Max Gottschalk was born in 1909 in St. Louis, Missouri. His design career started in 1939 (after graduating from Washington University) on the Island of Newfoundland where he was appointed Chief Technical Advisor of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Reconstruction and tasked with designing furniture for the community of Markland. After the war Gottschalk returned to the United States working briefly with Teague Design before settling in Tucson, Arizona and becoming a Professor of Industrial Design.

Max Gottschalk designed everything from rotary card files and paper towel holders to refrigerator cases and electronic test equipment for Hughes Aircraft, but his modern furniture designs stand out among his oeuvre. His works, never mass-produced, feature a compelling mix of natural and industrial materials.