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Pair Edward Wormley for Dunbar "Y" Modernist Lounge Chairs

About
Details
- CreatorEdward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Maker)
- DimensionsHeight: 83.82 cm (33 in.)Width: 55.88 cm (22 in.)Depth: 63.5 cm (25 in.)Seat Height: 48.26 cm (19 in.)
- Sold AsSet of 2
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1950s
- ConditionMinor losses.
- Seller LocationBuffalo, NY
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU1062429069582
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Buffalo, NY
- Return Policy
This item cannot be returned.
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.
- Edward Wormley Janus Lounge Chair & Ottoman Model 5701, Dunbar, 1957By Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Buffalo, NYEdward Wormley Janus lounge chair and ottoman Model 5701, Dunbar, 1957 ash, leather; 33.75 H × 30.5 W × 34 D in; Stitched manufacturer's mark to decking 'Dunbar'. Upholstery manuf...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
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- Stunning Modernist Angled Sofa Attributed to Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Buffalo, NYStunning Modernist angled sofa attributed to Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Solid brass legs, Amazing quality, construction and design. Retains original fabric. in need or restoration.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Solid Walnut Modernist Lounge Chairs by Gunlocke Chair Co.By Gunlocke, Jens RisomLocated in Buffalo, NYThis stunning pair of vintage modern armchairs boast beautiful walnut frames with sculpted armrests and upholstered backrests. Retains original blue wool fabric in nice original cond...Category
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- Classic Modernist Adrian Pearsall Sculptural Lounge ChairBy Adrian Pearsall, Craft AssociatesLocated in Buffalo, NYClassic modernist sculptural lounge chair, designed by Adrian Pearsall for Craft Associates, amazing design, Jetsons wing chair. Extremely comfortable, newly upholstered. Hand delive...Category
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- Stunning Pair of Stow Davis Walnut Lounge Chairs, Classic Modernist DesignBy Stow Davis, Jens RisomLocated in Buffalo, NYStunning pair of Stow Davis sculpted walnut lounge chairs, Classic modernist design, extremely comfortable, retain original mustard green Naugahyde floating seat and back, also retai...Category
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- Pair Modernist Walnut and Channeled Naugahyde Lounge Chairs Attr. to Jens RisomBy Jens RisomLocated in Buffalo, NYPair of modernist walnut and channeled Naugahyde lounge chairs attributed to Jens Risom. Wonderful design. Channeled seats and backs similar to 1950s car interior seats. Extremely co...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsNaugahyde, Walnut
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