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Gruen, Robert L. (1913 (date of birth) - 1999 (date of death))

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1913 (date of birth) - 1999 (date of death) - 1999

Biography

Robert L. Gruen was an American industrial designer and package designer based in New York City. He studied illustration at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and began his career as a set designer in 1935.

Gruen and his wife, Marian, opened a design firm in New York City in the late 1930s. Robert Gruen Associates provided product design, packaging design, and business interior design. The firm's clients included Sweden House, Inc., Parker Pen, Pan-American Coffee Bureau, Moniteau Mills, Etched Products Corporation, Marlin Firearms Company, and Cronin China Company.

Gruen designed glassware early in his career. In the 1940s and early 1950s, he designed glass tableware primarily for Sweden House, Inc. He was elected a Fellow of the International Designers' Institute in 1948 and served as its president in 1953 and 1954. He was also a founding member of the Package Designers' Council.

Gruen died in 1999.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Robert L. Gruen Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0061
Scope and Contents This small set of papers created by an industrial designer largely document his glass tableware designs for Sweden House, Inc. created in the 1940s. Materials include photographs Gruen's glassware, as well as and photocopies and photographs of his design drawings. The papers also include Sweden House, Inc. glassware advertisements and articles about Gruen and his design work in and beyond the glass industry. Of particular note is a charming press release about Gruen's interest in designing...
Dates: 1940-1990
Found in: The Rakow Research Library Manuscript Collection / Robert L. Gruen Papers

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