Set of Safari Armchairs attributed to Tito Agnoli, 1970s

Lighting and furniture designer architect Tito Agnoli was born in Lima, Peru in 1931. With family ties in Italy, he moved there to study in the years after the Second World War. First studying paint under the guidance of modernist artist Mario Sironi, Agnoli enrolled in Polytechnic University of Milan in 1949, to study architecture. Specializing in industrial design, Agnoli interned for famous designers Gio Ponti and Carlo De Carli after graduating.

Throughout the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, Agnoli designed prolifically in the fields of furniture and lighting. He created seating designs for luxury Italian brands such as Arflex, Bonacina, Matteo Grassii, Poltrona Frau, Ycami, and lighting designs for Oluce. His most notable designs include the Model 9000 Sofa from Arflex (1969); the sculptural wicker P3 Lounge Chair and P3S Lounge Chair, stainless steel Sorbet Chair, and Punto e Virgola Chair for Pierantonio Bonacina (all 1960s); and the Korium Chair for Matteo Grassi (1970s). In 1974, Agnoli began to collaborate with Poltrona Frau, designing many leather sofas and lounge chairs that were very commercially successful.

Angoli taught a course in Professional Design at the Cesare Correnti Institute in Milan. Over the course of his career he was nominated twice for the prestigious Compasso d’Oro award and won a gold medal at the Neocon exhibition in Chicago in 1986.

Tito Agnoli passed away in Milan in February 2012.