£813
Auction: Design Since 1860
oak, with iron fittings
Provenance: From The Millinery Works Collection.
Literature: Heal, Oliver S. Sir Ambrose Heal and the Heal Cabinet Factory 1897-1939, Unicorn 2014, p. 153
Note: This model is the first time an arched apron was employed by the designer.
Note: Ambrose Heal is widely considered a pioneer of modern furniture design. After studying at the Slade School of Art, Heal joined the family furniture business established by his great-grandfather John Harris Heal in 1893, where he initially worked in the bedding department. Not long after, he began designing furniture for the firm. These designs adopted simple lines, using unvarnished oak or chestnut and were far more robust in appearance, much to the disdain of his sales colleagues who were used to selling far more elaborate furniture that took inspiration from the early 18th century. Despite this, Heal was recognised in 1900 when he won a silver medal at the Paris Exhibition for a bedroom suite. He was soon appointed chairman of the company in 1913; he was the driving force behind their renewed marketing efforts and expanded the range of products produced in a bid to appeal to the emerging middle class. Heals' furniture embraced the Arts & Crafts ideals, and while he did accept some machinery into the production line, he was resolute in ensuring that the quality of craftsmanship never suffered as a result. As well as chairman of the family business, Heal was also a founding member of the Design & Industries Association, which campaigned to increase the standard of British Design under the slogan ‘Fitness for Purpose’. Early Heal’s designs clearly demonstrate an admiration for Arts & Crafts, but as tastes changed the company was able to innovate quickly and began to embrace stylistic influences from Art Deco and Modernism. Before his retirement from the family firm in 1959, Heal was knighted in 1933 and appointed a Royal designer for industry in 1939.