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 of chairs, coffee tables and other pieces. 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. (Master craftsperson Mira Nakashima keeps her father’s legacy alive at the George Nakashima Studio in New Hope today. She has been the artistic director of George Nakashima Woodworkers since her father's death, in 1990.)
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, the result of a merger between Widdicomb and Mueller Furniture, 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.
Find George Nakashima Studio furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
George Nakashima Double Sliding-Door Cabinet in American Black Walnut
By George Nakashima Studio, George Nakashima
Located in Waalwijk, NL
George Nakashima for George Nakashima Studio, sideboard, American black walnut, hickory, United States, 1969 With regard to its essential form, material use, and woodwork, this doub...
Hickory, Walnut
George Nakashima Double Sliding-Door Cabinet in Walnut and Pandanus Cloth yes
By George Nakashima Studio, George Nakashima
Located in Waalwijk, NL
George Nakashima for George Nakashima Studio, sideboard, American black walnut, pandanus cloth, United States, 1983. With its sturdy form, thoughtful material choices, and refined ...
Walnut
1954 George Nakashima Sliding Doors Dresser Credenza
By George Nakashima
Located in Rockaway, NJ
George Nakashima Sliding Doors Dovetail Dresser Credenza. Comes with the copy of the original receipt from George Nakashima studio.
Walnut
$649Sale Price|20% Off
H 40.16 in W 60.24 in D 10.63 in
Mid-Century Modern Sliding Glass Door Bookcase Cabinet Robert Heritage
By Robert Heritage
Located in Leicester, GB
We can ship directly to you - please contact us with your country & postcode for an accurate delivery price. Shipping to the US £450 in a custom made crate A beautiful long slim gla...
Hardwood
$3,524
H 37.8 in W 59.06 in D 16.93 in
French Modernist Sideboard in Oak and Raffia, 1950s, Two Sliding Doors
By Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand
Located in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FR
Elegant French modernist sideboard from the 1950s, crafted in oak and oak veneer, embodying the restrained sophistication of postwar French design. Clean architectural lines are soft...
Raffia, Oak
Mid-Century Modern Walnut Wall Cabinet by George Nakashima, 1978
By George Nakashima
Located in Astoria, NY
George Nakashima (American, 1909-1990) Walnut Wall-Hanging Cabinet, 1978, with two sliding doors opening to shelves, with original drawing. 20" H x 30" W x 12" D. Provenance: Commi...
Walnut
Free Edge George Nakashima 2-Door Cabinet
By George Nakashima
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An early cabinet consisting of 2 sliding doors concealing 4 drawers and a shelf. George Nakshima sliding door cabinet Open shelf on 1 side, 4 drawers...
Walnut
$4,025Sale Price|30% Off
H 31 in W 75 in D 18.5 in
Berman Rosetti Sunset Console In Walnut with Sliding Doors and Storage
By Berman Rosetti
Located in Chicago, IL
A lovely walnut console cabinet by Berman Rosetti (Los Angeles). The piece has 2 doors that slide open to reveal storage inside (one adjustable shelf on either side). The case is d...
Walnut
Hanging Cabinet by George Nakashima
By George Nakashima
Located in San Francisco, CA
This 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...
Walnut
Walnut Media Console Room Divider with Sliding Shoji Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Walnut cabinet made by hand and featuring sliding shoji doors and shelves. This cabinet is constructed utilizing time honored joinery techniques featured in...
Walnut
$26,000
H 32.25 in W 105.5 in D 22 in
George Nakashima Walnut and Brass Monumental Cabinet for Widdicomb
By George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.
Located in New York, NY
A very rare Monumental triple dresser, sideboard, or credenza By George Nakashima for Widdicomb Furniture, "Origins" Collection, USA, 1950s. Made with sculpted walnut, with original ...
Brass
Walnut Sideboard with Top Shelf by George Nakashima
By George Nakashima
Located in Atlanta, GA
A 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...
Walnut, Oak
Walnut Media Cabinet with Shoji Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Walnut cabinet made by hand and featuring shoji doors and shelves. This cabinet is constructed utilizing time honored joinery techniques featured in Japanes...
Walnut
Low KABOT Sideboard in Walnut with 3 Cabinet Doors
By Chris Earl
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Solid wood constructed sideboard cabinet featuring hand-turned legs, hand-cut joinery and adjustable shelves. It details two push-to-open, cane detailed cabinet doors and one solid wood push-to-open cabinet door. There are custom configurations available, including hand loomed cane cabinet doors, solid wood cabinet doors, differing amounts of drawers, or a combination of the two. It is available in any American domestic hardwoods; Specifically walnut, white oak, ebonized oak, bleached oak, and ash. Hand crafted here in Los Angeles, California. LOW CABINET OPTION: 60” Width X 18.5” Depth X 32” Height HIGH CABINET OPTION: 34” Width X 18.5” Depth X 39” Height Please inquire for any questions on cabinet configurations or further details needed. This cabinet is shown in solid walnut with 3 cabinet...
Wood, Hardwood, Ash, Ebony, Oak, Walnut