In 1925 President Coolidge sent his regrets to the Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts: the U.S. had "nothing to contribute" in furniture design. Last week a big, glossy exhibit, "For Modern Living," was showing visitors to the Detroit Institute of Arts how the U.S. has caught up in a quarter-century.
Of the 500 household designers and manufacturers contributing to the show, only a score had European addresses, though some (e.g., Denmark's Jens Risom and Abel Sorenson) had learned furniture-making on the continent before setting up shop in the U.S.
Kokomo & Kalamazoo. Detroit's show was more than a get-together of well-known designing names....