Sam Maloof (January 24, 1916 – May 21, 2009) was a furniture designer and woodworker. Maloof's work is in the collections of several major American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Maloof, the first craftsman to receive a MacArthur fellowship, was described by The New York Times as "a central figure in the postwar American crafts movement". Early life and education Maloof was born Samuel Solomon Maloof, a member of the large Maalouf family, in Chino, California, to Lebanese immigrants. Maloof's father, Slimen Nasif Nadir Maloof, and mother, Anisse, had immigrated to the U.S. in 1905 from Lebanon, which was at that time a region of the Ottoman Empire. Maloof learned to speak Spanish from a Mexican-born housekeeper and Arabic from his parents even before he learned English. He was engaged in woodworking even as a child, made a broad spatula for his mother for turning bread, carved dollhouse furniture, cars and other toys. He attended high school first at Chaffey High School in Ontario, California, where he took his first woodworking class and was recognized by his art teacher as having extraordinary skill. Later he attended Chino High School. Career Shortly after completing high school, Maloof began working in the art department of the Vortox Manufacturing Company in Claremont, California. He was drafted into the United States Army on October 11, 1941. Maloof was soon promoted from private to master sergeant while doing display work in Alaska. He was one of 35,000 WW II troops sent to protect Alaska from the Japanese, an engagement the Allies expected to be a "bloodbath." In actuality, the Japanese forces had left Kiska before the Allies arrived. Maloof was one of the few soldiers who had a camera, and while not trained as a photographer, Maloof took 1,800 photographs which were "alive and clear and informative." After completing his service, Maloof left the army in 1945 to return to Southern California. In 1946, Maloof became reacquainted with Millard Sheets while he was doing screen printing for Angelus-Pacific. Sheets invited Maloof to come to Claremont, California to work for him and become his studio assistant. In 1947, while waiting for Millard Sheets at Scripps College, Maloof met Alfreda Ward. Alfreda was on leave from the her job at the Indian Service where she developed and