Paul Laszlo Biography
Paul Lazlo was born in Debrecen in 1900 and is an architect, interior designer and furniture designer of Hungarian and American origin. He is recognized as one of the greatest creators of furniture and interiors of the twentieth century. László began building his reputation by designing residential interiors, but in the 1960s he turned to professional shop and furniture interior design. He studied in Vienna, Austria, and later in Stuttgart, Germany, where he began working. He soon gained fame as a prominent designer and gained the admiration of Salvador Dalí, among others. However, the rise of anti-Semitism following the Nazis coming to power in Germany made his professional situation unstable due to his Jewish roots. In 1936, he left Europe for the United States to escape the Nazis. In an irony of fate, without his knowledge, some furniture he designed was installed in the Kehlsteinhaus, known as the "Eagle's Nest", Adolf Hitler's residence near Berchtesgaden. This fact aroused the indignation of Albert Speer, the chief architect of the Third Reich and Hitler's close advisor. László applied for and accepted a position as an architecture professor in Argentina, although he likely had no intention of moving to South America, instead staying in hiding with the help of friends until he managed to secure a place on a bound ocean liner in New York. Despite some criticism of his work due to the immense influence his results had when completed, László personally preferred large-scale furniture. However, for a particular client who was sensitive to his short stature, László designed all the furniture on a smaller scale than the normal standard. In 1948, László joined George Nelson, Charles Eames and Isamu Noguchi at the Herman Miller company to design office furniture. The furniture lines introduced by Herman Miller starting in 1948 have been considered the most influential furniture sets ever made in the furniture world. Despite this, László was not satisfied with the agreement and relationship with the company and ended his collaboration in 1952. He served during both world wars, in the Hungarian artillery on the Italian front in World War I and as a volunteer in the United States Army during World War II, serving in the United States.
