Grasshopper Floor Lamp

Designer: Greta Magnusson Grossman, American (born Sweden), 1906–1999
Maker: Ralph O. Smith Manufacturing Company, Burbank, California, active c.1949–1954
Date: 1947–48
Material: Enameled steel, enameled aluminum, brass
made in: Burbank, California, United States, North and Central America
Classification: Lighting, metalwork
Collection: Decorative Arts and Design
Current Location: On View, Gallery 130
Dimensions: 50 1/4 × 15 × 15 in. (127.6 × 38.1 × 38.1 cm)
Credit Line: Funds given by the Ruth Kelso Renfrow Art Club
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 80:2019

NOTES

The imaginative assembly of simple materials—two lengths of tubular steel and a bullet-shaped shade—gives this floor lamp its distinctive, animated form. Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman in 1947, the aptly titled "Grasshopper Floor Lamp" was featured in a number of the Swedish-born architect’s own residences. Perched high on Los Angeles hilltops, the open-plan houses outfitted with multi-functional furnishings epitomized the casual, indoor-outdoor ethos of California modern.

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