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Greene & Greene Furniture: Design Without Compromise More labor? It barely registered in the exquisite examples from these brothers. What really mattered: integrity, beauty, and utility.

reene & Greene furniture Furnituremakers, such holds a unique place in as Ernest and Sidney Gthe history of American Barnsley, made a living . It marked a high without the use of ma- point in the American Arts and chines, in small shops, Crafts Movement, uniting laboring over one piece at superb craftsmanship with a time. some of the most thought- In America, the move- ful and sensitive designs ment took a somewhat ever produced. different direction. Gustav The Greenes’ archi- Stickley, a leading voice of tectural and furniture the movement, designed design peaked during the straightforward furniture years of 1902–1910. The that even those with Industrial Revolution limited hand skills had taken firm hold in could participate. America beginning in Craft was the mid-19th century, honored, but excellence and hand skills had was often sacrificed at rapidly lost ground to the expense of mass par- the machine. In a few Living- rocker. ticipation and production. Gamble , Pasadena, short years, Henry Ford would CA, 1907–09. Courtesy Stickley embraced machines take mechanization to an en- The Gamble House, USC. to eliminate drudgery, and also tirely new level. The momentum to make possible enough pro- was clearly behind mass pro- machines. It was admittedly a duction to meet the demand he duction, and quality often took a romantic backward glance to was enthusiastically creating— back seat. pre-industrial times and what primarily through his popular and Crafts Move- was perceived to be a simpler magazine, The Craftsman. ment was a reaction to this life. The movement’s proponents world of dehumanizing labored to inspire renewed rev- Greene & Greene approach erence for useful objects made Charles (1868–1957) and Henry Reprinted with permission by hand, with pride. (1870–1954) Greene took yet Society of American Period Furniture Makers In England, the movement a third approach. The use or took a mostly purist form. Hand avoidance of machinery was By Darrell Peart skills were honored above all, less the issue than taking a no- & Edward Bosley and pride in work returned. compromise approach to

56 American Period Furniture 2014 design. Whatever the design feeling for the material, quite required was built, machine up to the best of our English or no machine. The integrity, craftsmanship.”3 beauty, and utility of the fin- ished piece of furniture were Vital collaboration with what mattered. the brothers Unlike Stickley, the Greenes’ In their early years as a firm, the furniture was not simplified. Greenes were unable to secure Nor was it accessible to every- reliable and skilled craftsmen one. It was, in fact, exclusive in to execute their complex ar- all regards. Only the wealthi- chitectural and furniture con- est of clients could afford the struction. In 1904, the Greenes Mirror Frame by John Hall 1909. Greene-designed and began collaborating with master Courtesy Hall family. furniture, and only the most ac- builders Peter (1867–1939) and complished woodworkers could John Hall (1864–1940), whose they attended Calvin - build to their specifications. interest in structural integrity ward’s Manual Training School As a young man, Charles held equal status with beauty. in St. Louis, where their day Greene dreamed of being an art- The Hall brothers formed a vital was divided evenly between in- ist. As an architect, he devoted part of the Greene & Greene tellectual subjects and drafting his creative energy almost exclu- firm in Pasadena, California. or crafts, such as machine-tool- sively to the designs of houses making and woodworking. and furniture. Beauty and use- Charles Greene did not shy fulness were of supreme impor- away wielding tools, and in tance. Charles Greene called it later years practiced his carving “ as a fine art.”1 skills professionally, as shown His younger brother, Henry, at left. Henry also was known to expressed it equally well: “The take on woodworking projects. whole construction was care- Indeed, it is important to note fully thought out; there was a that the Greenes had a good reason for every detail. The idea working knowledge of manual was to eliminate everything un- skills before they trained in necessary, to make the whole as architecture. direct and efficient as possible, The , more than most but always with the beautiful in makers, learned the finer points mind as the final goal.”2 of design at an early age. Their The Greenes’ approach did father most likely trained them not go unnoticed. On a visit at in the Sloyd method, to America in 1909, Charles Charles Greene carved by Charles. which placed a high value on Robert Ashbee, a leading voice Carmel, CA. teaching design and handcrafts of the English Arts and Crafts The quality of work produced as part of a child’s . Movement, singled out the required much more than the Both the Hall brothers de- Greenes’ work as equal to the usual designer/builder relation- signed and built personal proj- finest English craftsmanship: ship. Their deep understanding ects, but John especially had a “…[B]eautiful cabinets and of each other was absolutely solid design sense. Of his sur- of walnut and lignum- essential. viving projects, a mirror frame vitae, exquisite dowelling and The Greenes were lifelong above illustrates his profound pegging, and in all a supreme woodworkers. As teenagers, understanding of design, as

www.sapfm.org 57 well as his ability to assimilate shelf to gradually become more the Greene & Greene approach. robust. This detour—in the ser- Biographers and scholars vice of beauty and function— have documented a remarkable created considerably more connection between Charles work. But apparently, that was Greene and John Hall. It was of little concern to the design- said that Charles would visit ers, makers, and clients. the Hall shop in Pasadena on Another characteristic of his daily rounds, and would Greene & Greene design is that 1 engage John on the details of two elements rarely meet in the Living-room bookshelves view from above. whatever piece of furniture same plane. Consider, for ex- Thorsen House, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. Cour- was on the bench. One can only ample, the shelf’s breadboard tesy California Sigma Phi Society. speculate on the nature of these end. It is proud of the panel in conversations. every change of elevation, most of which is on the seldom-seen Appealing to the senses bottom side. For Charles and Henry Greene, The use of escutcheons is every detail—however subtle— another prime example of was designed to appeal to the beauty at a cost, as shown in senses. Nuance flourished in Photo 3. Rather than rely- the name of beauty. Elements ing on off-the-shelf hardware of utility were reimagined, and (something the Greenes seldom 2 made to conform to the Greene did), they delicately carved and Living-room bookshelves view from below, standards as well. inlaid ebony in place of a manu- with waterfall detail. Thorsen House, The built-in factured piece. Again, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. Courtesy California (Photo 1) of the 1909 Thorsen this treatment represents an Sigma Phi Society. House in Berkeley, California, enormous amount of additional are a prime example. Most work in the pursuit of beauty. woodworkers understand that bookshelves must be beefy to Designs rarely repeated support the considerable weight Unlike many of their contempo- of books. Most woodworkers raries in the American Arts and understand the dilemma in de- Crafts Movement, the Greenes signing heavy-duty bookshelves did not repeat their designs for that will sustain the weight of mass production. Each piece their contents without appearing was designed for a specific cli- too bulky or unattractive in their ent and setting. Details often design. The Greenes turned this were developed for these set- would-be problem into an aes- tings and never duplicated. At 3 thetic asset. the same time, a distinctive con- Living-room ebony escutcheon. Viewing the shelf straight tinuity of style permeates the Thorsen House, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. Cour- tesy California Sigma Phi Society. on, we see a slender, pleas- designs of the Greenes’ mature ing profile. Looking on the period (1907–12). Individual underside (Photo 2), we see a settings or , however, waterfall detail that not only is were always distinct from one aesthetically pleasing but also another, as shown in the rock- allows the deeper body of the ers on page 56 and the next page.

58 American Period Furniture 2014 Master- rocker. Gamble House, Pasadena, CA, 1907–09. Courtesy The Gamble House, USC.

4 Dining-room built-in with delicate cloud lifts. Thorsen House, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. Courtesy California Sigma Phi Society. The detail in Greene & Greene furniture and archi- tectural designs can seem overwhelming. Even among details that were repeated, each instance of their use was reimagined with context This meant dipping into in mind. An expedient cut- the well of creativity for fresh and-paste was not part of the 5 material for each setting for Greenes’ way of working. For Living-room rocker crest rail with bold cloud every client. example, they incorporated a lifts. Gamble House, Pasadena, CA, 1907–09. The Greenes’ most produc- inspired cloud lift (frequently Courtesy The Gamble House, USC. tive and creative span—par- seen in furni- ticularly regarding furniture— ture where it is identified as a lasted about seven years, from humpback stretcher when so 1906 through 1912. It was an used in chairs) in nearly infinite intense time for the Greenes variety, depending upon the who received roughly 150 com- setting. Sometimes the pattern missions for residential dwell- would be upside-down, some- ings and their furnishings. The times on-end, and other varia- Greenes produced hundreds tions (Photos 4 and 5). of individual furniture de- Even the sleek ebony peg 6 signs which undoubtedly put was not immune from creative Master-bedroom with ebony pegs an immense strain on Charles variation, as shown in Photo following the in the crest rail. Gamble House, Pasadena, CA, 1907–09. Courtesy The Greene’s creative resources. In 6. Observe how the top surface Gamble House, USC. fact, he took a seven-month pe- of an ebony peg in the Gamble riod of rest in England in 1909, House master-bedroom chair leaving Henry to keep projects follows the upward arch in the on track in the office. crest rail. www.sapfm.org 59 7 9 Dining-room server. Notice the small relief to accommodate the Dining-room server. Ebony plugs cover screws that secure the proud breadboard end. Thorsen House, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. breadboard end. Thorsen House, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. Courtesy Courtesy The Gamble House and The Huntington Library, Art The Gamble House and The Huntington Library, Art Collection and Collection and Botanical Gardens. Botanical Gardens.

8 10 Dining-room server. Notice the gap in the proud breadboard end to Dining-room server. Slight taper of legs extends past the rail, accommodate the leg. Thorsen House, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. Cour- causing custom fit. Thorsen House, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. Courtesy tesy The Gamble House and The Huntington Library, Art Collection and The Gamble House and The Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens. Botanical Gardens.

Beauty and usefulness lower structure. The structural too wide to be housed. So each Many of the Greenes’ designs member is shaped to accommo- rail is custom-fitted to match the were inherently complex, and date the proud breadboard end. shape of the leg. The effect of seemingly streamlined ap- Rather than forgo the proud the extended taper is slight, but pearances could be deceiving. detail, the structural member one that the Greenes were not The complexity was not pres- joining the top of the leg is willing to overlook. ent for its own sake, however, relieved to accommodate the but rather was a by-product of thicker breadboard end. The Obsessive detail collides with beauty and usefulness. At first breadboard end itself is housed, price and delays glance, the 1909 Thorsen server in turn, to accept the leg, as seen Greene & Greene furniture (next page), appears relatively in Photo 9. A note of interest: marks an inspiring moment in uncomplicated. Under scrutiny On this server, decorative ebony the history of American design its subtlety is revealed. The plugs cover screws that run in and craftsmanship. In the end, images of the breadboard end slots, securing the breadboard the brothers’ business declined (Photos 7 and 8) shows an end to the solid wood. due to the very thing that made piece less than 1⁄16" proud of both The server legs have a slight them exceptional. By 1913, the top and bottom faces of the taper to them at the bottom, Greenes’ uncompromising main surface of the server. The extending past the bottom rail, design and manufacture ap- joint between the breadboard as shown in Photo 10. Because proach led to escalating prices end and the panel sits atop the of wood movement, the rail is and recurrent schedule delays.

60 American Period Furniture 2014 Dining-room server. Thorsen House, Berkeley, CA, 1908–10. Courtesy The Gamble House and The Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens. Photo: Ognan Borissov/ Interfoto

As a result, the Greenes’ clientele House (gamblehouse.org) offers End Notes –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– became increasingly intolerant a three-hour Details and Joinery 1. Makinson, Randell L. Greene & towards them which further Tour, led by renowned furni- Greene: Architecture as a Fine Art. (Lay- prevented their ability to attract ture maker James Ipekjian. It’s a ton, UT: Peregrine Smith, 1977). new opportunities. For today’s must for woodworkers.◆ 2. “California’s Contribution to a would-be designers and makers, National Architecture: Its Significance though, the obsessive detail and Resources and Beauty as Shown in the Work –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– endless variety of the Greenes’ of Greene & Greene.” The Craftsman, Bosley, Edward R. Greene & Greene August 1912, Vol 22, p 536. furniture make the subject a trea- (London, UK: Phaidon Press, 2000). sure worth years of . 3. Ashbee Papers, January 1909, Modern Makinson, Randell L. Greene & Greene: Archives, Kings College (Cambridge, The best way to experience Furniture and Related Designs (Salt Lake UK). For more details, see the Summer City, UT: Gibbs Smith, 1979). the genius of Greene & Greene is 2014 SAPFM newsletter. in their original settings, where Larson, Gustaf. Sloyd (, MA: visitors can embrace the furni- Sloyd Training School, 1902). ture and architecture as a whole. Mathias, David. Greene & Greene Fur- niture: Poems of Light and Wood (Blue The Gamble House in Pasadena, Ash, OH: Better Way Home, 2010). California, is the only fully Peart, Darrell. Greene & Greene: Design intact Greene & Greene master- Elements for the (Fresno, CA: piece. It is open for public tours Linden Publishing, 2006). weekly. Once a month, Gamble www.sapfm.org 61