The Italian Chair, La Seida Italiana

The Italian Chair, La Seida Italiana 

Published by  Istituto Nazionale per il commercio estero / The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, Rome. 1983. 

This monograph presents a survey of the evolution of the chair over the centuries, with due consideration given to modern technology and design. Essentially a promotional catalogue to encourage the use of Italian designed chairs in the international furnishing sector.

We have acquired this book from the estate of Mollie and Graham Dark.

Mollie & Graham met in Wimbledon in 1978. He, a Cornishman, born in Gulval in 1930, acquired an early appreciation of art visiting Newlyn Gallery with his family. In his early career Graham worked in London writing for the Daily Express and he was responsible for one of the first Arts columns in a tabloid paper, but in 1960 he opened an antique shop in Chelsea.

Inspired by trips to Italy, he displayed early furniture and antiquities in an uncluttered modern setting, a technique he later utilised in his own home. The Darks moved back to Cornwall in 1980 and at their home in Flushing, and later Truro, curated an impressive body of art and antiquities with a particular focus on Cornish artists such as Paul Feiler and Terry Frost, who both became close friends.

The paintings were displayed alongside mid-century modern designer furniture by Eames, Bertoia and Magistretti, and arrangements of antiquities, thought of as 'ensembles' by Graham. Warm, charming, and generous hosts, they entertained their artistic circle of friends in their exquisitely arranged home, and it is a privilege for us to handle their beautiful possessions today.