Paul McCobb

Paul McCobb (1917-1969) was an American designer best remembered for his Mid-century furniture. His designs were all about simplicity, featuring thin lines and sober, functional shapes that were completely free of decorative frills, mindful of the austerity of the Shaker style that was born in the United States. Originally from Massachusetts, McCobb studied art in Boston before moving to New York after the war to work at the Modernage Furniture showroom in New York. He approached design as a self-taught artist, aided by his perfectionist and meticulous nature that made him pay great attention to every detail, and the 1950s were his decade of most intense activity. It was in those years that his greatest bestseller was born, the Planner furniture line co-designed with B.G. Mesberg and produced by the Winchendon Furniture Company. In those years his furniture was exhibited several times in the Good Design Award exhibitions at the MoMA in New York. McCobb was also active in the design of electronic equipment such as radios and televisions for CBS-Columbia or Hi-fi systems for Bell & Howell. He was somewhat forgotten starting in the 1960s, also due to a long illness that led to his premature death at just over fifty years of age, but the recent success of the American Mid-Century Modern style has meant that several of his creations have been rediscovered and have entered the catalogues of both American brands such as CB2 and prestigious and refined European brands such as Fritz Hansen, De Padova and Karakter.