Phillip Lloyd Powell, a self-taught furniture designer who, working largely out of the public eye, produced elegant, sculptural pieces that are today highly prized by collectors, died on Sunday in Langhorne, Pa. He was 88 and lived in New Hope, Pa.

Mr. Powell’s work has been shown at America House in New York. Mr. Powell died after a fall, said George Gilpin, a friend and business associate. No immediate family members survive.

Though Mr. Powell’s work is often described as midcentury modern, it routinely transcended the cool, clean lines associated with that style. His sinuous, textural furniture, which he painstakingly hand-carved from gleaming woods, often recalled forms from the natural world. A series of large walnut screens begun in the 1960s, for instance, features twining openwork that suggests a modern twist on Art Nouveau tendrils.

at the michener
pieces at merrill antiques
- bill 3-29-2008 4:54 pm [add a comment]

When walking around in New Hope and Lambertville, we take our celebrities in stride. You may have sat behind the renowned furniture craftsman Phillip Lloyd Powell in a booth at Sneddon’s or locked your bicycle next to his. Perhaps you stood near him at Rago’s Auction and even bid on one of his 1950’s walnut tables.
Phill Powell arrived in New Hope in 1947, with the dream of designing and handcrafting his own furniture and filled with the enthusiasm that still energizes his work and personality in the 50th year of his career.

- mark 3-30-2008 3:21 am [add a comment]