Master woodworker David N. Ebner is an integral contributor to the American Studio furniture movement. Along with like-minded artisans such as George Nakashima, Sam Maloof, Arthur Espenet Carpenter and Wharton Esherick, the New York native advocates for the craft of well-made furniture that is not mass-produced. As Ebner himself has stated, “[I am] creating the antiques of tomorrow.”
Ebner was born in 1945 in Buffalo and attended the School for American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology. There, he studied under celebrated American furniture maker Wendell Castle who taught Ebner “the artistic approach” to woodworking. After graduating, Ebner sought to further his education at the London School of Furniture Making. Then, following a two-year stint in the US Armed Forces, he decided to pursue a career as a woodworker and furniture designer, opening a studio on Long Island, New York, in 1973.
As a devotee of Castle’s teachings of creating furniture as a form of functional art, Ebner eschewed the trend of making furniture out of plastics and other synthetic materials — which gained steam with the likes of venturesome Scandinavian modernist designer Verner Panton during the 1960s and 1970s — embracing instead the American Craftsman style that formed the basis of the American Studio furniture movement.
Working with a range of woods, Ebner has designed sculptural live-edge dining room tables, shapely bamboo stools and side tables characterized by swooping organic curves, and statement-making cabinets in lustrous sapele wood, each elegantly hand-carved. “... Each piece is treated as an art object with concern for my material and honesty to its inherent qualities,” Ebner has said. “For me, one’s creative ability is demonstrated in the diversity of the pieces and what one learns from change.”
Ebner has exhibited extensively throughout his career, including shows at the American Crafts Museum and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and the Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton. His works are in permanent collections at the Smithsonian Institute, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Find vintage David N. Ebner chairs, tables, benches and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
$23,500 / item
David N Ebner, Bookmatched Carpathian Burl Desk
By David N. Ebner
Located in Bellport, NY
American Studio craftsman, David Ebner's magnificent bookmatched Carpathian desk with hand-forged bronze pulls, seven pull-out drawers, three left and right and one large center draw...
Bronze
$3,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 88.25 in W 45.75 in D 23.25 in
Antique Renaissance Revival Walnut & Burl Secretary Desk C1880
Located in Big Flats, NY
Antique Renaissance Revival Walnut & Burl Secretary Desk Unsigned C1880 Measures - 88 1/4" x 45 3/4" x 23 1/4" A striking example of Renaissance Revival design, this walnut and burl...
Walnut
Mattina Elm Burl Desk
Located in London, GB
This desk is a one‑off antique piece, selected and curated for its material presence and substantial form. It is constructed around an engineered timber core and finished entirely in...
Elm
Mid-Century Modern Faux Painted Burl 3 Drawer Solid Oak Desk
By Milo Baughman
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Mid-Century Modern faux painted burl 3 drawer solid oak desk. Beautiful 3 drawer desk all solid oak drawers. Great Design - Style of Milo Baughman circa 1970. Located in Brooklyn NYC...
Oak, Burl
Paul Evans Patchwork Burl and Steel Cityscape Executive Desk, 1970's
By Paul Evans
Located in Culver City, CA
Some desks hold paper clips. Others hold power. This Paul Evans Cityscape Desk? It’s the power! Designed by the legendary Paul Evans in the 1970s, this monumental, sculptural masterp...
Steel
Victorian Walnut & Burl Roll Top Secretary Desk C1880
Located in Big Flats, NY
This antique Victorian secretary desk, crafted around 1880, features a sophisticated design in walnut and burl wood. The upper section...
Walnut
$960Sale Price|20% Off
H 40.75 in W 44.5 in D 19.75 in
Antique Walnut & Burl Drop Front Desk With Teardrop Pulls c1880
Located in Big Flats, NY
Antique Walnut & Burl Drop Front Desk With Teardrop Pulls C1890 Measures - 40 5/8" x 44 3/8" x 19 3/4" This antique desk, dating to circa 1890, showcases a combination of walnut an...
Walnut
Michael Graves Unique Burl Maple Pedestal Vitrine Desk, 1990c.
By Michael Graves (b.1934)
Located in Chicago, IL
Michael Graves Unique Burl Maple Pedestal Vitrine Desk, 1990c. One-of-a-kind vitrine desk by architect and designer Michael Graves. The piece features a rectangular burl maple veneer...
Steel
$9,228Sale Price / set|25% Off
H 30.71 in W 56.7 in D 35.83 in
19th Century Burl Walnut Partner's Desk with Armchair
Located in Antwerp, BE
Magnificent 19th century burled walnut partners desk with original armchair and claw legs. 19th century burl walnut partners writing desk with armchair...
Brass
Modernist Mappa Burl Veneer Kidney Shaped Desk
Located in Milford, NH
A wonderful modernist mappa burl veneer kidney shaped desk dating to the 20th century. Mappa burl is the highly decorative wood of the European black poplar tree, known for its light...
Poplar, Burl
$4,500
H 31.75 in W 54 in D 22.25 in
Mastercraft Style, Hollywood Regency, Writing Desk, Burl, Brass, USA, 1960s
By Mastercraft
Located in Stamford, CT
Mastercraft Style, Hollywood Regency, Writing Desk, Burl, Brass, USA, 1960s A wonderful burl and brass writing desk designed and produced in the United States c. 1960s Burl, Brass;...
Brass
English Burl Wood Double Pedestal Desk with Green Leather Top
Located in Milford, NH
A nice example of an English burl wood double pedestal desk with green tooled leather top in three sections, with molded edge rectangular top with three fitted frieze drawers, over t...
Brass
Fine Early Victorian Burl Walnut Kidney Shaped Desk
Located in Essex, MA
A rare and hard to find desk of the finest quality. Most likely made by the firm of Gillow of Lancaster and London. With a kidney shaped top with a new tooled green leather top an ex...
Bronze