Ward Bennett created everything from interiors and furniture to textiles and flatware. The unsung New York City-born modernist designer drew on the work of Le Corbusier and Auguste Rodin, studied art with the likes of Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann and counted legendary American luxury house Tiffany & Co. among his clients. For decades, Bennett created and filled spaces that were elegant, minimalist and deeply appealed to everyone who laid eyes on them.
Bennett left home and school at the young age of 13. He found work in Manhattan’s Garment District, and within a few years, Bennett traveled to Europe on behalf of a clothing manufacturer to gather ideas for modern garments. He lived abroad as a young man, and when he returned to New York, during the early 1940s, he assisted fashion entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie as a window dresser.
Bennett would also go on to share a sculpture studio with artist Louise Nevelson. He ventured into the world of jewelry design, creating necklaces, bracelets and other pieces with Richard Pousette-Dart. The Whitney Museum of American Art exhibited his sculptures, and it wouldn’t be long before the Museum of Modern Art included Bennett’s personal adornments with accessories by the likes of Alexander Calder, Harry Bertoia and Anni Albers in its 1946 “Modern Handmade Jewelry” show.
Bennett didn’t take the plunge into interior design work until he was 30 years old — his inaugural project was an apartment in Manhattan and his clients were family members. He had no formal training in architecture or decorating — and would ultimately design a mere handful of houses in his life — so for his inviting leather office chairs, marble-topped tables and sleek storage cabinets, Bennett relied only on what he learned in the fashion world. Soon, every time he redecorated his own home — an elaborate apartment comprising former maids’ quarters in New York City’s magnificent Dakota building — it earned splashy coverage in the newspapers.
Bennett’s client list eventually included David Rockefeller and Chase Manhattan Bank, Tiffany & Co., Sasaki, Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli, and others, and during the 1970s he became in-house designer for Brickel Associates, a role that would endure for more than two decades. His work is on permanent view at the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Ward Bennett seating, decorative objects and more.
Set of 4 Chairs by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A set of four (4) 'Bankers' chairs in natural oiled walnut with the original coquille upholstery.
Upholstery, Walnut
$2,560Sale Price|20% Off
1 Ward Bennett for Brickel and Associates Desk Conference Chair
By Ward Bennett
Located in Pasadena, TX
1 Ward Bennett for Brickel and associates barrel-back leather chair 4-star anodized bronze base swivel conference room chair in a rich brow...
Metal
$3,615Sale Price / set|50% Off
Ward Bennett for Brickel Black Ash Scissor Lounge Chairs, Red Wool Bouclé, 1984
By Ward Bennett
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Ward Bennett for Brickel Assoc. Black ash scissor lounge chair pair, set of two, red wool bouclé, 1984, New York. Black lacquered ash, red wool upholstery, metal tags to each. Ward Bennett’s story is a remarkable one. His career began at age 13, when he quit school to work in the garment district in New York City. At 15, he designed his first clothing collection; at 16 he left for Europe, where he continued working on fashion design. While in Europe, he attended art schools in Florence and Paris, but he was mostly self-taught, with skills that ranged from illustrating, sculpting, and jewelry-making to furniture, interior, and home design. “I learn from people,” he once said, referencing a long line of influences, including Hattie Carnegie, Hans Hoffman, and Georgia O’Keeffe. Bennett eventually settled back in New York, where his reputation earned him some of the day’s most affluent clients: David Rockefeller and Chase Manhattan Bank, Tiffany & Co., Sasaki, Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner. Another—former President Lyndon Baines Johnson—asked Bennett to design a chair for his presidential library that would be “a cross between a barroom chair and a courtroom chair...
Wool, Ash
$3,200
Ward Bennett Desk Chair
By Ward Bennett
Located in Dallas, TX
A tilting desk chair with bronze base designed by Ward Bennett. Height adjustable. Reupholstered in a Holly Hunt fabric.
Bronze
1988 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Dining Arm Chair in Jack Lenor Larsen
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Bankers Armchair, initially designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates in 1965. The listed price includes one chair, and we have four chairs available for purchase. ...
Steel
1984 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Dining Chair with Red Fabric
By Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a bentwood dining chair, originally designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates. This particular example was produced in 1984. The design features a sculptural solid bent...
Foam, Wood, Fabric
1986 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Desk Chair in Fabric from IBM
By Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Executive Office Chair designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates in 1970. These particular examples were produced in 1986 in the United States. The chair features an...
Steel
1984 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Dining Chair Jack Lenor Larsen Fabric
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Bankers Chair, initially designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates in 1965. The listed price includes one chair, and we have four chairs available for purchase. T...
Steel
1984 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Desk Chair in Leather with Ash Frame
By Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Executive Office Chair, initially designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates in 1970. These particular examples were produced in 1984 in the United States. Their desi...
Metal
1984 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Desk Chair in Fabric with Oak Frame
By Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Executive Office Chair, initially designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates in 1970. These particular examples were produced in 1984 in the United States. Their desi...
Metal
1970s Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Model 1081 Walnut Desk Chair
By Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Model 1081 Desk Chair, initially designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates. These particular examples were produced in the 1970s in the United States. Their design fe...
Foam, Walnut, Fabric
Eight All Black Ward Bennett for Brickell Associates Armchairs
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Dallas, TX
Set of eight all black Ward Bennett armchairs for Brickell Associates. Simple construction is all of solid wood. Newly lacquered frames, impeccably joined barrel-back and sloping arm...
Wood, Velvet
1960s Ward Bennett for Lehigh Furniture Arm Chair in Red Fabric & Aluminum
By Ward Bennett, Lehigh Furniture Company
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a 1960s Armchair, designed by Ward Bennett for Lehigh Furniture. The chair has an aluminum four point base, and it retains its original red upholstery fabric. The piece is ve...
Aluminum, Steel
1984 Pair of Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Dining Chairs in Pink Fabric
By Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a pair of bentwood dining chairs, originally designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates. These particular examples were produced in 1984. Their design features a sculptu...
Foam, Oak, Fabric
1960s Ward Bennett for Lehigh Leopold Brown Suede and Stainless Steel Armchair
By Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Tufted Lounge Armchair, designed by Ward Bennett and produced by Lehigh Leopold in the early 1960s. This chair is all original, having a stainless-steel four-star base, and...
Stainless Steel
1986 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Executive Office Chair in Red Fabric
By Ward Bennett, Brickel Associates
Located in Philadelphia, PA
These are Executive Office Chairs, designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates in ca. 1970. The chairs are framed in Cherry-stained Oak, having coordinating wood trim on their fi...
Steel