Edward Wormley for Dunbar Upholstered Club Chair
View Similar Items
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Upholstered Club Chair
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 33 in (83.82 cm)Width: 25.25 in (64.14 cm)Depth: 25.25 in (64.14 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Good overall condition.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU813416469921
Edward Wormley
As the longtime director of design for the Dunbar furniture company, Edward Wormley was, along with such peers as George Nelson at Herman Miller Inc., and Florence Knoll of Knoll Inc., one of the leading forces in bringing modern design into American homes in the mid-20th century. Not an axiomatic modernist, Wormley deeply appreciated traditional design, and consequently his work has an understated warmth and a timeless quality that sets it apart from other furnishings of the era.
Wormley was born in rural Illinois and as a teenager took correspondence courses from the New York School of Interior Design. He later attended the Art Institute of Chicago but ran out of money for tuition before he could graduate. Marshall Field hired Wormley in 1930 to design a line of reproduction 18th-century English furniture; the following year he was hired by the Indiana-based Dunbar, where he quickly distinguished himself. It was a good match.
Dunbar was an unusual firm: it did not use automated production systems; its pieces were mostly hand-constructed. For his part, Wormley did not use metal as a major component of furniture; he liked craft elements such as caned seatbacks, tambour drawers, or the woven-wood cabinet fronts seen on his Model 5666 sideboard of 1956. He designed two lines for Dunbar each year — one traditional, one modern — until 1944, by which time the contemporary pieces had become the clear best sellers.
Many of Wormley’s signature pieces — chairs, sofas, tables and more — are modern interpretations of traditional forms. His 1946 Riemerschmid Chair — an example is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art — recapitulates a late 19th-century German design. The long, slender finials of his Model 5580 dining chairs are based on those of Louis XVI chairs; his Listen-to-Me Chaise (1948) has a gentle Rococo curve; the “Precedent” line that Wormley designed for Drexel Furniture in 1947 is a simplified, pared-down take on muscular Georgian furniture. But he could invent new forms, as his Magazine table of 1953, with its bent wood pockets, and his tiered Magazine Tree (1947), both show. And Wormley kept his eye on design currents, creating a series of tables with tops that incorporate tiles and roundels by the great modern ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler.
As the vintage items on 1stDibs demonstrate, Edward Wormley conceived of a subdued sort of modernism, designing furniture that fits into any decorating scheme and does not shout for attention.
Dunbar Furniture
Revered for its handcrafted and highly collectible mid-century modern sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings, Dunbar Furniture was founded in 1910 in Berne, Indiana, but it didn’t gain widespread recognition until the ’30s, following the introduction of its president to a designer who would leave an indelible mark on the company’s legacy: Edward Wormley.
After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oswego, Illinois-born Wormley worked as an interior designer for Marshall Field’s before joining Dunbar in 1931. Initially focused on developing the company’s cheapest furniture line, which could be bought with soap coupons, he was soon leading Dunbar Furniture into a new era of residential furniture for modern American homes. He would serve as the company’s design director for over three decades, designing about 150 pieces each year.
During that time, he oversaw the production of designs in a wide range of materials, with influences ranging from Scandinavian modernism to Art Deco. There were modern upholstery pieces, like swiveling lounge chairs and low-slung sofas, and experiments with textural wood on bar carts and cabinets as well as minimal, sculptural tables and functional office furniture. A passionate collector of Tiffany Studios lamps, Wormley used their glass tiles in Dunbar tables in 1956. He also worked on the reproduction of pieces by designers such as Jean-Michel Frank and Richard Riemerschmid.
One standout Dunbar Furniture collection was Janus, introduced in the 1960s, with Austrian-born ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler. These pieces see the Natzlers’ uniquely artful ceramic tiles set into several styles of wooden tables. They remain some of the most sought-after mid-century modern Dunbar pieces on the vintage market today. During the peak of his design career and, indeed, the height of Dunbar Furniture’s history, Wormley amassed a whopping 30 Good Design awards between 1950 and 1955 through the “Good Design” exhibition, hosted by the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art. Dunbar today produces a limited selection of archival Wormley designs, but many sales of original Dunbar pieces are through the resale market.
Find a collection of authentic vintage Dunbar Furniture today on 1stDibs.
- Dunbar Janus Collection Walnut Table by Edward WormleyBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in New York, NYDunbar Janus Collection walnut table by Edward Wormley, with dark chocolate finish circa 1950s. Brass label on underside.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Pair 1920's Art Deco Club ChairsLocated in New York, NYPair 1920's sexy Art Deco club chairs newly upholstered in grey.Category
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Hardwood
$3,600 / set - Pair Art Deco Club or Lounge ChairsLocated in New York, NYPair of American Art Deco Club Chairs, a remarkable combination of style, comfort, and timeless elegance. These chairs embody the essence ...Category
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Hardwood
$3,600 / set - Frankl Style Bamboo Rattan Arm ChairLocated in New York, NYPaul Frankl style bamboo rattan arm chair with new Starfish upholstery. Slight wear to frame finish.Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Bamboo, Rattan
- Frankl Style Bamboo Rattan Side or Desk ChairBy Paul FranklLocated in New York, NYPaul Frankl style arched base bamboo side or desk chair with new grey chenille upholstery. Slight wear to frame finish from age appropriate wear and use.Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Bamboo
- Upholstered Window BenchLocated in New York, NYUpholstered window bench with angled sides and curvy front. In clean striped upholstery. Measures: 48" across front and 36.5" across back of bench.Category
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsUpholstery, Hardwood
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Club ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St.Petersburg, FLStunning pair of oak framed chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, referred to as “Edward’s Chair”. New fabric and great original finish. Chairs...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Oak
$3,250 / set - Edward J. Wormley for Dunbar Club ChairBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St. Louis, MOSingle Edward J. Wormley for Dunbar club chair with older re-upholstery on thick tapered legs. Unrestored, ready for new upholstery, legs show age, should be refinished. Email for up...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- Edward Wormley Dunbar Yellow Upholstered Cube Club ChairsBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILA really great matched set of wormley cube chairs in all original upholstery. Signed Dunbar on upholstery as shown. Upholstrey shows some wear and fading, but I believe good to use ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Pair of Club ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in San Diego, CAPair of side upholstered side chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Medium brown lightly textured fabric and dark brown lacquered wood base. Chairs have been completely redone. Wonder...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
$4,800 / set - Vintage Ash Club Chair by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILc. 1970s. Ash frame with original wool upholstery. Brass bars on legs. Tagged.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsAsh
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Tufted 'Party' Club Chair in Black LeatherBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Waalwijk, NLEdward Wormley for Dunbar, lounge chair model 'Party', leather, United States, 1960s. Rare black leather 'Party Chair' by American designer Edward Wormle...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsLeather