George Nakashima, Shelf with drawer
View Similar Items
George Nakashima, Shelf with drawer
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 4.25 in (10.8 cm)Width: 40 in (101.6 cm)Depth: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1958
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: 131219994750
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.
- Le Corbusier Desk / TableBy Le CorbusierLocated in New York, NYLe Corbusier table or desk, 1931-1932 Grey enameled metal and wood. All original. Provenance: Pavillon Suisse, Cite Universitaire, Paris.Category
20th Century French Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
$30,000 - Pierre Jeanneret, 1959-61 Pigeonhole Desk in East Indian Rosewood and LeatherBy Pierre JeanneretLocated in New York, NYPierre Jeanneret, 1958 "Pigeonhole" office desk w/ bookcase in east indian rosewood with leather top Provenance: Secretary and Administrative Bui...Category
Mid-20th Century Indian Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Pierre Jeanneret, Chair with Single ArmBy Pierre JeanneretLocated in New York, NYPierre Jeanneret, circa 1960. Single armchair, teak and cane. Provenance: Punjab University, Chandigarh, India.Category
Mid-20th Century Indian Chairs
MaterialsCane, Wood, Teak
- Marianne Vissiere, Ceramic Coffee Table with PlanterBy Marianne VissiereLocated in New York, NYMarianne Vissiere, 2014. Ceramic coffee table with planter, cream and red glaze tiles, black painted metal base. Signed.Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Pierre Jeanneret De-Mountable Daybed with Headrest, Circa 1956By Pierre JeanneretLocated in New York, NYPierre Jeanneret, De-mountable Daybed with Headrest in Stained Cedar Wood, Cotton Straps and Leather upholstery. Provenance: Commissioned for MLA Hostel and Flats, Private Residence...Category
20th Century Indian Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
MaterialsCedar
- French Contemporary Ceramic Coffee TableBy Marianne VissiereLocated in New York, NYCeramic table in black glaze and black and white "Raku" tiles, metal frame, Signed: Vissiere.Category
2010s French Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCeramic
- George Nakashima Custom Corner Shelf, 1968, with Original ReceiptLocated in Brooklyn, NYGeorge Nakashima (1905-1990) Custom corner shelf, 1968 Single-slab shelves featuring free edges. American black walnut 64 x 42 x 40 1/4 in. (162.6 x 106.7 x 102.2 cm).Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsWalnut
- Hanging Cabinet by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in San Francisco, CAThis rare and unique walnut hanging cabinet by George Nakashima is a beautiful and functional piece of modern furniture with sliding doors. The cabinet features an overhang top with one free edge above two doors that conceal one adjustable shelf. Crafted from high-quality American black walnut wood, this cabinet has been fully restored at the Nakashima workshop...Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Shelves
MaterialsWalnut
- Hanging Cabinet by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in San Francisco, CAThis rare and unique walnut hanging cabinet by George Nakashima is a beautiful and functional piece of modern furniture with sliding doors. The cabinet features an overhang top with one free edge above two doors that conceal one adjustable shelf. Crafted from high-quality American black walnut wood, this cabinet has been fully restored at the Nakashima workshop...Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Shelves
MaterialsWalnut
- Contemporary Orange Desk/Book Shelf by Guillermo Santomá Contemporary DesignBy Guillermo SantomàLocated in Barcelona, ESDesk or bookshelf Manufactured by Guillermo Santomá Edition Side Gallery Barcelona, 2018 Aluminium, spray painting, wheels, methacrylate.Category
2010s Spanish Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Walnut Sideboard with Top Shelf by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Atlanta, GAA two-piece custom sideboard pr credenza handcrafted by George Nakashima, circa 1969 in his new hope studio. It is constructed with American black walnut with solid oak interiors. Th...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut, Oak
- 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