Born in 1926, Richard Schultz joined Knoll Associates in 1951 to work with Harry Bertoia, after studying at Iowa State University and the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Florence Knoll asked him to design an outdoor collection for her home in Miami, which became the classic 1966 Collection. In addition to his work for Knoll, he designed an office system for Stow/Davis. He also taught basic design at the Philadelphia College of Art and had a one-man show of his sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. He left Knoll in 1971 to work freelance and set up Richard Schultz Designs with his son Peter in 1992, continuing to make his designs once Knoll had discontinued them. Knoll bought Richard Schultz Designs in 2012, bringing the journey of his designs full circle.