La collection
Table lamp made of two metal rods, one balanced atop the other, connected with a chrome sphere. At one end of the balanced rod is a cylindrical black weight and at the other end is the light source with a cone-shaped shade in white metal.
1950

Table Lamp

Conçu par
Gilbert Watrous (1919–1991)
Matériel
Aluminum, plastic, enameled and chromium-plated metal
Produit par
The Heifetz Co., New York, New York
Dimensions
46 x 67.5 x 13 cm

The Liliane and David M. Stewart Program for Modern Design, gift of Roy Poretsky, 2007.50.19.1

The floor version of this table lamp was featured in MoMA’s 1951 Good Design exhibition. Its functional, minimal design fit the mandate of these shows. The same year, the floor lamp was presented in MoMA’s exhibition of prize-winning lighting from a competition sponsored by the museum and the Heifetz Company, which subsequently put the lamps into production.

The competition and collaboration the manufacturer were inspired by Marcel Breuer’s comment that he could not find any good lamps on the market.