tanned and occasionally stained, which allowed the imperfections to come through.
When Max Gottschalk returned to the US he moved to Tucson, Arizona where he to became a professor of industrial design at Pima Community College’s new Modern West Campus, where he also enjoyed one of his other interests, oil painting. Max Gottschalk died in 2005, his most productive period of desighn stretched from around 1950 right up to his death.
Max Gottschalk Sling chairs red
Max Gottschalk Sling chairs neatural