Ward Bennett’s Lounge Chair-Straight Line

Ward Bennett was the sole designer for the furniture manufacturer Brickel Associates in New York from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. In those years, Bennett designed many different forms of seating and other furniture under the direction of Brickel. The Lounge Chair-Straight Line came in a variety of fabrics made by Boris Kroll. Some of the lounge chairs are still in use today throughout the Center’s library and offices. The brown leather tufted sofas in the Center’s Library Court are also Bennett’s design. In 1993, Brickel was purchased by Geiger. To this day, Geiger continues to feature a select group of furniture, including his Sled Chair and I Beam table, which embodies Bennett’s celebrated use of industrial materials, like metal and glass.

Ward Bennett, Lounge Chair-Straight Line for Brickel Associates Inc. (front view), no date, wool and nylon blend, rubberized hair (hog and horsehair), blended cotton felt, latex foam rubber, wood, 28 ¾″ x 33″ W x 33″ D, Yale Center for British Art, photo by Richard Caspole

Ward Bennett, Lounge Chair-Straight Line for Brickel Associates Inc. (front view), no date, wool and nylon blend, rubberized hair (hog and horsehair), blended cotton felt, latex foam, rubber, wood, 28 ¾″ x 33″ W x 33″ D, Yale Center for British Art, photo by Richard Caspole

Ward Bennett, Lounge Chair-Straight Line for Brickel Associates (back view), photo by Richard Caspole

Ward Bennett, Lounge Chair-Straight Line for Brickel Associates Inc. (back view), photo by Richard Caspole 

Ward Bennett, Lounge Chair-Straight Line for Brickel Associates (side view), photo by Richard Caspole

Ward Bennett, Lounge Chair-Straight Line for Brickel Associates Inc. (side view), photo by Richard Caspole