Portrait courtesy of the artist.
Lee Rohde is a retired chemical engineer who spent much of his professional career at IBM in Westchester County, New York. His reputation is perhaps outshone by his father, Gilbert Rohde, the American industrial designer who produced iconic streamlined furniture for Herman Miller in the 1930s. Indeed, woodworking has always been an avocation rather than a profession for Lee, which justifies his current undercelebrated status. But for more than a decade, he held a seat at the table of major American furniture makers, after being discovered by Lee Nordness at an upstate New York craft fair not long before Objects: USA.
Rohde’s jewelry and silver chests were exhibited in For Men Only at Lee Nordness Gallery in 1971, in the inaugural show of the American Crafts Council Gallery in New York in 1972, and in New Handmade Furniture, curated by Paul J. Smith at the newly christened American Craft Museum in 1979. Rohde continues to make bowls and cutting boards in his home woodshop for the various charity auctions he supports in his community.
Chest for Silver in hand-carved rosewood. Designed and made by Lee Rohde, USA, 1974.
17" L x 10.75" W x 11.5" H
43.2cm L x 27.3cm W x 29.2cm H
SM7956
Collection of the artist
"Jewelry Box" in Rosewood. Designed and made by Lee Rohde, USA, 1974/5.
17" L x 10.75" W x 11.5" H
43.2cm L x 27.3cm W x 29.2cm H
SM8140