Sam Maloof: A passion for life  

People the world over are mourning the death and celebrating the life of furniture designer and master woodworker Sam Maloof, perhaps, even, while reposing in one of his signature rocking chairs or sitting, contemplating, at one of his stunning walnut desks.

With hundreds of his exalted pieces nestled in homes and institutions around the globe and hundreds of commissions beyond what he could finish in his lifetime, nary did Mr. Maloof design and create for mere “clients”—Mr. Maloof, with his boundless enthusiasm, limitless capacity to converse and unwavering desire to make genuine connections, turned clients into friends with ease and joy.

“One of the most exciting parts of his legacy is that when Sam worked for somebody, they became his friends for life,” said his wife since 2001, Beverly Wingate Maloof. “And now, the children that are inheriting the furniture are making pilgrimages here. There’s just this feeling of being a part of the family—they aren’t just clients. You would think that a piece of furniture wouldn’t make a friend, but it’s not just a piece of furniture, it’s Sam and all he represents. And a lot of these young people use it as a springboard for what they can do with their life. They see they can really make a difference in the world like Sam did. He became part of zillions of people’s lives, and that has translated into something far beyond that.”

Said Mr. Maloof himself, “I want to be able to work a piece of wood into an object that contributes something beautiful and useful to everyday life. And I want to do this for an individual that I can come to know as a friend,” as quoted by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery website.

At age 93, the lauded woodworker died at his Alta Loma home on May 21, 2009. 

Since furnishing his modest Ontario home in 1948 with homemade furniture made from salvaged wood —a distant cry from the rare and sometimes ancient wood he used as he gained momentum and means—Mr. Maloof’s work can now be found in a multitude of prestigious institutions including the White House, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian Institution, in the homes of numerous Hollywood celebrities and US presidents and in countless private collections around the world.  One East Coast client —or, friend, rather—commissioned Mr. Maloof to “fill his house with furniture,” noted Harrison McIntosh, American ceramicist and friend to Mr. Maloof for over 50 years.

And, continued Mr. McIntosh, while comfortably settled in a Maloof armchair, a wedding gift from his friend, “he only liked to sell his furniture personally, never wanted to sell through a dealer.”

Such is also true for producing his furniture. Despite the great and ever-growing demand for his furniture—most notably his sleek, elegant rockers, so smooth they almost appear fluid in structure—Mr. Maloof turned down all opportunities to mass-produce his original designs.

“There’s a lot of work being done today that doesn’t have any soul in it,” he once said. “The technique may be the utmost perfection, yet it is lifeless. It doesn’t have a soul. I hope my furniture has a soul to it.”

And, even the delivery of his work remained on a personal level, noted Ms. Maloof, sharing that, when possible, her husband accompanied his furniture into the home of the person for whom he created it and establishing a sort of “union between maker, object and owner,” said the author of The Furniture of Sam Maloof (2001), Jeremy Anderson, as quoted by the LA Times.

Those possessing a masterpiece by Mr. Maloof know that soulfulness indeed pervades his work, perhaps infused there because the designs in his mind went directly into the wood —hardly ever did he draw his ideas. And faithful to this method, never did he make a piece of furniture that he didn’t like.

“If he didn’t like it, it didn’t get made,” said Ms. Maloof, noting with fascination that at age 93, he “went on a really interesting creative spurt” during which he designed several new pieces on paper.

“I remember thinking ‘what are you doing?’” she said. “It was interesting how he was just driven to that.”

Along with woodworking, Mr. Maloof cheerfully and handily launched new structural projects on his Alta Loma property. An avid and free-spirited builder, he delighted in making real the visions he had for enhancing his home and studio.

“He’d decide he wanted to add another room to his house, so he’d go out with his helpers and just take a stick and lay it out on the ground and scratch out where he wanted the foundation,” Mr. Harrison said. “A lot of times he wouldn’t see about getting a permit, he’d just build.”

“He was a wonderful, loveable character with much energy and enthusiasm for doing things,” said Ms. Maloof. “He didn’t just sit around, there was always a lot of energy going on all around, swirling around. Each day was different.”

Samuel Solomon Maloof was born in Chino on January 24, 1916 to parents of Lebanese descent who immigrated to the US. In 1934, he graduated from Chino High School, finding work in the art department at the VORTOX Manufacturing Company in Claremont shortly thereafter.  He then worked with local industrial designer Harold Graham followed by service in the US Army from 1941 to 1945.

Mr. Maloof then worked for painter Millard Sheets from 1946-48, making silkscreen reproductions of his watercolors.

“Sam used to tell me that he was better at signing Millard’s signature than Millard was,” joked Mr. McIntosh.

From 1948 forward, Mr. Maloof pursued his own business and become a fulltime woodworker, first setting up shop in his Ontario residence garage. His graceful, simple, handcrafted furniture began attracting attention during the burgeoning modern art movement, and commissions soon followed, increasing exponentially over time and ultimately necessitating apprentices. Today, 3 master craftsman, Michael Johnson, David Wade and Larry White, all well trained under their mentor, will continue on with the trade, completing commissions Mr. Maloof did not have the opportunity to place his hands on.

In 1953, Mr. Maloof and his wife, artist and teacher Alfreda Ward Maloof, moved to Alta Loma. Settled on a lemon grove, their historical landmark home was moved to its current Alta Loma location due to the 210 Freeway Expansion. This home now operates as a living museum and the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts. A second residential home was built on the property. 

Three years after the death of Alfreda Maloof in 1998, Mr. Maloof married Beverly Wingate who shed tears at her first sighting of an original Maloof table at the LA County Fair in the 50s.

“The shape was elegant, the grain was glowing. I cried. I wept. That’s the most beautiful table I’ve ever seen,” she said.

Longing to own such a table but not possessing the means, Ms. Maloof and her first husband paid Mr. Maloof $30 a month until it was time for the table to be made and delivered.

“With great ceremony, he brought the table,” she said. “That was the beginning, and we stayed friends, because everyone is Sam’s friend.”

Indeed, Mr. Maloof extended friendship to all—to those dropping by the Foundation property, to emerging artists at the array of galleries he visited with great frequency, to the children and grandchildren of his contemporaries, to diligent students and aspiring woodworkers—to everyone, he extended his kindness, encouragement and never-feeling-imposed-upon time.

“He really, really loved people, and he loved to talk, and talk about art,” said Ms. Maloof.

Roz Bock, his business manager for 9 years, fondly recalled realizing that “Maloof time” was quite different than standard time.

“If he went to lunch, don’t plan on it being an hour lunch,” said Ms. Bock, who loved being greeted daily with Mr. Maloof’s warm “hello, sweetheart.” “He was so open to so many people that he was always available. Schedules weren’t important to him; communication was much more important.”

So keenly does Mr. McIntosh understand this characteristic of his lifelong friend. For almost a half-century, the two comrades (and, for a period, with artists James Hueter and Rupert Deese as well) met each other for lunch at Walter’s restaurant in the Village.

“Sometimes, the lunches would be a little extensive,” Mr. McIntosh explained. “Alfreda would say ‘what on earth would you be doing spending 4 hours over lunch when you should be back here working in the shop?’ Sam always enjoyed talking. There was never a lack of conversation.” 

Mr. Maloof thoroughly enjoyed befriending and supporting up-and-coming artists—he freely shared his knowledge, attended their exhibitions and purchased their work.

“He would be as interested in meeting some brand new person who made their very first wooden box as someone who was a lifetime famous artist,” said Ms. Maloof. “He just had time for everybody.”

Joe Unis, local radiologist and 6-year president of the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation, remarked how important Mr. Maloof was to the artistic community and how encouraging—“almost like a cheerleader,” he said—to budding artists.

“If you were in his collection, you had a feather in your cap, and some financial encouragement as well,” said Dr. Unis.

Complimenting Mr. Maloof’s impeccable eye for quality art, Dr. Unis shared that his longtime friend and associate’s private art collection contains over 5,000 works by other artists, pieces that will remain with the Foundation. 

“It’s his unwritten legacy, and that legacy goes part and parcel with his encouragement and his integral part within the art community,” said Dr. Unis. “Many of these artists weren’t at the top of their game, they were at the bottom, and Sam saw that, and supported that.”

“I have never known a person like Sam Maloof,” said Mr. McIntosh, still nestled in his cherished Maloof chair, “and I guess there aren’t too many.”

A celebration of Sam Maloof’s life will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 in Kresge Chapel at the Claremont School of Theology, 1325 N. College Ave. A reception will follow at the Maloof Foundation site, 5131 Carnelian St., Alta Loma.

 

–Brenda Bolinger