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57-593: But the event is equally renowned for its art exhibition, which included such celebrated artists as sculptors Robert Laurent , Ibram Lassaw and Isamu Noguchi and painters Hyman Bloom , Jackson Pollock and Edward Hopper in an art show coordinated by the United States Information Agency (USIA). Prior to the exhibition, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) threatened to remove many of

114-584: A Cold War American "propaganda strategy." Prior to the exhibition, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) threatened to remove many of the artists who had been accused of links to communist activities. After President Eisenhower intervened, however, the exhibition went on as planned. Laurent was a fellow of the National Sculpture Society , president of the Hamilton Easter Field Foundation, and

171-644: A suggested retail pricing policy. According to CNN Money , as of March 2011 , Herman Miller was ranked as the second most admired company in the Home Equipment, Furnishing division. In April 2023 CEO Andi Owen scolded employees for worrying about bonus pay in an internal town hall meeting. The video went viral for her criticizing employees after Owen told them to "leave Pity City." Owen had reportedly received $ 4 million in bonuses in 2022. Some social media users criticized her comments as "unhinged", "nasty" and "toxic". A company representative insisted

228-524: A discussion of inequality in America, and so they were sent to Moscow as originally planned. "One of the more popular exhibits ... was the IBM RAMAC 305 computer. It could answer over 4,000 questions within a wide range of topics—some of them quite uncomfortable for Americans to address. Not only were common questions like "What is the price of American cigarettes?" and "What is jazz music?" answered with

285-896: A member of the Sculptor's Guild – Indiana Artists, New England Sculptors Association, and the College Art Association . He was also elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters shortly before his death at the age of seventy-nine. Laurent taught at the Art Students League in New York City, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., Vassar College , and Goucher College . In addition to teaching seasonally at

342-455: A printout in just 90 seconds, thornier questions about race relations and lynching were also pre-programmed to give diplomatic responses. Meanwhile, the exhibition itself was a showcase for the latest "home appliances, fashions, television and hi-fi sets, a model house priced to sell [to] an 'average' family, farm equipment , 1959 automobiles, boats, sporting equipment and a children's playground, as well as books and vinyl records." Overall,

399-578: A studio there and co-founded the Ogunquit Summer School of Graphic Arts. Field taught drawing and painting until his death, and Laurent taught sculpture and wood carving there for the next 50 years. There was, however, another art school in Ogunquit. Founded by Field's former teacher, Charles Woodbury 's Ogunquit Summer School of Drawing and Painting was heavily influenced by the "regional impressionist " style of painting also known as

456-493: A year. Laurent was also one of 23 American sculptors whose works were selected for the controversial American National Exhibition in Moscow, in 1959. The exhibit, which included such celebrated artists as sculptors Ibram Lassaw and Isamu Noguchi and painters Hyman Bloom , Jackson Pollock and Edward Hopper was coordinated by the United States Information Agency (USIA), and liberal critics subsequently characterized it as

513-532: Is an American company that produces office furniture , equipment , and home furnishings. Its best known designs include the Aeron chair , Noguchi table , Marshmallow sofa , Mirra chair , and the Eames Lounge Chair . Herman Miller is also credited with the 1968 invention of the office cubicle (originally known as the " Action Office ") under then-director of research Robert Propst . Herman Miller

570-547: The Boston School . One of the school's more famous students was Edward Hopper . Field and Laurent were, conversely, committed modernists, and appealed to more experimental students and colleagues, such as Marsden Hartley , Yasuo Kuniyoshi , Niles Spencer , gallery owner Edith Gregor Halpert and curator Holger Cahill , among others. Together, the two schools transformed a town of fewer than 1,000 into Maine's largest art colony, an achievement that resulted, in 1953, in

627-605: The Federal Art Project where they had also worked in the social realist tradition. That history echoed the Soviets' state funding and penchant for heroic imagery. By 1949, however, "artists associated with the group were targeted by antimodernist campaigns led by U.S. Representative George A. Dondero ... who denounced the NCASF as “Communist and subversive,” and characterized socially engaged artists as “soldiers of

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684-680: The New Deal , including a bas-relief called Shipping for the exterior of Washington, D.C.'s Federal Trade Commission Building , commissioned by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts in 1938. Laurent was born the son of French peasants in Concarneau , Brittany , France in 1890. His skill in art was recognized by Brooklyn Eagle art critic, painter and collector Hamilton Easter Field who mentored him, taught him to paint and served as Laurent's surrogate father for

741-620: The Pushkin Museum on December 12 was attended by prominent figures from the Moscow art community and representatives of the U.S. Embassy," but Kent was not given a passport to attend the opening. Yet the American show in the U.S.S.R. attracted attention, traveling first to the State Hermitage Museum ... before continuing on to ... Kiev, Riga, and Odessa, attracting a reported half-million visitors. Two years later,

798-608: The Whitney 's 1946 exhibition Pioneers of Modern Art . Credited as the first American sculptor to adopt a " direct carving " sculpting style that was bolder and more abstract than the then traditional fine arts practice, which relied on models, Laurent's approach was inspired by the African carving and European avant-garde art he admired, while also echoing folk styles found both in the U.S. and among medieval stone cutters of his native Brittany. Best known for his virtuoso mastery of

855-543: The " Action Office " line in 1964 under the supervision of Robert Propst and with the design assistance of George Nelson's New York design studio. Though the initial line, known as "Action Office I", was not a success, it led Propst to develop the "Action Office II" line, which introduced the office cubicle . In 1978, Action Office II was renamed simply "Action Office". Herman Miller's line of Action Office products generated sales of over $ 5 billion as of 1998 . George Nelson's influence at Herman Miller gradually declined during

912-588: The "Ethospace" wall panel system for the Action Office line. Ray Wilkes designed the "Modular Seating Group", popularly known as the Chicklet Chairs . In 2010, the firm acquired Colebrook Bosson Saunders, a designer and manufacturer of ergonomic furniture. The acquisition of Knoll by Herman Miller was announced in April 2021 in a $ 1.8 billion deal. The acquisition was closed on July 19, 2021, and

969-490: The "Typical American House." The Soviet state news agency Tass buttressed Khrushchev's opinion, writing: There is no more truth in showing this as the typical home of the American worker than, say, in showing the Taj Mahal as the typical home of a Bombay textile worker. The exhibition was a form of cultural diplomacy against Soviet Communism and had a "huge propaganda effect". The American politicians wanted to demonstrate

1026-487: The 1970s as new designers joined the company, including Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf , who in the 1990s developed the highly-successful Aeron chair . In 1981, Herman Miller started to work with the Italian designer Clino Trini Castelli on the process of designing physical environments, a so-called Design Primario. Designer Tom Newhouse introduced the "Newhouse Group" of freestanding furniture in 1987, and assisted with

1083-548: The Exhibition, but Pepsi dove in with both feet." "This no doubt greased the wheels for Pepsi's entrance into the Soviet Union in 1972, after Nixon's re-election. Detente was succeeding in the early 1970s and there was a kind of swap: Pepsi would be introduced to the Soviet Union if Russian vodka could enter the American market....[T]he two countries signed a 10-year countertrade agreement, allowing Stolichnaya vodka in

1140-650: The Herman Miller Furniture Company. With the coming of the Great Depression , the company faced bankruptcy until De Pree met Gilbert Rohde , an up-and-coming modernist designer. Rohde convinced De Pree that the furniture industry's focus on historical reproduction furniture in lieu of new designs was not only out of touch with the consumer, but fundamentally dishonest in the practices used to make furniture pieces appear older and of higher quality than they were. De Pree acquired

1197-876: The Kitchen Debate as an example of his fierce diplomacy. Ironically, the Kitchen Debate likely gave Nixon overconfidence in his televised debating skill. Just over a year later, Nixon agreed to debate a young John F. Kennedy and was humiliated in the first televised presidential debate. "Even more so than art and fashion, it was the on-the-ground guides that would" serve to personalize America's presence in Moscow, answering questions and engaging in polite debate with Soviet visitors." The group included 27 women and 48 men," all purposefully younger than 35 to reflect America's youth. "All guides were fluent in Russian and some were (almost certainly) trained in intelligence gathering." Four of them were also black, and "President Eisenhower

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1254-519: The Long Island-based firm All-State Properties, headed by developer Herbert Sadkin. To accommodate visitors to the exhibition, Sadkin hired Loewy's office to modify Klein's floor plan. According to one version of how the house got its name, Geller supervised the work, which "split" the house, creating its nickname "Splitnik," and a way for large numbers of visitors to tour the small house. In another version, it's said that [t]he Russians called

1311-517: The Ogunquit School until 1961, Laurent accepted a position as Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University , a position he held from 1942 to 1960. He had notable students including Margit Varga . Laurent's son, John, was a prominent painter in Maine, known for his landscapes and seascapes . Herman Miller (manufacturer) MillerKnoll, Inc. , doing business as Herman Miller ,

1368-458: The Ogunquit school they had co-founded and an art collection, which Laurent later used to establish as the Hamilton Easter Field Foundation with the help of other New York artists. In the summer of 1902, Field and 12-year-old Laurent traveled to Ogunquit, Maine, a popular destination for artists, drawn by the landscape. During their stay, Field "bought a row of shacks that he started renting out cheap to artists." In 1911, Field and Laurent built

1425-503: The RCA/Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen [being] the most futuristic." "It promised super-fast meal preparation, push-button everything, and automatic robot cleaners." Overall, "[a]bout 450 companies made contributions to the Moscow exhibition. Sears, IBM, General Mills, Kodak, Whirlpool, Macy's, Pepsi, General Motors, RCA, and Dixie Cup all had a presence, despite the fact that none of their products could be purchased in

1482-516: The Senate Permanent Subcommittee of Investigations on Government Operations. Like Gropper, Kent refused to confirm or deny his political status on Fifth Amendment grounds. In 1957, Kent became NCASF chairman, as well as "the first postwar American artist to be granted a solo exhibition in the Soviet Union." The Soviets promoted him, even while many American government officials remained suspicious: "The opening reception at

1539-498: The Soviet Union," creating new business opportunity, as well as a better relationship. But others argue that "[a] year later, the Cuban missile crisis brought both sides to the brink of nuclear war, and ties didn't begin improving until the 1970s." Meanwhile, liberal critics characterized the exhibition as an American Cold War "propaganda strategy." The exhibit was sponsored by the American government, and "a similar exhibition

1596-431: The Soviet Union." "The Americans showed off a lot of consumer goods because—unlike heavy industry and space exploration—products like dishwashers and soda pop were areas where the U.S. was way ahead of Communist Russia. Largely unimpressed, Soviet leaders claimed that it was merely a bunch of gadgets. And in some ways they were right": Many of them weren't in American homes yet. "Coca-Cola [had] declined to participate in

1653-934: The Terra Foundation for Art, among others. In 1938, Laurent won the second of two Logan Prizes at the Art Institute of Chicago's annual American art exhibition. In 1945, he won the Audubon Sculpture Award in New York, several first prizes in Hoosier salons, and in exhibits at the John Herron Museum, Indianapolis. He received high distinction in 1954 when was named sculptor in residence at the American Academy in Rome for

1710-499: The U.S. Embassy in Moscow that continued for the next five decades to the early 1990s. In total, there were 87 separate showings of 19 exhibitions in 25 different cities, across 12 time zones, exhibiting American technology, from graphic arts to agriculture, outdoor recreation to medicine. The 50th anniversary conference of the National American Exhibition was celebrated "a day after U.S. President Barack Obama

1767-539: The U.S. State Department’s Advisory Committee on the Arts and the U.S. Information Agency’s (USIA) Advisory Committee on Cultural Information, which co-managed the American National Exhibition , launched an art show of their own, in many ways reminiscent of Kent's. Although art historians tend to focus on the abstract artists included in the show, the show's jury "made a concerted effort to emphasize

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1824-676: The U.S. and Pepsi into the USSR." In 1959, the vice president of the Housing and Home Components department at Loewy/Snaith , Andrew Geller was the design supervisor for the exhibition, the "Typical American House," built at the American National Exhibition. The exhibition home largely replicated a home previously built at 398 Townline Road in Commack, New York , which had been originally designed by Stanley H. Klein for

1881-542: The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. began to thaw again in the 1950s, even while red-baiting continued to dominate the American discourse. In 1953, the artist Rockwell Kent , a former member of the Socialist Party of America and a one-time Congressional candidate for the American Labor Party , was questioned by Joseph R. McCarthy . He and William Gropper were the only two visual artists ever called before

1938-583: The advantages of capitalism to the Soviets. This is evident in Vice President Richard Nixon's speech on the opening night of the Exhibition on July 24, 1959, as he congratulated USSR's Premier Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviets on their advances in astronomy and rocket science , but quickly returned to focus on what he considered the United States' strong points, especially the concept of freedom. The National American Exhibition

1995-547: The artists invited to appear in the Exhibition were linked to communist activities, and "a few right-wing publicists and legislators" accused them of "undermining the reputation of the United States." After the entire group of painters and sculptors were investigated, Francis Walter , Chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) , revealed that thirty-four of the sixty-seven featured artists had been involved in some Communist organization. The Committee

2052-411: The artists who had been accused of links to communist activities. After President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened, however, the exhibition went on as planned. Interpretations of the event are mixed. Some called the event a success because it humanized both countries, leading to better relations between them. Some also note that the event resulted in "a landmark contract to mass-manufacture Pepsi in

2109-477: The company was rebranded as MillerKnoll. In addition to Herman Miller and Knoll, the company owns notable brands including Design Within Reach, Colebrook Bosson Saunders, Dates Weiser, Edelman Leather, Holly Hunt , Hay, Maharam, and Muuto . In March 2008, Herman Miller settled an antitrust lawsuit with the states of New York, Michigan, and Illinois for $ 750,000. The lawsuit focused on Herman Miller's use of

2166-506: The company was using 27% renewable energy as of 2007 . Herman Miller calls its driving sustainability initiative "Perfect Vision" and it put the strategy in place in 2004. These targets include zero landfill disposal , zero hazardous waste generation, zero air emissions ( VOCs ), zero process water discharge, 100% green electrical energy use, company buildings constructed to a minimum LEED Silver certification, and 100% of sales from DfE-approved products. Herman Miller helped fund

2223-433: The exhibition in Moscow, and on the opening day, he and Khrushchev toured the exhibits together before the gates opened to the public." Using a videotape recorder, "one of the first to allow a live program to be easily recorded and quickly broadcasted on television," the two leaders stopped in one of four model U.S. kitchens, with each arguing the merits of his own system: In the upcoming presidential election, Nixon would cite

2280-634: The figure, Laurent sculpted in multiple media, including wood, alabaster, bronze, marble and aluminum. His expertise earned him major commissions for public sculpture, most famously for the Goose Girl for New York City's Radio City Music Hall , as well as for Spanning the Continent for Philadelphia's Fairmount Park . After the Depression, he was also the recipient of several Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project commissions under

2337-477: The house the “Splitnik,” [as] a pun on “Sputnik,” the name of the satellite the Soviets had put into orbit two years before." Either way, subsequently, the Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev began what became known as the Kitchen Debate on July 24, 1959, arguing the merits of capitalism vs. socialism, with Khrushchev saying Americans could not afford the luxury represented by

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2394-425: The introduction of the "Modular Executive Office" Group (EOG). Rohde died in 1944 and was replaced by architect George Nelson , who joined the firm as director of design in 1945. Over the next four decades, Nelson influenced Herman Miller through both his personal designs and the designers that he recruited, including Isamu Noguchi , Charles and Ray Eames , and textile designer Alexander Girard . Beginning in

2451-518: The late 1940s, the period under Nelson's guidance saw Herman Miller produce some of the company's most recognizable pieces of furniture, including the Noguchi table , Eames Lounge Chair , Marshmallow sofa , Ball clock (actually produced by Howard Miller Clock Company ), and the Sling sofa. The company reformed as Herman Miller, Inc. in 1960. De Pree continued as Herman Miller CEO until 1961, when he

2508-938: The opening of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art . Public collections across the United States hold Laurent's work, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Addison Gallery, Indiana University and

2565-457: The plurality of U.S. art," to illustrate a diversity of expression as a benefit of American democracy. Thus, the exhibits included American Scene paintings by [Thomas Hart] Benton , John Steuart Curry , Edward Hopper, and Grant Wood ; expressionism and early experiments with abstraction by [Yasuo] Kuniyoshi , [Max] Weber , and Stuart Davis ; and mature abstraction by Alexander Calder , Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko .... Like Kent, however,

2622-631: The rest of his life. In 1908, Field took Laurent to Rome, where he trained with Maurice Sterne and wood carver Giuseppe Doratori , before formally studying at the British Academy . Upon graduation, Laurent moved permanently to the U.S. at age twenty, only to quickly return to Europe as a member of the navy during the First World War. In Europe, Laurent traveled to his native Brittany where he met Mimi Caraes, who became his wife. Field died in 1922, leaving Laurent his Brooklyn home,

2679-512: The revolution—in smocks.” These opinions later won him the International Fine Arts Council 's Gold Medal of Honor for "dedicated service to American Art." Meanwhile, an art establishment that had been supportive of American social realism began to back away from anything resembling political engagement, and began "favor[ing] nonrepresentational work that they viewed as apolitical and individualistic." Relations between

2736-736: The rights to Rohde's modernist furniture designs in exchange for a three percent royalty on any furniture sold. In 1933, Herman Miller debuted a line of modern furniture at the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago, Illinois . In 1941, the company opened a showroom in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and another in New York City . Under Rohde's supervision, Herman Miller entered the contract office furniture market in 1942, with

2793-522: The various displays of the exhibit, which involved the designer George Nelson , showcased approximately "3,000 tons of material ... sent from the US to Moscow." Visitors could see everything from canned foods, tractors, and vinyl records to furniture and fittings, such as Herman Miller Bubble lamps; as well as a multiscreen film, Glimpses of the U.S.A . by fellow Herman Miller designers, Charles and Ray Eames . There were also "four demonstration kitchens ... with

2850-426: The video was taken out of context and was a small exchange in a mostly positive town hall meeting that went for 75 minutes. Owen later apologised to employees. Herman Miller has engaged in a number of initiatives to promote sustainability . The company has developed a technique of mixing sawdust with chicken manure to produce topsoil . Management of the company has expressed concerns about global warming , and

2907-483: Was apparently concerned with how they might represent the United States and its systemic violations of civil rights in 1959." So when he invited the guides to the White House for a meet-and-greet ahead of the exhibition, he "quizzed the black guides about how they came to be fluent in Russian." In the end, their answers reassured him that they wouldn't give the Soviets reason to rebut America's emphasis on freedom with

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2964-562: Was forced by illness to step down. He was succeeded by his son, Hugh De Pree, who was CEO until the mid-1980s. Florida architect Gene Leedy designed a residence for De Pree on Marco Island in 1979. Hugh De Pree was succeeded by his brother Max De Pree , who held the position until 1990. In 1961, Herman Miller set up the Herman Miller Research Division, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan . This division developed

3021-632: Was founded in 1905 as the Star Furniture Co. Initially the company produced furniture, especially bedroom suites, in historic revival styles. In 1919, it was renamed the Michigan Star Furniture Co. under then-president Dirk Jan De Pree . De Pree and his father-in-law, Herman Miller, (born Harm Mulder on 7 September 1867 in Hoogemeeden, Groningen, Netherlands) purchased 51% of the company stock in 1923 and renamed it

3078-619: Was in Russia to try to kick-start relations. With ties between Washington and Moscow at Cold War lows again, there was heavy nostalgia for the heady days of detente." Robert Laurent Robert Laurent (June 29, 1890 – April 20, 1970) was a French-American modernist figurative sculptor, printmaker and teacher. His work, the New York Times wrote,"figured in the development of an American sculptural art that balanced nature and abstraction." Widely exhibited, he took part in

3135-408: Was mounted by the Soviet Union at the Coliseum in New York City." Essentially organized as a cultural exchange, there were as many goals as there were interpretations of the event. Nixon, for example, used it as an occasion to increase his stature as an American leader and showcase American consumer goods. The then Vice President had embarked "on a ten-day tour of the Soviet Union that coincided with

3192-545: Was not the first American attempt at using the visual arts for cultural diplomacy. In 1943, an outgrowth of the "Soviet friendship societies established in the US during the 1920s and 1930s,"inspired many American artists and intellectuals to travel on cultural exchanges at government expense. That led to the development of the National Council of American Soviet Friendship , which emphasized both visual arts and partnerships with American museums, and found an enthusiastic audience of American artists. Many of them had been employed by

3249-423: Was prepared to remove their work from the Exhibit altogether when President Eisenhower intervened and allowed them to be displayed as originally planned. To appease the conservatives, however, he also added several paintings dating back to the eighteenth century, to further lessen the impact of the more avant-garde work. The American National Exhibition became the first of a series of traveling exhibitions from

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