Vintage Dorothy Draper Viennese Chest
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Vintage Dorothy Draper Viennese Chest
About the Item
- Creator:Dorothy Draper (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 44 in (111.76 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:c. 1950s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8940948876
Dorothy Draper
Few would argue with the statement that Dorothy Draper was the most influential American interior decorator of the past century. They might make a case for Elsie de Wolfe, who had banished heavy dark furnishings and finishes from late Edwardian-era rooms, or plump for Sister Parish, and her easeful gentrified look. But Draper simply was the face of decorating. Savvy, decisive and trim — she looked the part. And her 1939 book Decorating Is Fun! and a regular column for Good Housekeeping maintained that public image. As did, of course, her work.
Born to wealth in Tuxedo Park, New York, Draper received little formal schooling but did travel extensively in Europe, where she refined her eye and tastes. Draper invented the interior design style known these days as Hollywood Regency. She loved bold vibrant color, which she deployed in unusual combinations (pink paired with eggplant was a favorite). She had a penchant for black-and-white checkered floors.
Draper liked a room to have a statement piece on the wall, preferably a plaster scrollwork-framed mirror. But most of all Draper liked such things as huge moldings brimming with Baroque detail; upholstery fabrics with overscaled florals, such as her signature print called “Cabbage Rose.” Draper could keep it simple. Many of her chairs are unfussy slipper or club chairs, with maybe a little tufting. Her cabinets and other case pieces are equally elegant — the quiet España chest, which has three drawers with round brass pulls, has been a staple of classic decorating ever since Draper designed it in 1953.
During a heyday of production in the mid-1950s, Heritage entered into a partnership with Draper, while Frank Lloyd Wright created several lines of furniture for Henredon — the works by both designers, which included Draper's España line and Viennese furnishings group, were marketed under the Heritage-Henredon name owing to a cross-licensing agreement between the brands.
Because of her passion for scale and grand gestures, most of Draper’s commissions were for hotels, resorts and apartment towers. In these spaces, she could follow her whim and produce such extravagances as the massive, playfully modernist chandelier in the lobby of the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia; the wildly Baroque fireplace in the lounge of New York’s Hampshire House; and the towering lacquered doors of the Arrowhead Springs Hotel in California. The woman thought big.
Browse a collection of vintage Dorothy Draper furniture on 1stDibs.
- Dorothy Draper Viennese Collection Chest Lacquered in Ivory, circa 1963By Henredon, Dorothy DraperLocated in Saint Louis, MOExquisite Dorothy Draper Viennese collection chest professionally refinished in ivory lacquer and embellished with original acanthus leaf motif back plates. Brass hardware was profes...Category
Vintage 1960s American Hollywood Regency Commodes and Chests of Drawers
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- Dorothy Draper Viennese Collection Ivory Chest with Gold Incised DrawersBy Henredon, Dorothy DraperLocated in Saint Louis, MOHollywood glamour then and now, this Viennese Collection chest of drawers was designed by the Queen of Hollywood Regency - Dorothy Draper - in the early 1960s and features solid brass rectangular pulls centered amidst incised rectangles set in an octagonal drawer front pattern, circa 1960. Dorothy Draper's incised pattern purposefully blurs the rectangular drawer fronts and instead focuses the admirer on the glamorous honeycomb pattern outlined in gold lacquer and finished with glowing solid brass drawer pulls. She transforms a large, functional three drawer chest into an artistic object with golden shapes and textures. The pattern also interlocks in pairs or sets of three, so these chests look especially grand in sets. The piece is finished on all sides which allows it to float in a room. As they say, the eye has to travel and this Dorothy Draper Viennese chest...Category
Vintage 1960s American Hollywood Regency Dressers
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- 1950s Vintage Dorothy Draper "Espana" Chest of Drawers DresserBy Heritage-Henredon, Dorothy DraperLocated in North Hollywood, CABeautiful vintage “España” chest of drawers by Dorothy Draper for Heritage Henredon. This beautiful dresser features a black finish with six drawers, each with 2 round brass rings to...Category
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- Dorothy Draper Style Espana Chest in YellowBy Dorothy DraperLocated in Redding, CTDorothy Draper Espana chest in yellow. Rare Yellow color with light blue accent. Classic three drawer chest with traditional ring pulls. Drawers lined in gold pleather. This chests p...Category
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- Pair of Classic "Espana" Chests in the Style of Dorothy DraperBy Dorothy DraperLocated in Dallas, TXThe most well-known, the España Bunching chest, was designed by Dorothy Draper in the 1950s at the request of the Spanish government who sought to raise the profile of Spanish design in the international market. Originally manufactured by Heritage Furniture Company...Category
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- Vintage Black and Gold Dorothy Draper Style ChestLocated in Dallas, TXThis chest has three drawers with brass Campaign style hardware and incised design highlighted in gold. Professionally lacquered in black.Category
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