Sam Maloof

Maalouf

Maalouf is the surname of one family that encompasses over 250,000 sons and daughters who share one single ancestor and a detailed family tree for nearly five centuries.-Origins:The Maalouf family belongs to the group of tribes known as Ghassanids that emigrated from Yemen to Houran...

(born Samuel Solomon Maloof) (January 24, 1916 - May 21, 2009) was a furniture

Furniture

Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...

 designer and woodworker. He was born in Chino, California

Chino, California

Chino is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located in the western end of the Riverside-San Bernardino Area and it is easily accessible via the Chino Valley and Pomona freeways....

, USA, to parents who emigrated to the United States from Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

. He attended high school first at Chaffey High School

Chaffey High School

Chaffey High School is a public secondary school in Ontario, California. It is one of the eleven schools of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District. The school rests on approximately , making it one of the largest high schools by area in California....

 in Ontario, California

Ontario, California

Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...

, where he took his first woodworking class and was recognized by his art teacher as having extraordinary skill. Later he attended Chino High School

Chino High School

Chino High School , located in Chino, California, USA, is one of the four regular high schools in the Chino Valley Unified School District. The school was established in 1897, making it one of the oldest schools in Southern California...

. Shortly after completing high school, he began working in the art department of the Vortox Manufacturing Company in Claremont, California

Claremont, California

Claremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its...

. He was drafted into the United States Army on October 11, 1941. After serving in the Pacific theater and then transferring to a post in Alaska, Maloof left the army in 1945 to return to Southern California.

Maloof married Alfreda Louise Ward on June 27, 1948 and the couple moved into a house at 921 Plaza Serena, Ontario, California where Sam set up a furniture workshop in the garage. Mostly from necessity, Maloof designed and built a suite of furniture for his home using salvaged materials. Commissioned pieces followed, and from 1949-1952 Maloof continued working in the garage of his Ontario home. In 1953, Maloof relocated to Alta Loma, California

Alta Loma, Rancho Cucamonga, California

Alta Loma is one of three formerly unincorporated areas that became part of the city of Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States in 1977. The community is located in the foothills of the south face of the San Gabriel Mountain range, near Cucamonga Peak and Mount Baldy. It is located in the...

 where he built a studio to continue making furniture.

Maloof's work is in the collections of several major American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....

, the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...

, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In 1985 he was awarded a MacArthur "Genius" grant. Presidents Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 and Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 have both owned Maloof rockers.

Sam Maloof resided in Alta Loma, California, a neighborhood community in the City of Rancho Cucamonga

Rancho Cucamonga, California

Rancho Cucamonga is a suburban city in San Bernardino County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,269, up from 127,743 at the 2000 census. L. Dennis Michael was elected as Mayor on November 2, 2010. Jack Lam is the City Manager...

. On a former citrus orchard are his home, his furniture shops and the site of the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts.

He was described by the Smithsonian Institution as "America's most renowned contemporary furniture craftsman" and People magazine dubbed him "The Hemingway of Hardwood." But his business card always said "woodworker." "I like the word," he told a Los Angeles Times reporter, his eyes brightening behind large, owl-eyed glass frames. "It's an honest word."

In 1985 Mr. Maloof became the first craftsman to receive a MacArthur fellowship

MacArthur Fellows Program

The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...

; and despite such recognition, he declined to identify himself as an artist. His autobiography was titled Sam Maloof: Woodworker.

External links

• "A Visit with Sam Maloof" - D.J. Marks
• Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts
• Gallery of Pictures of Projects Inspired by Sam Maloof showcased in Fine Woodworking
  Fine Woodworking
  -Editorial style:The magazine's editorial direction has always been to focus on the very best of woodworking techniques at the highest level of skill. There has always a blend of articles from hands-on techniques, complex theory behind timber, finishes or tools, through to sheer showcase admiration...
  
   magazine
• Video Library: A Woodworking Experience with Sam Maloof - at the Wood Working Channel
• Sam Maloof dies at 93; designer and builder of simple, beautiful furniture-Los Angeles Times
• Sam Maloof dies at 93; A look inside his workshop
• Sam Maloof: 1916-2009 Fine Woodworking
  Fine Woodworking
  -Editorial style:The magazine's editorial direction has always been to focus on the very best of woodworking techniques at the highest level of skill. There has always a blend of articles from hands-on techniques, complex theory behind timber, finishes or tools, through to sheer showcase admiration...
  
  magazine's tribute to Sam Maloof with photos and video

• Location of Maloof home, workshop, and foundation 34°9′40.7"N 117°36′57.2"W (34.1613, -117.6159)