Ward Bennett Sasaki
Vintage 1970s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vases
Crystal, Lead
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Crystal
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Cane, Oak
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Ash
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Ash
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Wood
People Also Browsed
2010s Indian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Nickel
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs ...
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Wall Lights and Sconces
Metal, Brass, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Travertine
2010s American Console Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern End Tables
Travertine, Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern End Tables
Walnut
Late 20th Century Japanese Crystal Serveware
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Rustic Night Stands
Wood
2010s British Scandinavian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Mohair, Velvet, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Travertine
Recent Sales
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1980s Japanese Modern Glass
Glass
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Crystal
Vintage 1980s Japanese Post-Modern Vases
Crystal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Ash
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Cane, Oak
Vintage 1970s Japanese Post-Modern Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Crystal
Vintage 1970s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Art Glass
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cherry
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Mohair
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Bronze
Vintage 1970s Glass
Crystal
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Brass, Iron
20th Century Tableware
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Cane, Oak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases
Crystal
20th Century Korean Tableware
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Japanese Post-Modern Barware
Crystal, Lead
Ward Bennett for sale on 1stDibs
Ward Bennett created everything from interiors and furniture to textiles and flatware. The unsung New York City-born modernist designer drew on the work of Le Corbusier and Auguste Rodin, studied art with the likes of Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann and counted legendary American luxury house Tiffany & Co. among his clients. For decades, Bennett created and filled spaces that were elegant, minimalist and deeply appealed to everyone who laid eyes on them.
Bennett left home and school at the young age of 13. He found work in Manhattan’s Garment District, and within a few years, Bennett traveled to Europe on behalf of a clothing manufacturer to gather ideas for modern garments. He lived abroad as a young man, and when he returned to New York, during the early 1940s, he assisted fashion entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie as a window dresser.
Bennett would also go on to share a sculpture studio with artist Louise Nevelson. He ventured into the world of jewelry design, creating necklaces, bracelets and other pieces with Richard Pousette-Dart. The Whitney Museum of American Art exhibited his sculptures, and it wouldn’t be long before the Museum of Modern Art included Bennett’s personal adornments with accessories by the likes of Alexander Calder, Harry Bertoia and Anni Albers in its 1946 “Modern Handmade Jewelry” show.
Bennett didn’t take the plunge into interior design work until he was 30 years old — his inaugural project was an apartment in Manhattan and his clients were family members. He had no formal training in architecture or decorating — and would ultimately design a mere handful of houses in his life — so for his inviting leather office chairs, marble-topped tables and sleek storage cabinets, Bennett relied only on what he learned in the fashion world. Soon, every time he redecorated his own home — an elaborate apartment comprising former maids’ quarters in New York City’s magnificent Dakota building — it earned splashy coverage in the newspapers.
Bennett’s client list eventually included David Rockefeller and Chase Manhattan Bank, Tiffany & Co., Sasaki, Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli, and others, and during the 1970s he became in-house designer for Brickel Associates, a role that would endure for more than two decades. His work is on permanent view at the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Ward Bennett seating, decorative objects and more.