George Nakashima Double Pedestal Desk
View Similar Items
George Nakashima Double Pedestal Desk
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 83 in (210.82 cm)Depth: 38.5 in (97.79 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1905-1990
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: C14-FDF2171stDibs: 14061179482265
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.
- Michel Cadestin and Georges Laurent Desk and Filing CabinetBy Michel Cadestin, Georges LaurentLocated in Los Angeles, CAMichel Cadestin and Georges Laurent office suite from the administrative offices at the centre Georges Pompidou by Teda, France.Category
Vintage 1970s French Desks
MaterialsLaminate
Price Upon Request - James 'Jim' Sweeney DeskBy Jim SweeneyLocated in Los Angeles, CAOne desk by James Sweeney in rosewood.Category
20th Century American Desks
MaterialsRosewood
Price Upon Request - Double Sided BenchLocated in Los Angeles, CADouble sided wooden park bench, (1950s) Measures: Seat 17 in.Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsWood
$4,500 - George Nelson Coconut Chair and OttomanBy George NelsonLocated in Los Angeles, CALeather chair and ottoman with metal base.Category
Vintage 1950s Lounge Chairs
Price Upon Request - Preben Fabricius Freestanding DeskBy Preben FabriciusLocated in Los Angeles, CAPreben Fabricius Freestanding desk with matte Steel Frame and glass top with wedged drawer section.Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Pair of Gabrielle D'ali 'Cobra' Desk LampsBy Gabriele D'aliLocated in Los Angeles, CAGabrielle D'ali 'Cobra' desk lamps, pair.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome, Steel
Price Upon Request
- George Nakashima Turned Wood Dowel Shape Leg Single Pedestal Small Desk MintBy George NakashimaLocated in Rockaway, NJGeorge Nakashima turned wood dowel shape leg single pedestal small desk mint with documents.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- George III Pedestal DeskLocated in Westwood, NJA fine George III style mahogany leather top pedestal desk, with a flame mahogany veneered and crossbanding to the top, with fine double stringing details, the gilt-tooled leather in...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese George III Desks
MaterialsMahogany
$15,180 / item - George III Mahogany Pedestal DeskLocated in Essex, MAIn one piece, with rectangular top with inset red leather top with ratcheted additional writing surface, over three short drawers over two banks of three drawers , the reverse with false matching...Category
Antique 1760s English George III Desks
MaterialsMahogany
- George Nakashima Inspired Walnut Desk by Boyd & AllisterBy Boyd & AllisterLocated in Santa Fe, NMA walnut desk inspired by George Nakashima’s desk design of the late 1950’s. The desk is built in solid walnut with an exceptional live edge walnut slab top complimented by Wenge but...Category
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsBrass
- George II Style Walnut Pedestal DeskLocated in Essex, MARectangular top with inset brown leather over a cushion frieze with three drawers, the reverse finished but no drawers, pedestal base each containing three drawers. Bracket feet.Category
Antique 1740s English George II Desks
MaterialsBrass
- George IV Mahogany Pedestal Partners' DeskLocated in Downingtown, PAGeorge IV Mahogany Pedestal Partners' Desk, Circa 1830 The George Iv mahogany partner's desk has a molded rectangular top with a gilt tooled green leather inset writing surface abov...Category
Antique Early 19th Century English George IV Desks
MaterialsMahogany
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.