William Pahlmann

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William Pahlmann
Born(1900-12-12)December 12, 1900
Guadalajara, Mexico
NationalityAmerican
OccupationInterior Designer
Years active1931–1976

William Carroll Pahlmann (December 12, 1900 – November 6, 1987) was a New York-based, mid-twentieth-century

interior designer who popularized the eclectic style of design. The eclectic style borrowed decorative elements from different time periods and countries and often used bold color combinations, varying textures, and a mixture of antique and modern furnishings. Pahlmann employed eclectic design principles to accommodate his customers’ personal taste preferences and stressed the importance of comfort, functionality, and adaptability in his work.[1]

Early life

William Pahlmann was born on December 12, 1900, in

San Antonio, Texas, where his mother ran a boardinghouse. At the age of ten, he began to draw freehand and showed an interest in flower-arranging at the local Baptist Church.[2]

After completing high school, he accepted a job as a traveling salesman selling sewer pipe.

New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, now the Parsons School of Design.[4]
Pahlmann helped pay his way through school as a dancer in Broadway musicals. In 1929, he was given a scholarship to study at
Parsons Paris School of Art and Design) in Paris, France.[5]

Early career

Upon his return to the United States in 1931, Seton Henry commissioned Pahlmann to decorate his eighteenth-century home, Pen Ryn, in

ox-yoke headboard he designed for her bed attracted some criticism, the project helped to launch Pahlmann’s career.[7]

Lord & Taylor

In 1936, Pahlmann was hired as the head of the interior decorating and home furnishings department at the

world’s fairs and museums already employed model rooms, stores had previously presented only vignettes of rooms to their customers.[9]
Pahlmann recognized that good interior decorating was also a form of good merchandising.

One of Pahlmann’s most outstanding model rooms was the highly publicized “Pahlmann Peruvian” in November 1941. Following Pahlmann’s five-week tour of South America, Lord & Taylor premiered six model rooms featuring modern and antique Peruvian-style furnishings. The most popular presentation of model rooms, Pahlmann Peruvian attracted 20,000 to 30,000 visitors per month.[10] In addition, Pahlmann’s designs were translated into a line of fabric and rugs for F. Schumacher & Co.[11]

Pahlmann maintained a close relationship with Hoving even after the latter’s departure from Lord & Taylor. He designed several Bonwit Teller department stores while the company was under Hoving’s leadership.[12]

Military service

In 1942, Pahlmann left his position at

St. Louis, Missouri.[13] In a 1984 interview, he described one of his demonstrations of camouflage
:

"We staged mock assaults on barracks and towns. I built a town in the south of France. We had great big two-story houses, all beautiful French architecture. Then we attacked the village, with recordings of bombs going off. And this is where the camouflage came in--with the pull of a string the whole house would collapse and reveal an anti-aircraft gun emplacement. It was all to deceive the eye, and quite a show."[14]

Pahlmann resigned from the armed forces at the end of the war, having reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.[15]

Post-war career

Upon his return to civilian life, Pahlmann founded the design firm William Pahlmann Associates in New York City in 1946. In addition to residential designs, William Pahlmann Associates were involved in a variety of commercial projects, including

Bahamas, Cuba, Venezuela, and Hong Kong.[16] Among the firm’s more renowned projects were The Forum of the Twelve Caesars restaurant in Manhattan, the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion, and the Margaret Cousins residence in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Pahlmann also collaborated on the Four Seasons Restaurant in Manhattan with architect Philip Johnson and was the innovator behind the idea of changing the décor according to the seasons.[17] At the time of its completion in 1959, the Four Seasons Restaurant was said to be the costliest restaurant ever constructed.[18]

In addition to their work in

casters to achieve mobility, but also provided sleek forms, clean lines, and warm tones to an increasingly discerning audience.[19]

From 1971 to 1976, William Pahlmann Associates worked on designing interiors for three new buildings at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas: a Theater Arts Center, a 12-story Conference tower, and the Memorial Student Center. After renovations to the Memorial Student Center were complete, many students objected to the new decorating scheme, finding the furnishings “too extravagant and inappropriate for the purpose of a student center.” A 1975 questionnaire issued by the campus newspaper found that ninety-two percent of respondents disliked the new furnishings, finding the space “stiff, formal, and unfriendly.”[20] It was to be the firm’s final project. Following its completion, William Pahlmann retired.

"A Matter of Taste"

Pahlmann lectured extensively throughout his career and sought to share his design ideas with a wide audience. From 1962 to 1973, he wrote a syndicated, thrice-weekly column entitled “A Matter of Taste” that ran in newspapers across the country and in several Latin American countries. In his column, Pahlmann provided his audience with general information on taste and style and introduced them to the basic principles of good design.[21] He often wrote about the importance of color, balance, and the incorporation of modern and traditional design elements. Despite the democratic nature of his lectures and columns, Pahlmann insisted the average person did not have the necessary skills to design a successful interior and should consult a professional if at all possible.[22]

Later years and death

Following his retirement, William Pahlmann spent most of his time at his homes in

Guadalajara, Mexico. He gave up his last New York City apartment in 1985. Suffering from arteriosclerosis for many years, Pahlmann died on November 6, 1987, in Guadalajara.[23]

Publications

  • The Pahlmann Book of Interior Design [1958] Revised in two editions in 1960 and 1968

Awards and honors

In 1964, William Pahlmann received the

interior decorating to the United States in early twentieth century. It was said when the award was given that “except for Elsie de Wolfe, no one has influenced American home decoration more than Mr. Pahlmann.”[24]

Pahlmann was chairman of the board of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Decorators (later the American Society of Interior Designers) and the first president of its Resource Council. He was later elected as a Fellow.

The department of architecture at Texas A&M University awards the William C. Pahlmann scholarship annually to graduate students in their final year.

Research

Pahlmann’s personal papers are held at the Technical Reference Center at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.[25]

The William Pahlmann Papers are available at the

Hagley Museum & Library
and while there are many materials from Pahlmann's earlier years and personal activities, the bulk of the records are from the office of William Pahlmann Associates during the three decades of its existence, 1946-1976.

References

  1. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  2. ^ Krebs, Albin (11 November 1987). "William C. Pahlmann, Decorator Known for Eclectic Designs, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  3. ^ Smith, C. Ray (December 1984). "William Pahlmann at 84; a birthday salute to a celebrated designer". Interior Design: 192.
  4. ^ Krebs, Albin (11 November 1987). "William C. Pahlmann, Decorator Known for Eclectic Designs, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  5. ^ Smith, C. Ray (December 1984). "William Pahlmann at 84; a birthday salute to a celebrated designer". Interior Design: 192.
  6. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  7. ^ Loring, John. "Design Legends: William Pahlmann: Shaking Up Interiors With A Surprisingly Diverse Vision". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  8. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  9. ^ Smith, C. Ray (December 1984). "William Pahlmann at 84; a birthday salute to a celebrated designer". Interior Design: 192.
  10. ^ Smith, C. Ray (December 1984). "William Pahlmann at 84; a birthday salute to a celebrated designer". Interior Design: 192.
  11. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  12. ^ Smith, C. Ray (December 1984). "William Pahlmann at 84; a birthday salute to a celebrated designer". Interior Design: 192.
  13. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  14. ^ Smith, C. Ray (December 1984). "William Pahlmann at 84; a birthday salute to a celebrated designer". Interior Design: 192.
  15. ^ Smith, C. Ray (December 1984). "William Pahlmann at 84; a birthday salute to a celebrated designer". Interior Design: 192.
  16. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  17. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  18. ^ Krebs, Albin (11 November 1987). "William C. Pahlmann, Decorator Known for Eclectic Designs, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  19. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  20. ^ Texas A&M University. "Memorial Student Center- History of the Memorial Student Center- Part 2". Texas A&M University. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  21. ^ Hagley Library and Museum. "William Pahlmann's "A Matter of Taste"" (PDF). Hagley Library and Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  22. ^ Raimond, Gina Marie (2010). "A Matter of Taste:" The Interior Designer William C. Pahlmann and the Creation of an American Style in the Post-World War II Era. Masters Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the Corcoran College of Art and D esign. p. 223.
  23. ^ Krebs, Albin (11 November 1987). "William C. Pahlmann, Decorator Known for Eclectic Designs, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  24. ^ Krebs, Albin (11 November 1987). "William C. Pahlmann, Decorator Known for Eclectic Designs, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  25. ^ Texas A&M University. "Technical Reference Center". Texas A&M University. Retrieved 11 August 2011.

Sources

External links

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