KEEPING PACE

When I think of 20th century American contemporary furniture aside from Knoll, Herman Miller or Thayer Coggin one company that comes to mind is the Pace Collection. Founded by Leon and Irving Rosen the company’s history spanned the latter three decades (70’s, 80’s 90’s). The signature trademark for the high end collection of desks, tables and cabinets was their use of exotic wood veneers or glass with polished chrome plated trim. Their compact Madison Avenue showroom which received the American Institute of Architects (AIA) award for best architectural design in New York in 1986 was their visual business card to the trade. Pieces in the collection in many cases cost tens of thousands of dollars in those years needless to say appealing to a rather elite clientele. *

Leon Rosen, chairman of the Collection and the guiding force most responsible for what has come to be called “the Pace look,” described it as ‘drawing elements from the Bauhaus, Art Deco and Art Nouveau, while saluting American and European classicism. *

Remnants of the collection can occasionally be found on www.1stdibs.com.

* Text in part sourced from Pace Collection Archive.

images: (click on images to enlarge)
New York City Madison Avenue showroom (top)
Executive desk, vintage (2nd)
Coffee table, vintage (3rd)
Corset dining chair, vintage (4th)
Étagère shelving, vintage (bottom)