$11,000

United States
1940’s

Adjustable (up-and-down and pivoting) floor lamp with a Constructivist iron base surmounted by a quirky, almost anthropomorphic hand-molded fiberglass diffuser–an early use of fiberglass in product design. A one-off by Ross Bellah, made in the 1940’s with a design that straddles the Machine Age 1930’s and the Organic Design 1940’s. Bellah (1907-2004), along with his partner Carl Anderson, designed a suite of rattan furnishings that won an honorable mention in the 1941 MoMA Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition. He later became an art director, primarily for Columbia Pictures, whose TV credits include 254 episodes of Bewitched and 139 episodes of I Dream of Jeannie, among many others. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction in 1957 for the film The Solid Gold Cadillac, and he designed the all-wood house for the 1960 movie Strangers When We Meet. Along with Anderson, he designed a house for himself and his artist-wife in Studio City in 1942. The present item came out of this house when the contents were dispersed several years after his death. Full height of the lamp extended is 46 inches; minimum height is 35 inches.

Condition
Good original condition with overall wear consistent with age and use. The diffuser has a few small edge chips and a non-displaced hairline crack. The iron base shows scratches and oxidation throughout. In working order.

Measurements
Height: 46 in.
Width/length: 12 in.
Depth: 12 in.

Specifications
Number of items: 1
Materials/techniques: Fiberglass and iron