Envelope, The Four Seasons Restaurant

When the Four Seasons Restaurant opened in 1959 it established a new standard in fine dining in New York. The restaurant, designed by architects Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, it featured furniture by both architects and Eero Saarinen and serviceware by L. Garth Huxtable and Ada Louise Huxtable. But it was a young independent graphic designer based in Brooklyn who produced the iconic graphic identitya logo of four trees, one representing each season. Through Emil Antonuccis design the seasons began with spring, evoked in a pink tree of budding dots. Summer was a leafy green tree in full verdure. Autumn was a red tree, with more visible branches to represent that partial loss of leaves. Winter was shown as a brown tree, its branches bare and cheerfully exposed. The four trees sat atop the restaurants name THE FOUR SEASONS printed in the Chisel typeface. The logo was emblazoned across stationery, coat check tickets, and menus. As the seasons changed, the trees were also used in isolation on matchbooks, napkins, ashtrays, and more.
This series of graphic works was a selection of items sent to graphic designer John R. Scotford, Jr.for Darmouth Universitys Hopkins Center by the Restaurant Association at his request in 1960. As the request was made in the winter, certain items feature only the spiky winter tree.

Envelope, The Four Seasons Restaurant; Designed by Emil Antonucci (American, 1929 - 2006); letterpress on paper; H x W: 9.8 × 22.5 cm (3 7/8 × 8 7/8 in.); Gift of Alexandra Lange; 2024-2-8