George Nakashima 'New Chair'
View Similar Items
George Nakashima 'New Chair'
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 18.75 in (47.63 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)Seat Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1990
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: C13-FDF4481stDibs: 13122379482143
George Nakashima
A master woodworker and M.I.T.-trained architect, George Nakashima was the leading light of the American Studio furniture movement. Along with Wharton Esherick, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, Nakashima was an artisan who disdained industrial methods and materials in favor of a personal, craft-based approach to the design. What sets Nakashima apart is the poetic style of his work, his reverence for wood and the belief that his furniture could evince — as he put it in the title of his 1981 memoir — The Soul of a Tree.
Born in Spokane, Washington, to Japanese immigrants, Nakashima traveled widely after college, working and studying in Paris, Japan and India, and at every stop he absorbed both modernist and traditional design influences. The turning point in Nakashima’s career development came in the United States in 1942, when he was placed in an internment camp for Asian-Americans in Idaho. There, Nakashima met a master woodcarver who tutored him in Japanese crafting techniques. A former employer won Nakashima’s release and brought him to bucolic New Hope, Pennsylvania, where Nakashima set up a studio and worked for the rest of his life.
Nakashima’s singular aesthetic is best captured in his custom-made tables and benches — pieces that show off the grain, burls and whorls in a plank of wood. He left the “free edge,” or natural contour, of the slab un-planed, and reinforced fissures in the wood with “butterfly” joints. Almost all Nakashima seating pieces have smooth, milled edges. Nakashima also contracted with large-scale manufacturers to produce carefully supervised editions of his designs. Knoll has offered his Straight chair — a modern take on the spindle-backed Windsor chair — since 1946; the now-defunct firm Widdicomb-Mueller issued the Shaker-inspired Origins collection in the 1950s.
Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 gave Nakashima his single largest commission: a 200-piece suite for his suburban New York estate. Today, Nakashima furniture is collected by both the staid and the fashionable: his work sits in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in the homes of Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Diane von Furstenberg and the late Steve Jobs.
- Finn Juhl Reading ChairBy Finn JuhlLocated in Los Angeles, CAFinn Juhl "Bovirke" reading chair, 1950s.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Chairs
Price Upon Request - Pair of Ion ChairsBy Gideon KramerLocated in Los Angeles, CAGideon Kramer Ion chairs, pair American Desk Corporation USA, 1974 upholstery, fiberglass, chrome-plated steelCategory
Vintage 1970s American Chairs
MaterialsChrome, Steel
Price Upon Request - Asparagus Chair by Livio de MarchiBy Livio De MarchiLocated in Los Angeles, CACarved asparagus side chair by Livio de MarchiCategory
20th Century Italian Side Chairs
MaterialsWood
Price Upon Request - Pair of Chairs by Van Keppel GreenLocated in Los Angeles, CACalifornia: pair of chrome and string chairs by Van Keppel Green.Category
Vintage 1950s American Chairs
MaterialsChrome
Price Upon Request - Paul McCobb Side ChairsBy Paul McCobbLocated in Los Angeles, CAPaul McCobb thin brass frame side chairs (3 available).Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsLeather
$1,950 / item - Pacific Iron Side ChairBy Pacific IronLocated in Los Angeles, CAPacific iron 1940s side chair.Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsBronze
$5,500
- George Nakashima Studio Grass Seated ChairBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Los Angeles, CAGrass-seated chair from circa 1950s production in black walnut by George Nakashima for Nakashima Studios with original seagrass seat. Two chairs available; priced individually. Meas...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWalnut, Seagrass
$6,500 / item - George Nakashima Straight Chair for KnollBy Knoll, George NakashimaLocated in Los Angeles, CADesigned by master craftsman George Nakashima for Knoll in 1946, the N19 chair was intended as a mass-produced counterpoint to the Nakashima Studio’s popular “Straight Chair...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- Pair of Mira Chairs by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George NakashimaBy George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in Berlin, DEPair of Mira Chairs by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George Nakashima. The chairs are in black walnut and can be signed. Production lead time is ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- Asian American George Suyeoka Studio Prototype Chair in the Style of NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Cincinnati, OHA studio crafted oiled black American walnut sculptural chair in the manner of George Nakashima designed and made by Japanese American George Suyeoka, f...Category
Mid-20th Century American American Craftsman Chairs
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- Pair Mira Nakashima Conoid Lounge Chairs After George Nakashima, 2000By George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in Rockaway, NJPair Mira Nakashima conoid lounge chairs after George Nakashima 2000.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- Rare Early Pair of George Nakashima "New Chairs"By George NakashimaLocated in Hopewell, NJAn iconic pair of early circa 1952 George Nakashima "New Chairs" masterfully constructed out of walnut. Letter of authenticity included.Category
Vintage 1950s American American Craftsman Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
$10,500 / set
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
JF Chen Moves Stools Out of the Corner and into the Spotlight
In Los Angeles, dealer Joel Chen gives the often clever and always versatile seats some long-overdue attention.
In L.A., Gallerist JF Chen Has Long Championed Eclectic Blue-Chip Design
Now working alongside his daughter Bianca, dealer Joel Chen has presented a most covetable array of antiques, art and contemporary creations for more than 40 years.