Modern Art Sideboard attributed to William Watting for Fristho, 1960s

Sideboard by William Watting for Fristho, Modern Art, 1950-60s A sideboard with a beautiful design, made by William Watting for Fristho (The Netherlands). Left and right side a layout of drawers. with in the top drawers a double handle and 2 drawers looks like 1. Underneath drawers in 3 rows below each other. The sideboard is raised on 4 brass legs. The sideboard has a slightly round shaped sides. 2 working, but different keys present. William Watting (1900-1973) was an American furniture designer. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and after WW II he moved to Denmark. Fristho was founded in 1921 in Huizum (The Netherlands), the Friesche Stoel- en Houtwarenfabriek. In 1924 the company moved to Franeker. Fristho soon found itself at the forefront of furniture design and design. In the years 1950-1970, Fristho made it to the absolute top 5 of Dutch furniture design and Fristho also internationally represented the movement of the ‘mid century modern’. In 1945, the eponymous son of the founder became director of Fristho: Arnould Jean Baptist Merckx (1912-2006). Merckx had a strong international orientation and recognized the potential of Scandinavian and especially Danish design at an early stage. In the mid-1950s, the Danish-American designer William Watting designed the first ‘mid century modern’ furniture for Fristho, under the series name ‘modern art’. The Danish influence was reinforced around 1960 by the recruitment of the Danish designer Inger Klingenberg. Around 1960, Fristho’s international orientation was at its peak. The measurement is 85 cm high, 160 cm wide and the depth is 47,5 cm. 1 Inch = 2,54 cm.