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George Nakashima Furniture

American, 1905-1990

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 vintage George Nakashima furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

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Creator: George Nakashima
1950s George Nakashima English Walnut Shark Tooth Live Free Edge Table Wepman
By George Nakashima
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Original unmolested finish. George Nakashima walnut studio table, accompanied by authentication paperwork from the Nakashima Foundation.
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Walnut

1950s George Nakashima Studio Full Size Dovetailed Walnut Headboard Bed Cabinet
By George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a very special 1950s George Nakashima headboard, produced at the Nakashima Woodworking studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania. ...
Category

1950s American Modern Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Wood

George Nakashima Straight Chair for Knoll
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Designed by master craftsman George Nakashima for Knoll in 1946, the N19 chair was intended as a mass-produced counterpoint to the Nakashima Studio’s popular “Straight Chair...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Walnut

Straight Chair by George Nakashima for Knoll & Associates
By Knoll, George Nakashima
Located in Sagaponack, NY
An early production straight chair with spindles and a shaped seat on four splayed, tapered dowel legs.
Category

1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Hickory

Pair of George Nakashima Captain's Dining Chairs in Walnut
By George Nakashima
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Pair of George Nakashima Captain's Dining Chairs in Walnut.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Walnut

1947 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chair in Natural Birch
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a gorgeous early George Nakashima for Knoll N19 birch straight chair, produced by Knoll Associates. This chair appears to be natural birch. It shows some wear from...
Category

1940s American Modern Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Birch

Mira Nakashima 4 legged high chair based on a design by George Nakashima, USA
By George Nakashima Studio, George Nakashima
Located in Berlin, DE
Mira Nakashima 4 legged high chair based on a design by George Nakashima, new. One of the chairs is in stock, for more chairs: Please consider the productio...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Walnut

George Nakashima Studio Straight Back Chair Mid Century American Craft
By George Nakashima
Located in Atlanta, GA
Vintage Original "Straight Back" Model Chair, made by George Nakashima Studio, American, circa 1961. The chair features a multi-plank seat. Signed with client name to underside ‘Gelf...
Category

1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Hickory, Walnut

1949 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chair in Walnut
By Knoll, George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an N19 Straight Chair, designed by George Nakashima for Knoll Associates in 1946. This is an early example, dating to 1949. The 'Straight Chair' was Nakashima's modern, minim...
Category

1940s American Modern Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Walnut

1949 George Nakashima for N19 Knoll Straight Chair in Walnut
By George Nakashima, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an N19 Straight Chair, originally designed by George Nakashima in 1946. This particular example was produced by Knoll in the United States and dates to the year 1949. The cha...
Category

1940s American Modern Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Walnut

Signed Mira Nakashima Poster "the Soul of a Tree - George Nakashima" 1993
By George Nakashima
Located in New York, NY
Signed Mira Nakashima Poster "The Soul of a Tree - George Nakashima" 1993. The original lithograph from an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Toyama. This poster has a black lac...
Category

1990s Mid-Century Modern George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Paper

1947 Pair of George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chairs in Natural Birch
By Knoll, George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a gorgeous pair of early George Nakashima for Knoll N19 birch straight chairs, produced by Knoll Associates. This chair appears to be natural birch. It shows some ...
Category

1940s American Modern Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Birch

Barstool by George Nakashima for George Nakashima Studio
By George Nakashima
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A walnut barstool designed by American Craftsman Master George Nakashima with hand-hewn spindles supporting a thin backrest, a shaped seat on four spl...
Category

1960s American American Craftsman Vintage George Nakashima Furniture

Materials

Walnut

George Nakashima furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

George Nakashima furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of George Nakashima furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 136 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 16 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by George Nakashima were created in the mid-century modern style in north america during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Frank Lloyd Wright, Warren Platner, and Selig. Prices for George Nakashima furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $295 and can go as high as $184,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $25,500.
Questions About George Nakashima Furniture
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    George Nakashima is perhaps best known for developing the butterfly joint. This construction method involves connecting pieces with a third piece of wood shaped like a butterfly. The joint forms a strong, sturdy connection and stabilizes pieces to fight the effects of wood expansion. On 1stDibs, shop a range of George Nakashima furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    No, George Nakashima didn’t usually sign the majority of his works. Instead, he normally added the name of the client to the timber selected to start the project. The writing usually appears in simple black marker. ​​On 1stDibs, find a variety of George Nakashima furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    To identify George Nakashima furniture, start by looking for the name of the original client written in black marker. He usually wrote the name on the underside of a piece of furniture. Order cards and shop drawings can also help authenticate his work. On 1stDibs, find a selection of expertly vetted George Nakashima furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    To address wood expansion, George Nakashima pioneered the butterfly joint. This technique uses a butterfly-shaped piece of wood as an anchor. When wood expands, the butterfly joint prevents the pieces from splitting apart. Butterfly joints are strong and increase the overall durability of his wood furniture. On 1stDibs, find a collection of George Nakashima.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Which chair is best for a George Nakashima Origins for Widdicomb desk is largely a matter of preference. George Nakashima chairs with Shaker-inspired spindle backs like the Mira and Conoid tend to complement the lines of the desks in the collection. However, you can mix and match styles to create an eclectic look. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of George Nakashima desks and chairs.

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