James Leonard and Project X

A rich and complex story of conflict between design and industry, and an unknown designer poised to revolutionize the world.Theintriguing life story of a self-taught engineer and designer who producedworld-class art in anonymity opens with the discovery of a rare 1948 catalogueof modern furniture. Working in the same British factory for 50 years, JamesLeonard used arevolutionary cast aluminum process invented during World War II. His postwar ProjectX was so successful it established a monopoly within a year withstriking chairs and desks in British schools, imported by Knoll to the UnitedStates. But his most beautiful design, the X202"Armchair" remains unknown. By contrast, the paired "StudentChair," the X200, sold over a million copies, the mostsuccessful chair in British history. The central mystery of the chairs’contrasting fates involves his boss's dismissal as 'unfit' at the peak ofsuccess, the marvel of the Mosquito fighter/bomber,obsession with a winning racecar, mysterious double lives, a financial scandal,and the eternal battle between art and business. As Wyeth details Leonard'sdouble life among the avant-garde and the unprecedented achievement ofProject X, he reveals forces that compromise great art, justas he shows James Leonard to be a superlatively talented designer. To analyzehis designs requires an approach closer to TJ Clark on Cezanne or other arthistorical works that unfold a universe through small details, coincidences,and associations. This fascinating micro-history will intrigue the everydayreader as much as design historians and specialists.AuthorPeter Wyeth has been called "the original forensic archaeologistof design, solving the crimes of under appreciation."