Sam Maloof

The rear of the Sam Maloof site showing the roofs of his shops and museum. Note the roof lines.

Sam Maloof (January 24, 1916 – May 21, 2009) was an American furniture designer and woodworker. Maloof's work is in the collections of several major American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Maloof, the first craftsman to receive a MacArthur fellowship, was described by The New York Times as "a central figure in the postwar American crafts movement".

Early life and education Maloof was born Samuel Solomon Maloof, a member of the large Maalouf family, in Chino, California, to Lebanese immigrants. Maloof's father, Slimen Nasif Nadir Maloof, and mother, Anisse, had immigrated to the U.S. in 1905 from Lebanon, which was at that time a region of the Ottoman Empire. Maloof learned to speak Spanish from a Mexican-born housekeeper and Arabic from his parents even before he learned English. He was engaged in woodworking even as a child, made a broad spatula for his mother for turning bread, and carved dollhouse furniture, cars, and other toys. He attended high school first at Chaffey High School in Ontario, California, where he took his first woodworking class and was recognized by his art teacher as having extraordinary skill. Later he attended Chino High School.

Career Shortly after completing high school, Maloof began working in the art department of the Vortox Manufacturing Company in Claremont, California. He was drafted into the United States Army on October 11, 1941. Maloof was soon promoted from private to master sergeant while performing display work in Alaska.

After completing military service, Maloof left the army in 1945 to return to Southern California. In 1946, Maloof became reacquainted with Millard Sheets while he was screen printing for Angelus-Pacific. Sheets invited Maloof to come to Claremont, California, to work for him as his studio assistant.

In 1947, while waiting for Millard Sheets at Scripps College, Maloof met Alfreda Ward. Ward was on leave from her job at the Indian Service where she developed and administered arts and crafts programs. It was love at first sight.

President Jimmy Carter came to his home and signed a photograph that said, "to my woodworking hero." The White House has several of the rocking chairs Maloof designed. He is featured in the 2007 PBS series "Craft in America: Memory, Landscape, Community", produced by Carol Sauvion.

Maloof's chairs, for which he is perhaps most famous, have a sculptural quality about them, yet are also ergonomic, and austere in their simplicity. They can be characterized by rounded corners at mortise and tenon joints (which are always plainly visible); carved ridges and spines, particularly on the arm rests; decorative Ebony dowels; deep, dished-out seats (always made from several boards glued together); and clear finishes.

Maloof tended to favor a handful of woods: Claro Walnut, Cherry, Oak, Rosewood and Yew. On larger pieces, he often used Poplar in areas that would not be visible during ordinary use.

He was described by the Smithsonian Institution as "America's most renowned contemporary furniture craftsman" and People magazine dubbed him "The Hemingway of Hardwood." His business card merely said "woodworker." "I like the word," he told a Los Angeles Times reporter, his eyes brightening behind large, owl-eyed glass frames. "It's an honest word."

In 1985 Mr. Maloof became the first craftsman to receive a MacArthur fellowship; and despite such recognition, he declined to identify himself as an artist. His autobiography was titled Sam Maloof: Woodworker.

Death Maloof died at the age of 93 on May 21, 2009, at his home in the Alta Loma section of Rancho Cucamonga, California.