Alexander Girard

Alexander Girard (May 24, 1907 – December 31, 1993), was an architect, interior designer, furniture designer, industrial designer and a textile designer. He was born in New York City to an American mother and a French-Italian father. He was raised in Florence, Italy and in 1917 he was sent as a boarder to Bedford Modern School in England leaving in 1924 to study architecture in London. After also graduating from the Royal School of Architecture in Rome, Girard refined his skills in both Florence and New York.

Girard is widely known for his contributions in the field of American textile design, particularly through his work for Herman Miller (1952 to 1975), where he created fabrics for the designs of George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames.

He and his wife Susan amassed a remarkable collection of artifacts consisting of folk art, popular art, toys, and textiles from around the world, which is displayed through the Girard Foundation.