Dunbar Janus Lounge Chair by Edward Wormley
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Width: 27 in (68.58 cm)Depth: 27 in (68.58 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1957
- Condition:Reupholstered. Refinished.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8244233761582
Edward Wormley
As the longtime director of design for the Dunbar furniture company, Edward Wormley was, along with such peers as George Nelson at Herman Miller Inc., and Florence Knoll of Knoll Inc., one of the leading forces in bringing modern design into American homes in the mid-20th century. Not an axiomatic modernist, Wormley deeply appreciated traditional design, and consequently his work has an understated warmth and a timeless quality that sets it apart from other furnishings of the era.
Wormley was born in rural Illinois and as a teenager took correspondence courses from the New York School of Interior Design. He later attended the Art Institute of Chicago but ran out of money for tuition before he could graduate. Marshall Field hired Wormley in 1930 to design a line of reproduction 18th-century English furniture; the following year he was hired by the Indiana-based Dunbar, where he quickly distinguished himself. It was a good match.
Dunbar was an unusual firm: it did not use automated production systems; its pieces were mostly hand-constructed. For his part, Wormley did not use metal as a major component of furniture; he liked craft elements such as caned seatbacks, tambour drawers, or the woven-wood cabinet fronts seen on his Model 5666 sideboard of 1956. He designed two lines for Dunbar each year — one traditional, one modern — until 1944, by which time the contemporary pieces had become the clear best sellers.
Many of Wormley’s signature pieces — chairs, sofas, tables and more — are modern interpretations of traditional forms. His 1946 Riemerschmid Chair — an example is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art — recapitulates a late 19th-century German design. The long, slender finials of his Model 5580 dining chairs are based on those of Louis XVI chairs; his Listen-to-Me Chaise (1948) has a gentle Rococo curve; the “Precedent” line that Wormley designed for Drexel Furniture in 1947 is a simplified, pared-down take on muscular Georgian furniture. But he could invent new forms, as his Magazine table of 1953, with its bent wood pockets, and his tiered Magazine Tree (1947), both show. And Wormley kept his eye on design currents, creating a series of tables with tops that incorporate tiles and roundels by the great modern ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler.
As the vintage items on 1stDibs demonstrate, Edward Wormley conceived of a subdued sort of modernism, designing furniture that fits into any decorating scheme and does not shout for attention.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: San Francisco, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Ib Kofod-Larsen "Seal" style Lounge ChairBy Ib Kofod-LarsenLocated in San Francisco, CAThe clear lined frame of this chair contrasts beautifully with the angled seating and gives the work an open and very photographical appearance. Due to the well chosen proportions and high quality of the design the Seal chair...Category
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBouclé, Oak
- The 1960s Westnofa Scoop Lounge Chair, a Danish Design DreamBy Adolf Relling and Rolf RastadLocated in San Francisco, CAForget stiff sofas and cookie-cutter chairs! This 1970s Westnofa lounge chair is an invitation to curl up and embrace the iconic scoop, Scandinavian style. Picture the sun-drenched g...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBouclé, Walnut
- Pair of Ingmar Relling Lounge ChairsBy Ingmar RellingLocated in San Francisco, CAStunning vintage armchairs in solid afromosia wood, designed by Ingmar Relling for Westnofa in the 1960s. The condition is superb throughout, we have had this newly upholstered in a...Category
Vintage 1960s Norwegian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsBouclé, Walnut
- Arne Jacobsen "Oxford" Chairs, Set of 8By Arne Jacobsen, Fritz HansenLocated in San Francisco, CAA set of 8 Oxford chairs that swivel in a vibrant blue Maharam fabric designed by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, Denmark. This is an example of the iconic design produced in 1971. ...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Jens Risom Midcentury Walnut & Cream Occasional ChairsBy Jens RisomLocated in San Francisco, CAPair of Jens Risom 1960s arm chairs. These examples have newly finished solid walnut frames with subtly tapered arms and have bean recently upholstered in a soft off-white leather.Category
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Mid-Century Modern Rosewood Dresser by WestnofaBy Westnofa FurnitureLocated in San Francisco, CAMidcentury Scandinavian Modern gentleman's wardrobe chest by Westnofa. This dresser features a tall bank of seven drawers flanked by two doors which open to reveal seven interior dra...Category
Mid-20th Century Norwegian Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsRosewood
- Janus Lounge Chairs by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILThe Edward Wormley 5701 chair for Dunbar's Janus Collection is a true masterpiece of mid-century modern design. This stunning chair is upholstered in a Holly Hunt's Great Plains heav...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Four Dunbar Janus Lounge Chairs by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA beautifully restored set of four matching Janus lounge chairs with walnut frames and green velvet upholstery. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsVelvet, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Janus Collection Lounge ChairBy Edward WormleyLocated in Middlesex, NJEdward Wormley for Dunbar Janus collection lounge chair.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Janus Collection Lounge ChairBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Southampton, NJJanus Collection lounge chair by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Ebonized sculpted walnut arms and legs with an exposed frame, and red upholstery with a button tufted back and curved seat...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Janus Collection Lounge Chairs, PairBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional pair of Janus Collection lounge chairs By Edward Wormley for Dunbar USA, 20th Century Ebonized sculpted walnut arms and legs with an exposed frame, and red up...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair of Edward J. Wormley Janus Lounge Chairs for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Wayne, NJA set of 2 Edward J. Wormley Janus lounge chairs for Dunbar. If you are in the New Jersey , New York City Metro Area , please contact us with your delivery zipcode, as we may be able...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery