Vintage Atrifort tulip armchair by G. Harcourt 1970

Geoffrey HARCOURT for ARTIFORT Armchair with tulip base in white lacquered metal (scratches) and blue fabric. Marked under the base "Artifort". Circa 1970. Top. Height : 90 cm- Width : 56 cm Depth: 61 cm 15 kg The painter and industrial designer Geoffrey D. Harcourt was born in London in 1935. As a child, he attended High Wycombe Technical School, then High Wycombe School of Art, where he obtained a National Diploma in Design (NDD). He later joined the Royal College of Art in London after a stint with the Royal Artillery in 1955. After graduating in 1960, Geoffrey Harcourt travelled to the United States to Chicago, where he worked as an industrial designer in 1960 and 1961, before returning to Europe and working with designer Jacob Jensen in Copenhagen. In 1962, he moved back to England and founded his own studio based in Oxfordshire. He started designing chairs for the Dutch manufacturer Artifort. Geoffrey Harcourt played an important role in this company, including helping with its transition. Their collaboration initiated the first partnerships between British designers and foreign companies. These colourful and futuristic chairs become Harcourt's most famous works. With the rise of the Space Age style in the 1960s and 1970s, Harcourt's designs for Artifort became an international success, and many models are still in production today. Among the main designs for Artifort are 042 Series (1963), its first success, 00 Series (1967), which includes the F 510, F 511, F 584, F 585, and F 587 chairs. But also F 141 Chair (1967), F 978 Chair (1968), 975 Intermediate Chair (1968), Cleopatra Lounge Chair (1970), Chicago Chair and Michigan Chair (1971). Convinced that the chair must be based on the person who is going to use it, Geoffrey Harcourt combines clear aesthetics with ergonomics and comfort. His motto "first the person, then the chair" perfectly embodies his creations. Throughout his career, Geoffrey Harcourt has collaborated with international companies such as Dynamite Nobel, Trau of Turin, Steelcase Strafor, Gordon Russell, Hands of Wycombe, Ben Dawson, Mines and West, and many more. His major designs include University Halls of Residence Series (1963) for Olivex London, Strathclyde University Assembly Chair (1980) for Ben Dawson Ltd, Rapport Series (1998) for Hands of Wycombe, and Tandro Chair (designed in 1961 and produced in the 2000s) for Emmemobili of Cantu, Italy. Geoffrey Harcourt's work has been exhibited in international institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the Design Council in London and Glasgow, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. In particular, he was awarded the prestigious title of "Royal Designer for Industry" (RDI) by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of