Walnut Desk by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb
View Similar Items
Walnut Desk by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb
About the Item
- Creator:T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 60 in (152.4 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Excellent restored condition.
- Seller Location:Dallas, TX
- Reference Number:Seller: 0031stDibs: LU85181211486
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.
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Sofa for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Dallas, TXA rare armless sofa / daybed with brass legs. Designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. Reupholstered in Holly Hunt / Royal Alpaca / Angora.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsWalnut
- Partners Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA mahogany partners desk with original leather top and base and brass hardware. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Desks
MaterialsMahogany
- Desk by Kai Kristiansen for Feldballes MøbelfabrikBy Kai KristiansenLocated in Dallas, TXA large teak desk model no 70 designed by Kai Kristiansen for Feldballes Møbelfabrik.Category
Vintage 1960s Desks
MaterialsTeak
- Rosewood Roll Top Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA rosewood tambour roll top desk with brass feet and leather trim. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Desks
- Bench by T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Dallas, TXA rare bench designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. Beautifully refinished and reupholstered.Category
Vintage 1950s Benches
MaterialsWalnut
- Coffee Table by T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Dallas, TXA coffee table designed b T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. Pair of matching end tables available separately.Category
Vintage 1950s Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Kneehole Desk for WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Hanover, MAAmerican Classical modern kneehole desk designed by Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Furniture Co. in figured walnut with contrasting maple moldings. Original label in center drawer. ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsMaple, Walnut
- Curvaceous Desk by T.H. Robsjohn GibbingsBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Atlanta, GACurvaceous desk, designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb, American, circa 1950s. This desk is currently being refinished and can be completed in your choice of finish color.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Desk by WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Highland, INThis desk by T.H. Robsjo-Gibbings for Widdicomb has a strong architectural quality and great minimalist design. The desktop cantilevers from the pedestal and is supported by a single...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- 1950s T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb DeskBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Boston, MAT.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb desk, circa 1950s. Three drawers with organizers open with woven cane wrapped brass pull. Laminate veneer wraps around all corners of the desk. S...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsLaminate
- T.H.Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Mid-Century Walnut Oval DeskBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in New York, NYAmerican mid-century walnut desk with a top squared on the left over a set of four drawers in graduated heights with wooden bar drawer pulls, and rounded on the right, supported by a...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings Cantilevered Modern Desk RefinishedBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Atlanta, GAClean lined cantilevered modern desk, designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb, American, circa 1950s. This desk is currently being refinished and can be completed in your ch...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
1970s Corporate America Has Never Looked So Chic
Photographer Susan Ressler revisits the office life of decades past, whose style still resonates.
Kaleidoscopic Upholstery Makes This Edward Wormley Chair a Showstopper
What at first glance seems an unusual choice jibes perfectly with the designer's aesthetic.