Greta Magnusson Grossman

Last week, I visited an exhibition called "Greta Magnusson Grossman - A Car and Some Shorts." This great retrospective, which opened recently ate R 20th Century Design, explores the legacy of Swedish-American architect Greta Magnusson Grossman. Her career in America barely spanned two decades and she was one of the only female industrial designers in the mid-century period. Despite these challenges, Grossman was celebrated for her prolific output of unique homes, interiors, furnishings, light fixtures, and exhibitions. R 20th Century Design gallery has featured Grossman's objects for over a decade, and was one of the first institutions to recognize the significance of her work.

Grossman was born in Sweden and opened a studio in 1933, designing furniture and interiors. She emigrated to Los Angeles, where she opened a Beverly Hills shop in 1940. The Scandinavian sensibility that she brought to the West Coast proved a recipe for instant success, particularly as Americans in the postwar years were captured by the aesthetics of Scandinavian furniture. To her, modernism was much more than a style. It was a philosophy that proposed a contemporary way of life. Her work was frequently published in Arts + Architecture magazine, and with this exposure she attracted Hollywood stars like Greta Garbo, Joan Fontaine, and Gracie Allen.