William R. Hoffman

1893 - 1953

William Hoffmann, born October 29, 1893 in New York, showed an early talent for drawing, which was not appreciated by the staff at Morris High School. He entered W. & J. Sloane as an office boy while he studied architecture at Cooper Union’s evening classes. Following WWI he returned to Sloane’s, as a member of their designing staff, where he designed furniture and interiors for New York homes, public buildings, yachts, etc. In 1920-21 he won the Beaux Arts Institute honor awards in interior architecture and furniture design. He came to Grand Rapids in 1921 as a designer for Robert W. Irwin Co., and designed production furniture for Royal and Phoenix firms. Later he worked freelance, and also worked with the reorganized Berkey & Gay Co. In 1938 he was president of the Grand Rapids Designers Association. He died in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 18, 1953.