Silas Kopf (born 1949) is an American

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

maker specializing in the art of

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of wood veneer, veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns or designs. The technique may be applied to case furn ...

. Kopf graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1972 with a degree in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and soon began designing and making furniture. In 1988, he received a Craftsman's Fellowship from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, and used the opportunity to study traditional marquetry technique at the

École Boulle The École Boulle is a college of fine Arts and Crafts, arts and crafts and applied arts in Paris, France. It is located at 9-21, rue Pierre-Bourdan in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, 12th arrondissement of Paris (France). It accepts students a ...

, an institute of interior architecture and design, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His major projects include several

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

s commissioned by

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

and benches, desks, and cabinets for private collections and museums. His designs frequently incorporate floral depictions, other images from nature, and ''

trompe-l'œil ; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...

'' concepts. He first became interested in marquetry because he hoped for an alternative, less consumerist lifestyle. Kopf was named Master of the Medium by the James Renwick Alliance of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

for 2015. This biennial award recognizes American craftspeople in the fields of wood, ceramics, glass, metal, and fiber. Since 1978, he has worked in

Easthampton, Massachusetts Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The city is in the Pioneer Valley, near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 census. History E ...

, where he continues to build and design. He has an assistant, Tom Coughlin, who also designs and builds

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

References

External links

*
Kopf's Business Website: "Home - Silas Kopf Woodworking - Inlaid Wood Marquetry Studio Furniture"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopf, Silas 1949 births Living people American furniture makers Trompe-l'œil artists Princeton University alumni