Last but not least, Merrill describes the decorator-designers who specialized in creating total environments. Instead of operating their own workshops, they collaborated with small networks of local craftsmen and furniture makers. This more tenuous connection with their craft did not hinder them from realizing highly original furnishings and interiors. The silent-movie star turned decorator William Haines almost single-handedly invented the Hollywood Regency style through his assemblages of bespoke furniture, antiques and interior treatments for Joan Crawford and other film celebrities. Paul László, a Hungarian refugee, was one of the major forces behind California modernism, with its simple, soft lines, deep upholstery, audacious colors and rich textures.

Since money is what makes markets, these essays often include recent prices. At Design Miami 2007, for example, Reform Gallery, which had long championed Blunk’s work, sold a table of his for $250,000. Also last year, the Bathers Cabinet, a unique work by the LaVernes, fetched $91,000 at Sotheby’s. For serious collectors of midcentury American design, this information, along with the book’s finely drawn profiles, make Modern Americana a must-have. "Design, Redefined" originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's October 2008 Table of Contents.