ISAMU NOGUCHI (Los Angeles, USA 1904 - New York, USA 1988) FOR VITRA. The Noguchi Coffee Table. Blackpainted base with durable glass top. Top engraved Isamu Noguchi, Vitra Design Museum. Minor surface scratches at glass top. Measurements: 40 x 128 x 91 cm. The Japanese American sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi designed The Noguchi coffee table in 1944 and today it is an iconic piece of Mid-Century Modern design. The table is a marriage of sculptural form and everyday function and is built on two identical wooden elements, almost like Yin and Yang, which support the rounded tabletop made of thick, durable glass. Noguchi himself thought it was his finest design and it is now instantly recognisable. Noguchi designed the first version of the iconic table in 1939 for A. Conger Goodyear, the founder of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The furniture manufacturer Herman Miller asked Noguchi to design a similar table for his own collection – described as a functional sculpture, the Noguchi table was released in the United States in the late 1940s. In Europe, the table is manufactured by Vitra. Since 2003 (Herman Miller) and 2010 (Vitra Design Museum) respectively, the designer’s signature has been engraved in the glass table tops to distinguish them from counterfeits. Isamu Noguchis career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold. In 1947, Noguchi began a collaboration with the Herman Miller company, when he joined with George Nelson, Paul László and Charles Eames to produce a catalog containing what is often considered to be the most influential body of modern furniture ever produced, including the iconic Noguchi table which remains in production today. His work lives on around the world and at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in New York City.