Rare Tall 1950s T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings Modernist Secretary Cabinet
View Similar Items
Rare Tall 1950s T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings Modernist Secretary Cabinet
About the Item
- Creator:T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 63 in (160.02 cm)Width: 46 in (116.84 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Washington, DC
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU86961197944
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
British-born designer, interior decorator and author T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905–76) was one of the great American tastemakers in the middle decades of the 20th century. Much like Edward Wormley, Robsjohn-Gibbings was a design classicist by education and inclination, but he would come to create some of the most gracious and livable modern furnishings of the era.
Robsjohn-Gibbings studied architecture at the University of London, then held various jobs that included designing décors for passenger liners and working as the art director of a film studio. In the early 1930s, while employed by the upper-crust interior designer Charles J. Duveen, Robsjohn-Gibbings experienced an epiphany during a visit to the British Museum. Examining the furniture depicted on ancient Greek ceramics — lithe stools and klismos chairs — he realized that he had found a design touchstone. By 1936, he had moved to New York and set up a showroom on Madison Avenue for his modern reinterpretations of classic Greek designs. Aided by contacts he’d developed while working with Duveen, he quickly established a clientele that included Elizabeth Arden, Doris Duke and Thelma Chrysler Foy.
Through his writings for magazines and books, Robsjohn-Gibbings earned a public following and was established as an urbane arbiter of taste. From 1943 to 1956, he produced an understated line of modernist furnishings for Widdicomb, which included one of the icons of the period: the tiered, biomorphic Mesa coffee table (1951). Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece, in 1966, and created a new line of antiquity-inspired pieces for the firm Saridis. The series turned out to be his swan song.
Collectors’ interest in Robsjohn-Gibbings was reignited in the 1980s, when the 200-plus pieces from his 1936–38 commission for the Bel-Air estate of Los Angeles socialite Hilda Boldt Weber — pared-down neoclassical pieces rendered in blond wood (with the occasional flourish) — came on the market. (Up until then, the collection had remained in the house, despite its having changed hands several times.)
But his work for Widdicomb remains his most widely known, appreciated for its elegance and generous proportions. Robsjohn-Gibbings despised the stern aesthetic associated with his Bauhaus contemporaries, and a keynote of his modernist pieces is that they have no sharp angles. His chair and sofa frames, table legs and even many cabinets feature softly contoured edges. In whatever styled he designed, Robsjohn-Gibbings was guided by simplicity and timelessness. He wanted his furniture to be lived with happily.
- Large Robsjohn-Gibbings Dresser Secretary w BookcaseBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Rockaway, NJMid-century modern Robsjohn Gibbings walnut multifunction cabinet.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Tall Dresser for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Brooklyn, NYBeautifully detailed and functional dresser cabinet with ample storage and unique pull out workspace. By T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb.. Please confirm item location (NY or NJ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Chest of Drawers, C. 1950sBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Westport, CTOne of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings classics, designed for The Widdicomb Furniture Company, circa 1950-1950. This walnut chest of drawers or highboy features five large drawers providing a...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsNickel
- Midcentury Secretary Cabinet in Walnut by Robsjohn-Gibbings for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Detroit, MIThis exceptional vintage midcentury secretary desk with bookcase was designed by British-born T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. Expertly craf...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
MaterialsBrass
$3,536 Sale Price20% Off - T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Designed Tall Chest, by WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings designed tall chest, fitted with five concealed long drawers by manufactured by Widdicomb furniture company. A sleek iconic work, ready to place. Beautiful c...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Refinished Dresser / Credenza 1950s, SignedBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Los Angeles, CAThis elegant refinished dresser by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb (USA) features gorgeous walnut grain with three drawers and one cabinet door, all with integrated pulls. Signe...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
$3,800 Sale Price20% Off