Mid-Century Brown Fabric and Chrome Steel Chaise Longue, 1980s

Amazing Mid-Century brown fabric and chromed steel chaise longue. This wonderful daybed is attributed to the American designer Paul Tuttle and was produced during the 1980s. This item is wonderful because of the structure of the chair, made of chromed steel and the tobacco brown fabric cover, made in one piece and adhering on the structure. The cover can be unsheathed from the back. The piece is incredibly elegant because of the structure and will smarten a living room or a midcentury studio. Paul Tuttle started out working in the studio of designer Alvin Lustig in Los Angeles. He soon received the Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin West Fellowship, an apprenticeship program with mentorship from Wright himself. Tuttle moved to Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona, and impressed Wright during his short stay of four months. Tuttle then moved back to Los Angeles and worked on furniture building by himself awhile, before serving as an apprentice to architecture firms Welton Becket & Associates and Thornton Ladd & Associates. As an apprentice, Tuttle worked on interior design. In 1956, Tuttle moved to Santa Barbara where he met Hans Grether, owner of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Doestch, Grether & Cie. Grether hired Tuttle as a design consultant shortly thereafter. In 1966 Tuttle gave a solo exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, cementing his position as a leading American designer. He also won the first ever Carson Pirie Scott Young Designer Award for the popular “Z” Chair in 1966. The design for the “Z” Chair, originally known as the “Rocket Launcher” would become Tuttle’s most well known work. Tuttle was hired by Strassle in 1967 as a designer, and subsequently spent half his time abroad in Switzerland until he left the position in 1983. In 1978, Tuttle’s work was featured in a solo exhibit called “Paul Tuttle, Designer” at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. After leaving his designer position at Strassle, Tuttle continued at Strassle on a royalty only basis, but concentrated on his custom work in Santa Barbara. In 1982, Tuttle partnered with Bud Tullis to produce custom furniture, primarily for collectors. Between 1982 and 2001, Tuttle’s custom work was at its height, resulting in the creation of over 200 pieces of furniture. A 2001 retrospective entitled “Paul Tuttle Designs” at the University of California, Santa Barbara showcased Tuttle’s body of work. Tuttle died on August 2, 2002, in Santa Barbara.