Set of Six "New" Chairs by George Nakashima, 1960
View Similar Items
Set of Six "New" Chairs by George Nakashima, 1960
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)Depth: 21.75 in (55.25 cm)Seat Height: 17.75 in (45.09 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Costa Mesa, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU92201210286
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.
- Edward Wormley 5499 Lounge Chairs for Dunbar, United States, c.1960By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Costa Mesa, CAEdward Wormley 5499 Lounge Chairs for Dunbar, United States, c.1960. This pair has been expertly restored in New Old Stock Orinoka Mills Fabric originally specified by Dunbar. Each...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Milo Baughman Walnut Tambour Door Credenza for Glenn of California, c.1960By Glenn of California, Milo BaughmanLocated in Costa Mesa, CAMilo Baughman Walnut Tambour Door Credenza for Glenn of California, c.1960. This piece has been professionally restored.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
- Raymor Ceramic Table Lamp, Italy, c.1960By RaymorLocated in Costa Mesa, CARaymor Italian Ceramic Table Lamp, Italy, c.1960. Signed " R 11119 Raymor Italy " to the bottom. Measures: 24.63" to the socket 18.5" to the top of the ceramic 6.13" diameter ...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
- TOYO Modernist Ceramic Ikebana Vase, Japan, c.1960By ToyoLocated in Costa Mesa, CATOYO Modernist Ceramic Ikebana Vase, Japan, c.1960. Retains the original TOYO label to the bottom.Category
20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Daniel Loomis Valenza Handcrafted Walnut Covered Bowl, c.1960By Daniel Loomis ValenzaLocated in Costa Mesa, CADaniel Loomis Valenza Handcrafted Walnut Covered Bowl, c.1960.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsWalnut
- Jens Quistgaard Rosewood Box for Dansk, Denmark, c.1960By Dansk, Jens QuistgaardLocated in Costa Mesa, CAJens Quistgaard Lidded Rosewood Box for the Dansk Rare Wood Collection, Denmark, c.1960.Category
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
MaterialsWood
- George Nakashima Set of Six 'New' Dining ChairsBy George Nakashima Studio, George NakashimaLocated 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 - 1940s Straight Chair by George NakashimaBy Knoll, George NakashimaLocated 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 - Midcentury Set of 6 Dining Chairs by George NakashimaBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., George NakashimaLocated in BROOKLYN, NYA rare set of 6 model 206-W dining chairs in walnut designed by George Nakashima dining chairs. 'Origins' line, for John Widdicomb Furniture Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1950's. Black waln...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, 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 - "New" Dining Chairs by George Nakashima, United States, 1950sBy George NakashimaLocated in Antwerp, BE"New" dining chairs by George Nakashima - a modern take on the traditional English Windsor chair. Made with hickory spindles in the backrest and carefully carved seats, these chairs ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Set of Six Swedish Dining Chairs New UpholsteryBy Edmond J. SpenceLocated in Rockaway, NJNew upholstery Mid Century Swedish modern set of six dining room chairs by Edmund Spence.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
$8,800 / set
