A charming pair of high-back lounge chairs designed by Adrian Pearsall for his company Craft Associates, Inc., of Wilkes-Barre, Penn. Both are newly upholstered in resilient goldenrod tweed with raspberry thread woven throughout and supported by solid walnut legs. The design features one of Pearsall’s trademarks—an exceptionally tall, trapezoidal back that gives these chairs skyscraper-like silhouettes.

ADRIAN PEARSALL (1925–2011) was born in 1925 in Trumansburg, a small village in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Having enlisted in the Navy at 17, Pearsall’s WWII service was followed by studies in architectural engineering at the University of Illinois. He graduated in 1950 and began a brief career as an architect.

After only two years, Pearsall quit to form Craft Associates—alongside his wife Doris “Dorie” Pearsall (1923–2016)—to realize his furniture designs. At first, the enterprise amounted to the couple building furniture in the basement of Doris’s mother’s home in Kingston, Penn. Completed pieces were sold out of the back of a truck to prominent department stores in New York and Philadelphia—such as Macy’s and Wanamaker’s. Sales took off when Pearsall found his stylistic voice and began producing his signature glass-topped tables with walnut bases. Buoyed by success, Pearsall’s brother Richard was recruited, and a Craft Associates factory was opened across the Susquehanna in Wilkes-Barre. Becoming one of the town’s largest employers as it grew from 6 employees to over 800 through the 1950s and 1960s, the company was finally sold to Lane Furniture Company of Altavista, Virginia, in 1969.

After the sale, Pearsall launched Comfort Designs in the 1970s with then business partner John Graham. The new venture would solicit the participation of freelance designers and focus more on upholstered pieces. Not long after founding Comfort Designs, Pearsall left furniture behind to pursue sailing and yacht restoration full-time.

Remembered for daring and vivacious designs that made “high style” accessible to the masses, Pearsall’s creations were seen to embody Atomic-Age design. His use of American black walnut was hugely popular in the late 1950s, and he is credited with introducing gondola sofas and freeform walnut-and-glass tables—as well as the popularization of the bean bag chair. Pearsall’s confident knowledge of what shapes and textiles would work in his designs set him apart from other manufacturers of the time; his bold choices have been attributed to his background as an architect. He was nominated for inclusion in the American Furniture Hall of Fame in 2008.

Adrian Pearsall's impact on furniture design extends beyond his company’s success. His most notable architectural project, redesigning the family’s home in Forty Fort, Penn, was a testament to his design prowess. The house and its furnishings, all designed by Pearsall himself, reflected his unique style. Upon its completion in 1964, the 10,000-square-foot home was hailed as a masterpiece of the Atomic Age. Pearsall's designs continue to be appreciated and sought after, even after his passing in 2011, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of furniture design.

DETAILS

Designer – ADRIAN PEARSALL

Design Period/Year – 1960s

Maker – CRAFT ASSOCIATES

Production Period/Year – 1960s

Origin – USA

Styles/Movements – MID-CENTURY MODERN; SPACE AGE

Materials – TWEED, WALNUT

Colors – GOLDENROD, BURNT UMBER, CAMEL, RASPBERRY

Condition – Excellent vintage condition. Minor traces of wear consistent with age and use. Newly reupholstered!

Dimensions – 26 ½" W × 28" D × 48" H

Seat Dimensions – 17" W × 17 ½" D × 18 ½" H

Arm Height – 25"

Number of Seats – 1