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Albinson, Donald (Don) [1915-2008. USA. Furniture Designer]
Albinson, Donald (Don) [1915-2008. USA. Furniture Designer]
Donald Albinson [also known as Don Albinson] was born in Sparta, Michigan, in 1915. After training in Sweden, he studied under Ray Eames and Harry Bertoia at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. While at Cranbrook he assisted Eames and Eero Saarinen in preparing the seminal exhibition ‘Organic Design in Home Furnishings’ held at the New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1941 at which Eames and Saarinen took two first prizes. [Note: apparently Albinson also studied at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, however, it is unclear if this was immediately after leaving Cranbrook or at a later date]. After serving in the U.S. Army Corps in World War Two, in 1946 he joined the office of Charles and Ray Eames in Venice, California, and worked as their principal designer until 1959. He was engaged in the development of a series of moulded plywood furniture, and, in 1958, collaborated in the design of the ‘Aluminium Group’ of chairs and tables for Herman Miller. After leaving the Eameses, Albinson set up his own design office in Los Angeles. He also taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Between 1964-71 he was employed as director of design development by Knoll Associates. Notable among his designs for Knoll was the Albinson Stacking Chair (1965) in die-cast aluminium and polypropylene which was selected for the ‘Industrial Design’ magazine Annual Design Review in 1965. Albinson also collaborated with the Knoll designers William (Bill) Stephens, Max Pearson, Richard Shultz, and others in the design of a number of pieces. After leaving Knoll, Albinson opened his own design office in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, and acted as consultant in the design of office furnishings for Westinghouse, Haworth and Steelcase, and taught industrial design at UCLA. Albinson received awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Institute of Decorators (AID) in 1967. An exhibition of his furniture was held at the Art Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1977. Albinson died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 17 November 2008. His profession and private papers are held by the Special Collections Department at Stanford University in Stanford, California.
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