Rare Pair of T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Oak Floor Lamps

ca. 1946, part of a custom interior by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for The Straus House, 1814 Larchmont Road, Houston, Texas, each with a tapering fluted standard ending in a biomorphic foot, fitted with glazed paper shades.
h. to top of finial 59-1/2"

Provenance: Estate of Carol A. Straus, Houston, Texas.

Literature: Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings, "Strauss [sic] residence living room design sketches". Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings papers, 1915-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution; Stephen Fox and Richard Cheek, The Country Houses of John F. Staub (College Station: Texas A&M UP, 2007), pp. 293-294; James Buresh, "T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings: Timeless Mid-Century Modern Design", Archives of American Art Journal, vol. 48, no. 1/2 (Spring 2009), p. 33.

The Straus Suite was part of a custom interior commissioned in the 1940s by Carol Austin and Robert D. Straus, and designed by Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings. This collection, which has remained in the Straus family until now, represents one of the earliest and most complete intact custom sets to be offered at auction. The original interior drawings by Robsjohn-Gibbings for the Straus House are preserved at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art.

In 1937, Carol and Robert Straus commissioned architect John Staub to design a modern house at 1814 Larchmont Road in Houston. The Straus House was Staub’s first venture into modernism and one of the first of its kind built in River Oaks. Following the construction of a sleek pool house by Staub in 1939, Mr. and Mrs. Straus added a two-story addition to the original structure, also designed by Staub, to accommodate their growing family in 1941.

Following the completion of the addition, the Strauses hired T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings to design a custom interior to complement their modern art collection. When Robsjohn-Gibbings began his work at 1814 Larchmont, the Strauses’ home was furnished in a more traditional taste, primarily with 18th-century Regency furniture. When the stylish interior was complete, the Straus House represented a unique collaboration between an emerging design icon, an architectural maven and a brave young couple with a forward-looking vision. Between the timing of the project and the unusual design, the final product endures today, decades later, as a notable early landmark of early modernist architecture in Houston.

The earliest known reference to the Robsjohn-Gibbings interior at 1814 Larchmont Road is a February 13, 1949 article in The Houston Chronicle titled “Art Association to See R. D. Straus Collection”. The article features a photograph of Carol Straus in front of a newly acquired painting by Max Beckmann with her right hand resting on one of the custom Robsjohn-Gibbings side chairs. According to the article, “Mr. and Mrs. Straus recently had the interior of their large home redecorated to complement their art collection.” The article continues the discussion of the home’s furnishings by remarking that, “Noted decorator-designer Robsjohn-Gibbings was called in to devise furnishings that also would be handsome in their own right, yet not so dominant as to take away from the effect of the paintings.” In March 1950, House & Garden published a feature on Texas homes that included The Straus House. Photographed by Andres Kertesz, the article beautifully showcases the couple’s impressive art collection alongside the custom furniture by Robsjohn-Gibbings. The article mentions that, “T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings selected the colors for the living room and designed most of the furniture for this room and the library.”

The Straus Suite was created between the time that the addition to 1814 Larchmont was completed in 1941 and the first reference to the completed interior in February 1949. The Houston Chronicle article refers to the interior as “recently completed”, but offers no other clues. The subjectiveness of the term “recently” makes definitively dating the Suite difficult. However, by 1951 Carol and Robert Straus had built a new home designed by Herman Lloyd at 53 Briar Hollow Lane (now demolished). The timing of the move from Larchmont to Briar Hollow suggests that Robsjohn- Gibbings executed the interior prior to 1949 as it would be peculiar for the Strauses to begin construction on a new home within a year or two of hiring a renowned decorator to update their Larchmont residence.

Based on available information, The Straus Suite was most likely commissioned some time between 1945 and 1948. After meeting Roy Neuberger, while briefly stationed in New York City during World War II, the Strauses began collecting modern and contemporary art. In his memoir, Neuberger places Mr. Straus in New York in 1943. Considering it would take several years to amass a collection large enough to warrant a redesign of their home’s interior, the earliest possible date of the Robsjohn-Gibbings commission is likely ca. 1945.

Robsjohn-Gibbings continued to produce custom orders even after his 1946 deal with Widdicomb; The unique forms and scale of several pieces, as well as the absence of any Widdicomb labels, further confirms that these were not mass-produced pieces. A 2009 article in the Archives of American Art Journal dates the Suite to ca. 1946, but does not provide any explanation. Over six decades later, The Straus Suite’s enduring appeal and relevance is a testament to the legacy of Robsjohn-Gibbings.

Both standards exhibit scattered scuffs and wear consistent with age and use. Some slight surface darkening here and there probably from handling. Both bases with minor shrinkage across the center, with one base having scattered small stains and wear. Brass fittings generally good with scattered minor oxidation. Shades in different tones but good condition.

61 x 30 x 15 in