Drexel Declaration Coffee Table by Kipp Stewart and Stewart MacDougall
View Similar Items
Drexel Declaration Coffee Table by Kipp Stewart and Stewart MacDougall
About the Item
- Creator:Drexel (Manufacturer),Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougall (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 46 in (116.84 cm)Length: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950-1959
- Condition:Excellent restored condition; professionally refinished.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU164529750921
Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougall
While American furniture designers Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougall created a range of mid-century modernist works for Glenn of California and other manufacturers, the duo is best known for Declaration, a collection they designed for Drexel Furniture.
It’s true that design lovers have long revered Drexel’s bedroom furniture of the 1960s, and collectors of mid-century modern pieces are drawn to vintage Drexel dressers, Drexel Heritage sofas and the series that Stewart (1928–2022) and MacDougall (1927–2016) designed for the North Carolina manufacturer. But Drexel’s story actually begins decades before its celebrated Declaration line and other postwar furnishings took shape.
Drexel was founded in 1903 and earned a reputation for works that were inspired by historic European furniture, like the popular French Provincial–style Touraine bedroom and dining group that borrowed its curves from Louis XV-era furniture. Others replicated the ornate details of 18th-century chinoiserie or the embellishments of Queen Anne furniture.
By the time he graduated from Chouinard Art Institute in his adopted home state of California, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-born Kipp Stewart was steeped in the world of modern seating design, experimenting with new chair models that bridged form and function. Charles and Ray Eames were important influences on his early work.
The Eameses — whose lounge chair is among the most iconic works manufactured by legendary Michigan company Herman Miller — were also inspirational for Stewart MacDougall, a Pasadena, California-born designer who, like Kipp, attended Chouinard.
When Drexel embraced the clean lines of mid-century modernism with the Declaration collection, Kipp and Stewart were producing case pieces and more for Glenn of California, an Arcadia-based brand that also manufactured furniture designed by the likes of Greta Magnusson Grossman, Milo Baughman and others.
Drexel’s Declaration line was constructed entirely of natural walnut and featured the choice of white porcelain or brass drawer pulls and cabinet door handles. Although its stylish credenzas, dressers and other pieces reflect the kind of slim-lined, low-slung silhouettes for which mid-century design has become known, there are also elements that nod to earlier American and European furniture design, such as the dining chairs whose flattened spindle backs recall Shaker and Windsor chair design, distinguishing them from the modern designs becoming prolific in Scandinavia at the time.
While Kipp Stewart found success as a painter and with his Ventana Big Sur project, which he designed in 1972 — and had also created chairs, chests and more for Directional — the Drexel Declaration line is his widely recognized furniture collection and remains highly sought after by collectors today. Stewart MacDougall’s interests also spanned other areas of design — he worked on vintage cars, created golf clubs and built sailboats — but furniture obsessives know him best for the distinctive Declaration series.
The Declaration pieces were so indicative of a particularly American style, in fact, that several items from the collection were selected by the U.S. government to represent the country at the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958.
Find vintage Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougall furniture on 1stDibs.
Drexel
While vintage Drexel Furniture dining tables, dressers and other pieces remain highly desirable for enthusiasts of mid-century modern design, the manufacturer's story actually begins decades before its celebrated postwar-era Declaration line took shape.
In 1903, in the small town of Drexel in the foothills of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, six partners came together to found a company that would become one of the country’s leading furniture producers. The first offerings from Drexel Furniture were simple: a bed, washstand and bureau all crafted from native oakwood, sold as a bedroom suite for $14.50.
One of Drexel’s early innovations was to employ staff designers, something the company initiated in the 1930s. This focus on design, which few other furniture companies were committing to at the time, allowed Drexel to respond to a variety of new and traditional tastes. This included making pieces inspired by historic European furniture, like the popular French Provincial–style Touraine bedroom and dining group that borrowed its curves from Louis XV-era furniture. Others replicated the ornate details of 18th-century chinoiserie or the embellishments of Queen Anne furniture. Always ready to adapt to new customer demands, during World War II, Drexel built a sturdy desk designed especially for General Douglas MacArthur.
In the postwar era, Drexel embraced the clean lines of mid-century modernism with the Declaration collection designed by Stewart MacDougall and Kipp Stewart that featured elegant credenzas and more made in walnut, and the Profile and Projection collections designed with sculptural shapes by John Van Koert. In the 1970s, Drexel introduced high-end furniture in a Mediterranean style.
Drexel changed hands and visions throughout the years. It was managed by one of the original partners — Samuel Huffman — until 1935, at which time his son Robert O. Huffman took over as president. It was then that the company began to expand, with several acquisitions of competitors in the 1950s, including Table Rock Furniture, the Heritage Furniture Co. and more.
With the manufacturer’s success — spurred by its embrace of advertising in home and garden magazines — it opened more factories in both North and South Carolina. By 1957, the company that had started with a factory of 50 workers had 2,300 employees and was selling its furniture nationwide.
Drexel underwent a series of name changes in its long history. Its acquisition of Southern Desk Company in 1960 bolstered its production of institutional furniture for dormitories, classrooms, churches and laboratories.
In the following decades, contracts with government agencies, hotels, schools and hospitals brought its high-quality furniture to a global audience. U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers bought Drexel Enterprises in 1968, and it became Drexel Heritage Furnishings.
In 2014, the last Drexel Heritage plant, in Morganton, North Carolina, reportedly closed its doors. The company rebranded as Drexel in 2017.
The vintage Drexel furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes end tables designed by Edward Wormley, walnut side tables designed by Kipp Stewart and lots more.
- Kipp Stewart King Size Headboard with Storage for Drexel DeclarationBy Kipp Stewart, DrexelLocated in Los Angeles, CAWalnut headboard by Kipp Stewart, for Drexel Declaration c.1960s, USA. This walnut headboard features a shelf along the back with sliding doors for storage. The doors can be closed a...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsWalnut
- Marble Terrazzo Coffee Table by FramacLocated in Los Angeles, CAMarble top coffee table by Framac, c.1960s, Australia. The rectangular table features a blackwood frame and marble terrazzo stone top in varying green, gray and cream tones. The tab...Category
Mid-20th Century Australian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Brown Saltman Walnut Coffee TableBy Brown SaltmanLocated in Los Angeles, CABrown Saltman rectangular coffee table, c.1950s, USA. The table features a knife edge walnut table top with beautiful exposed joinery work where the legs meet the top. The legs are c...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Studio Coffee TableBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Los Angeles, CACoffee table from American mid-century craftsman George Nakashima. The table crafted of black walnut, c.1969 features a live edge table top geometric slab base with one tapered leg. ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Florence Knoll Square Walnut Coffee TableBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CADesigned by Florence Knoll in the 1950s, this simple coffee table has four square legs of chromed steel. The square tabletop sits flush with the frame and is made of a walnut veneer....Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Warren Platner Coffee Table for Lehigh LeopoldBy Lehigh Leopold, Warren PlatnerLocated in Los Angeles, CAA stunning and rare piece designed by Warren Platner and manufactured by Lehigh Leopold, c.1960s, USA. The coffee table features a black leather surface in a frame of solid walnut wo...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Walnut Side Table by Kipp Stewart and Macdougall for Drexel DeclarationBy Drexel, Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougallLocated in Miami, FLA lovely walnut occasional table designed by Stewart McDougall and Kipp Stewart for Drexel's Declaration collection, dating from the late 1950s. The end table features natural walnut...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWalnut
$625 Sale Price50% Off - Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougall Nightstand by DrexelBy Drexel, Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougallLocated in Highland, INThis beautifully detailed nightstand in walnut by Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougall for their "Declaration" line by Drexel has legs set outside of the case in a manner similar to Nie...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsWalnut
- Drexel Sun Coast Brass Coffee Table by Kipp Stewart & Stewart McDougall, USABy Stewart MacDougall, Kipp Stewart, Drexel, Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougallLocated in Deland, FLProduced by Drexel Sun Coast this coffee table, designed by Kipp Stewart & Stewart McDougall, is an exquisite example of early American mid-century de...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Minimalist Walnut Coffee Table by Kipp Stewart for Drexel, Declaration LineBy Kipp Stewart, DrexelLocated in San Diego, CAAn exceptional minimalist low profile walnut coffee table by Kipp Stewart for Drexel - Declaration line, circa 1960s. The table has both a gorgeous tone and grain which is contrasted...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
$1,200 Sale Price20% Off - Kipp Stewart Walnut Coffee Table for DrexelBy Kipp Stewart, DrexelLocated in Atlanta, GAMid-Century Modern coffee table, designed by Kipp Stewart for Drexel Declaration, American, circa 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- Stewart MacDougall Kipp Stewart Drexel Walnut Folding Campaign Table 'B'By Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougallLocated in Philadelphia, PAStewart MacDougall Kipp Stewart Drexel Walnut Folding Campaign Table (B). Item features removable tray top, folding X-form base, carved finials....Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWalnut