Object and archive estate, period from ca. 1929 – 1985. The estate of the designer and architect Alexander Girard contains original documents, sketches and photographs as well as three-dimensional objects and an extensive collection of textiles.
Along with designs for industrial manufacturers, the estate is distinguished by a multitude of small, often handcrafted and highly personal objects produced for his own use and enjoyment. The documented materials include creations from the fields of furniture design, architecture, graphic design, textiles, tableware and decoration for corporate and private clients such as Herman Miller, Braniff Airlines, Detrola Corporation, Georg Jensen, James Irwin Miller and Billy Wilder along with materials from numerous design and folk art exhibitions organized by Girard, such as at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Detroit Art Institute or the Hemisfair international exposition in 1968. As the long-time design director of the Herman Miller Textile Division, Girard worked side by side with Ray and Charles Eames and George Nelson whose archives likewise belong to the museum’s collection, allowing important connections to be made among these important holdings. The inventory of his extensive collections along with sketches, media reports and informational materials were carefully maintained and documented by Girard and his assistants, thereby constituting a unique source for further research on Girard. His expansive folk art collection, consisting of some 106,000 pieces, was donated by Alexander Girard back in 1978 to the International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe where it can still be viewed in a presentation designed by Girard himself.
