Gordon Russell

Gordon Russell was a pioneer of modern design and in particular modern furniture. Although born in London, he was raised in the Cotswolds, where he would spend most of his life. Educated at the Campden Grammar School, his parents owned the nearby Lygon Arms Inn.

Russell’s father enjoyed old furniture, and built a repair shop at the back of the Lygon Arms, and the young Gordon would spend what time he could in there and soon his love of furniture began. Russell served with the Worcestershire Regiment during World War I, and in 1918 was awarded the Military Cross. After the War he started designing and building his own furniture and eventually started his own business, which expanded throughout the 1920s and 30s with a factory and showroom in London.

Russell joined the committee of the Board of Trade, and between 1943-47 was chairman of the Board of Trade Design Panel. During World War II he played a big part in developing Utility Furniture and eventually became chairman of the Utility Furniture Design Panel. He was one of the founder members of the Council of Industrial Design and was its chairman from 1947 until his retirement in 1959. Despite being retired, Russell still served of the Board of many varied organisations including the Design Panel of the British Railways Board, the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal College of Art and the Arts Council. He was also the first chairman of the Crafts Council of Great Britain, and in 1955 received a knighthood.