Set of Six Grass Seated Chairs by George Nakashima
View Similar Items
Set of Six Grass Seated Chairs by George Nakashima
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Maker)
- Design:Grass-Seated Chair
- Dimensions:Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)Depth: 20.5 in (52.07 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1194218088791
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.
- Set of Six "Meribel" Chairs by Charlotte PerriandBy Charlotte PerriandLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of six "Meribel" chairs by Charlotte Perriand. Made in France, circa 1950s. Literature: J. Barsac, "Charlotte Perriand, Un art d'ha...Category
Vintage 1950s French Chairs
MaterialsRush, Ash
$42,000 / set - Set of Six Stacking Chairs by Robert Mallet StevensBy Robert Mallet-StevensLocated in Los Angeles, CARare set of six low stackable chairs by Robert Mallet-Stevens in original condition with strong patina to the finish. literature: Robert Mallet-Stevens: l'Oeuvre Complète, Centre Po...Category
Vintage 1930s French Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$18,000 / set - Early Set of Four Superleggera Chairs by Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CAHistorical set of four Superleggera chairs by Gio Ponti with original caning and black lacquered wood frame. Made in Italy circa 1957.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Wood
$10,200 / set - Set of Eight "T Chairs" by Katavolos, Littell and Kelley for LaverneBy Douglas Kelly, Ross Littell and William KatavolosLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of eight patinated leather T-Chairs by William Katavolos, Ross Littel and Douglas Kelley for Laverne Originals. Made in USA, circa 1952.Category
Vintage 1950s American Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Oak Dining Chairs by Guillerme et ChambronBy Guillerme et ChambronLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of four sculptural oak dining chairs by Guillerme et Chambron. Made in France circa 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s French Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsOak
$9,600 / set - Tulip Chair by Pierre GuaricheBy Pierre GuaricheLocated in Los Angeles, CACast aluminium "Tulip" chair by Pierre Guariche. Made in France, circa 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s Chairs
MaterialsAluminum, Iron
- George Nakashima Grass Seat ChairsBy George NakashimaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA set of 4 Grass Seat Chairs by George Nakashima. Nice patina to both wood and grass seats. Original owners name availableCategory
Vintage 1960s American Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
$27,000 / set - 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 - 1940s Straight Chair by George NakashimaBy George Nakashima, KnollLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn early production straight chair with spindles and a shaped seat on four splayed, tapered dowel legs.Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsHickory
$7,200 / item - George Nakashima Set of Six 'New' Dining ChairsBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Waalwijk, NLGeorge Nakashima for Nakashima Studio, set of six 'New' dining chairs, American black walnut, hickory, United States, design 1956, production 1961 With regard to its essential form,...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
$53,500 / set - 8 Grass Seated Dining Chairs by Mira Nakashima based on a G. Nakashima designBy George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in Berlin, DESet of 8 grass-seated chairs by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George Nakashima, USA. The square seat typically found in walnut and woven sea-gras...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Ch...
MaterialsSeagrass, Walnut
- Set of Four Captain Chairs by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Atlanta, GAA wonderful set of four American black Walnut 'Captain" chairs handcrafted by George Nakashima in his New Hope Studio in 1976. These chairs were designed with creative exposed joints...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWalnut
$23,000 / set