Robert Bliss, “Lady Murasaki’s Fan Chair,” 1993. Teak, suede. Collection of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Gift of the Artist.

Robert Bliss, “Lady Murasaki’s Fan Chair,” 1993. Teak, suede. Collection of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Gift of the Artist.

Robert Bliss (b. 1921 Seattle, WA – d. 2018 Salt Late City) 

Robert Bliss studied architecture at BMC with Lawrence Kocher and design with Josef Albers. He received a degree in Architecture from MIT, taught at the University of Minnesota, and then served as Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The award-winning architecture and design firm, Bliss & Campbell, formed with his wife Anna Campbell, concentrated primarily on residential projects as well as exhibition design for museums.

Lady Murasaki’s Fan Chair is named for a Japanese writer named Muraski Shikibu. She lived during Japan’s Heian Period (794-1192 C.E.), a time of peace, harmony, and excellence in the arts for the Japanese aristocracy. Murasaki’s masterpiece, The Tale of Genji, is recognized as the world’s first novel and the greatest work of Japanese literature.