A singular vision: Tommi Parzinger's contribution to American twentieth-century decorative arts

摘要

During a career spanning four decades in mid-twentieth century America, German-born designer Tommi Parzinger designed modern furniture and decorative arts collections for retailers and manufacturers, completed commissions for private clients, participated in noted exhibitions, and operated a successful showroom in New York aptly named Parzinger Originals. However, despite achieving both critical and commercial success in his time, today Parzinger remains noticeably absent from the large body of research on the American modern movement. The fact that Parzinger does not fit neatly into the conventional narrative on American modernism accounts for this relative neglect. In this thesis, I trace Parzinger's artistic development and highlight his contributions to American modernism over the course of his career spanning six decades and two continents. I argue that Parzinger helped to advance modern design in America by acting as an agent for the transmission of European modern design principles to American shores. At the same time, he demonstrated that the austerity of modernism could be tempered with restrained ornament and subtle references to historical forms and motifs. By offering an alternate version of modernism that was warm and familiar and luxurious without being ostentatious, Parzinger helped to legitimize modern design in America.