Wendell Castle

(American, 1932–2018)

Wendell Castle was an American furniture designer and sculptor. Known as a significant figure in the American Studio Furniture group, his elegant and whimsical works remain sought-after examples of the movement. His pieces are characterized by their bold color and integration of a variety of different materials, including wood, fiberglass, and plastic. Born on November 6, 1932 in Emporia, KS, Castle studied at the University of Kansas, earning his BFA in industrial design in 1958 and his MFA in sculpture in 1961. That same year, he moved to Rochester, NY, where he began teaching at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of American Craftsmen. In 1980, the artist opened the Wendell Castle School in Scottsville, NY, where he passed on his techniques of woodworking and craftsmanship. Castle died on January 20, 2018 in Scottsville, NY. Today, his works can be found in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.