The influential designer Jane Thompson passed away on Tuesday. Working fluidly across the fields of design, urbanism, and architecture, Thompson left a lasting mark on American visual culture.
Thompson started her career as the assistant curator at the Museum of Modern Art, then led by Philip Johnson. Afterwards, she helmed Industrial Design Magazine.
Thompson worked on the revitalization of Boston's Quincy Market alongside her husband, architect Benjamin Thompson. Other urban projects included the Chicago Navy Pier and the Grand Central Business District in New York.
One of Thompson's most influential endeavors was assisting her husband in operating the retail stores Design Research (D/R). Bring European designers like Alvar Aalto and Marikmekko into the United States, she helped introduce a generation of Americans to Scandinavian design. In a 2000 survey, D/R was named the number one design store, even after it had been closed for 22 years.
[Correction: originally this article credited Thompson with creating D/R. She assisted with the store but was not responsible for its creation.]
1 Comment
RIP Jane Thompson!
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