ABSTRACT
Modernism in America and the European connection, it is helpful to look at the time frame in segments: early Modernism occurring before World War II and mid-Modernism postwar—1945 through the late 1960s. In America, this postwar period has been dubbed the Mid-Century Modern movement or style. This chapter addresses public design and the rise of “contract design” and the America postwar corporate office. It examines how Herman Miller Furniture Company and Knoll International influenced the appearance of postwar American interiors and furniture. Before World War II, early Modernism, the European connection is not one particular happening but several occurrences that take place—the preeminent Chicago Tribune Tower Competition of 1922 is one such event. Equally important to Modernism in America and the European connection as the 1922 Chicago Tribune Competition were occurrences affecting prewar Europe.
