Pair McGuire Cathedral Lounge Chairs
View Similar Items
Pair McGuire Cathedral Lounge Chairs
About the Item
- Creator:McGuire (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 25.5 in (64.77 cm)Seat Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Organic Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1975
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very minor touch ups to the original surface. Both chairs are very stable and now in excellent condition.
- Seller Location:Pasadena, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: mjhdesignarts.05.15.221stDibs: LU2519329480162
McGuire
Like so many artists and designers, husband and wife John McGuire (1920–2013) and Elinor Stevenson (1914–2005) became masters in their trade by accident. For the founders of McGuire Furniture Company, well, furniture wasn’t actually in the plans.
The couple met just before the start of World War II (during which John was in the U.S. Navy and Elinor was a navigation instructor) and got married after it ended. They settled down in San Francisco where John held a couple of jobs — among them selling newspaper ads for the San Francisco Examiner while Elinor worked for Boeing Aircraft. Soon, an old Navy buddy of John’s asked him to help sell a bunch of rattan furniture and, needing the money, John agreed. His side business became so successful that John decided to quit his ad-sales job and work full-time in design.
In 1948, McGuire Furniture Company was born. Alongside the mid-century modern furniture designs then gaining popularity in the United States, John introduced an unconventional idea: traditional armchairs, stools and tables made of natural materials such as bamboo, which was strong yet could be rendered pliable when steamed, that were intended for the indoors rather than the front porch.
The brand’s first success was the now famous Director’s X-Chair by Leonard Linden. The military-campaign-style solid oak folding chair launched in 1956 and saw rattan binded with rawhide strips and a high-grade leather slug seat and back that eliminated the need for a plush cushion. Elinor, too, designed some of the brand’s popular pieces, such as 1968’s Cracked Ice chair. With its rattan oval back a dazzling celebration of geometric forms that give it its charming moniker, the Cracked Ice chair was an instant classic and is one of the brand’s most recognizable designs.
Today, McGuire and another American furniture manufacturer, Baker Furniture Company, comprise Baker Interiors Group. McGuire remains true to the founders’ ideals and commitment to crafting the kind of organic modern furnishings that are synonymous with the warm and relaxed feel of California design. The company has collaborated with interior designers Steven Volpe, Orlando Diaz-Azcuy and Nicole Hollis, and, as of 2019, its luxury furnishings share a 16,500-square-foot showroom with Baker’s in San Francisco. Some of the earliest McGuire Furniture Company designs are part of the permanent collection at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.
Find a range of McGuire Furniture on 1stDibs.
- Bar Harbor Wicker Arm ChairLocated in Pasadena, CAThis is a classic Bar Harbor style wicker chair that dates to the first half of the twentieth century. The chair was reupholstered in a cherry red fabric and repainted at some point ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Organic Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wicker, Wood
$995 Sale Price31% Off - McGuire Coffee TableBy McGuireLocated in Pasadena, CAThis is a charming McGuire-attributed small coffee table. All design details conform to McGuire tables, but this table does not retain a McGuire tag. The table is in very good origin...Category
Vintage 1980s American Organic Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Bamboo
$1,000 Sale Price20% Off - Pair of Nancy Corzine ChairsBy Nancy CorzineLocated in Pasadena, CAThis is an outstanding pair of early 21st century open arm chairs in the Hollywood Regency style. The chairs feature ebonized carved frames with caned seats and backs. The chairs are...Category
Early 2000s American Hollywood Regency Lounge Chairs
MaterialsGold Leaf
$3,500 / set - Pair English 19th Century Slipper ChairsLocated in Pasadena, CAThis is a pair of c. 1870 English Slipper that have been brought into the 21st century with a fine Clarence House Linen in a French gray and ivory abstract damask pattern. The intern...Category
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Slipper Chairs
MaterialsLinen, Wood
- Pair Napoleon III Slipper ChairsLocated in Pasadena, CAThis is a superb pair of period Napoleon III Chauffeuses or Slipper Chairs that date to c. 1860-1875. The chairs feature arched back crests with tightly upholstered seats and backs. ...Category
Antique 1860s French Napoleon III Slipper Chairs
MaterialsBrass
Sold$4,350 / set - Pair McGuire Side Tables or NightstandsBy John and Elinor McGuireLocated in Pasadena, CAThis is a superb pair of McGuire Bedside Tables or Stands that dates to c 1970. The tables are in overall very good to excellent original conditi...Category
Late 20th Century American Organic Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of McGuire Rattan Lounge ChairsBy John and Elinor McGuire, McGuireLocated in Highland, INThis beautiful pair of lounge chairs by McGuire take their sophisticated sculptural sensibility to another level. The front legs are made of twisted bands that wrap around the seat b...Category
Vintage 1970s American Organic Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Rattan
- McGuire A-1 Rattan Lounge ChairBy John and Elinor McGuire, McGuireLocated in Highland, INThis important early design by Elinor McGuire dates from the 1950s. It's from their "Style 1" series, and was offered as this model A-1 lounge chair, and also a two or three seat sof...Category
Vintage 1960s American Organic Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Upholstery, Rattan
- Pair of McGuire Organic Modern Rattan Pole Lounge ChairsBy McGuireLocated in Rio Vista, CAAmazing pair of rattan pole lounge chairs or club chairs made in the California organic modern style by McGuire. The chairs feature large rattan fra...Category
20th Century American Organic Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Rattan, Oak
- Chic Restored Pair Modern Cathedral Back Loungers by McGuire, circa 1975By McGuireLocated in Atlanta, GAThese magnificent lounge chairs are shipped as professionally photographed and described in the listing narrative: Meticulously professionally restored and installation ready. New cu...Category
Vintage 1970s North American Organic Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Cane, Rattan
- McGuire Organic Modern Rattan Raffia Lounge ChairBy McGuireLocated in Rio Vista, CAExceptional rattan lounge chair made in the California coastal organic modern style by McGuire. The chair features a thick pole rattan frame with double walled sides and back of wove...Category
20th Century American Organic Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Fabric, Grasscloth, Cane, Raffia, Rattan
- Set of Four McGuire Organic Modern Rattan Cathedral Dining ChairsBy McGuireLocated in Rio Vista, CAIconic set of four organic modern rattan dining chairs made by McGuire. "Cathedral" style dining chairs designed by John McGuire feature a Gothic lancet arch style back with an open ...Category
20th Century American Organic Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Fabric, Rattan