Sam Maloof

Sam Maloof was born to a Lebanese family in Chino, California, in 1916. His journey to woodworking began at a young age, crafting a spatula for his mother and other small items. His woodworking teacher at Chaffey High School recognized his skill and encouraged his work. After completing his military service in 1945, Maloof moved to the art colony of Claremont, California, where he worked with Millard Sheets as his studio assistant. By 1949 Maloof was newly married to Alfreda Ward and in need of furniture to fill their Ontario home. He designed and built his own furniture and subsequently began taking orders from other clients. At a time when other artists were embracing mass production techniques to bring their work to large amounts of customers, Maloof preferred to work on commissions himself. He created only 80 works a year (with the only rush orders allowed for cradles) later expanding to a few shop assistants who carry on his ethos of quality today.

His work is deceptively simple with a signature sculptural quality that provides ergonomic comfort with master craftsmanship. His designs, in particular rocking chairs, were often duplicated and inspired many woodworkers that came after him. Maloof made his first rocking chair in 1958. The sculptural quality of the rockers is unmatched and though they may follow the same general form, each one is unique. Maloof famously created a rocker to ease President Kennedy’s back pain as he heard the president was a rocking chair enthusiast (sadly, Kennedy was assassinated before the chair was delivered). Subsequent Presidents Carter and Reagan obtained rockers from Maloof in addition to Vice Presidents and other officials.