- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
1940s Edward Wormley for Dunbar Set of Four Side Chairs

About
Details
- CreatorEdward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer)
- DimensionsHeight: 96.52 cm (38 in.)Width: 48.26 cm (19 in.)Depth: 57.15 cm (22.5 in.)
- Sold AsSet of 4
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1940s
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use. Legs refinished in dark espresso, upholstery needs updating.
- Seller LocationSt. Louis, MO
- Reference Number
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: St. Louis, MO
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
About the Designer
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.
- Set of Eight Edward Wormley for Dunbar Dining ArmchairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St. Louis, MOEdward Wormley for Dunbar Model number 842, set of eight armchairs in mahogany with red velvet seats. All original, minor touch up prior to shipping. These chairs were used around a ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
US$8,500 / set - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Set of Eight Dining ChairsBy Edward WormleyLocated in St. Louis, MOEdward Wormley for Dunbar dining chairs, set of eight, two armchairs and six side chairs, sculpted mahogany chairs with upholstered seats, arm chairs 33" H x 22" D x 23.5" W with sea...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
US$8,000 / set - Pair of Edward Wormley for Dunbar Dining Chairs with Brass HandlesBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in St. Louis, MOListed are a pair of elegant Edward Wormley for Dunbar dining chairs with arms and brass handles. These are in need of restoration, perfect if your looking to add to your set. Also c...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Edward J. Wormley for Dunbar Brass Handle ArmchairBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St. Louis, MOEdward J. Wormley for Dunbar desk or dining chair with tapered legs and brass handle or handhold, circa 1950s. Shown in all original condition with vintage Asian style fabric, has mi...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Early 1940s Edward J. Wormley Armchairs for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St. Louis, MOPair of early 1940s Edward J. Wormley Elegant neoclassical style occasional arm chairs for Dunbar model No. 116B. As shown in The Other Face of Modernism book on Wormley an in the 19...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward J. Wormley for Dunbar, 1940s Bookshelf End TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St. Louis, MOFrom the 1940s Dunbar Enduring Modern catalog is model # 2193, a single large end table with lower tier bookshelf by Edward J. Wormley. Rounded legs, has divider in center to hold bo...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsMahogany
You May Also Like
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany, Cane
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut, Leather
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Vintage 1970s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Silk, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany, Upholstery, Cane
Vintage 1950s Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
Recently Viewed
View MoreThe 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Trusted Global Delivery