The Stedelijk Museum opened its doors in 1895, the same year as the first Venice Biennale. It was a "quiet, civilized museum for the Amsterdam bourgeoisie in a time when there was nothing as troublesome as modern art." Initially, the museum exhibited the legacy of the eccentric Sophia Augusta de Bruyn, Douairire Lopez Suasso: a heterogeneous collection of antiques, coins, jewels, timepieces, silver knickknacks, and other curiosa. Period rooms, from canal houses that had been demolished when Raadhuisstraat was driven through, helped create a presentable whole. The museum's renowned furniture collection was not begun until 1934, but since then it has grown to include more than 1000 objects from circa 1850 to the present, with an accent on the twentieth century. Chairs, settees, tables, folding screens, cabinets, and even complete interiors are included. This publication provides a comprehensive overview of the Stedelijk Museum's furniture collecting activities from 1934 to 2000. It charts the museum's rich collection, which includes work by H.P. Berlage, K.P.C de Bazel, Piet Kramer, Gerrit T. Rietveld, Martin Visser, Piet Hein Eek and Marcel Wanders, as well as international furniture classics designed by Michael Thonet, Charlotte Perriand, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, Joe Colombo, Arne Jacobsen, Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck and Ron Arad. Besides a complete overview of the furniture collection, this annotated catalogue includes an introduction to the history of the collection and its exhibition activities. In addition, the volume explores various themes, such as international and Dutch icons, and contrasts and evolutions, in greater depth in a number of short essays.

Experimentation and Dutch design have long gone hand in hand, from postage stamps to the Rietveld chair to the clean simplicity of Schiphol airport. Mienke Simon Thomas skillfully details the groundbreaking accomplishments and popular products of Dutch design in Dutch Design Culture. Thomas, a museum curator, delves deeply into the rich design history of the Netherlands, beginning with the historical roots of Dutch crafts education and the moral and social ideals of modernism that became central to the nation’s cultural dialogue. Touching upon such issues as the emergence of the professional industrial designer, public work initiatives, debates about design as art, and the provocative notion of “anti-design,” Thomas argues that though Dutch design from the beginning has been driven by aims of functionality, simplicity, and affordability, it has also embraced luxury and exclusivity. The book also discusses the role played by leading Dutch designers and their works, including Wim Crouwel, Marcel Wanders, and the design collective Droog Design. An unprecedented, detailed history, Dutch Design Culture is a critical primer on one of the leading national design movements today.

This extensive book Stedelijk Collection Reflections is published to mark the reopening of the Stedelijk Museum and features essays on the origins of its world-famous collection. Stedelijk Collection Reflections features 43 richly illustrated essays on the authoritative collection of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. This broad and varied collection includes visual art, industrial design, photography, graphic design and applied art. In their essays, renowned Dutch and international specialists discuss specific works and significant themes in the collection in detail. Each essay offers a new perspective on significant and influential artists, designers or movements.

Even among the most influential designers of our time, Ron Arad stands out for the versatile nature of his work & his daredevil use of materials & technology. This book examines his work, and includes an interview with Arad plus plates, sketches and renderings of over 150 objects and spaces.