George Nakashima Single Board Rocking Armchair
View Similar Items
George Nakashima Single Board Rocking Armchair
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Workshop/Studio)
- Dimensions:Height: 35 in (88.9 cm)Width: 26.5 in (67.31 cm)Depth: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1990
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Houston, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85068747353
George Nakashima
A master woodworker and M.I.T.-trained architect, George Nakashima was the leading light of the American Studio furniture movement. Along with Wharton Esherick, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, Nakashima was an artisan who disdained industrial methods and materials in favor of a personal, craft-based approach to the design. What sets Nakashima apart is the poetic style of his work, his reverence for wood and the belief that his furniture could evince — as he put it in the title of his 1981 memoir — The Soul of a Tree.
Born in Spokane, Washington, to Japanese immigrants, Nakashima traveled widely after college, working and studying in Paris, Japan and India, and at every stop he absorbed both modernist and traditional design influences. The turning point in Nakashima’s career development came in the United States in 1942, when he was placed in an internment camp for Asian-Americans in Idaho. There, Nakashima met a master woodcarver who tutored him in Japanese crafting techniques. A former employer won Nakashima’s release and brought him to bucolic New Hope, Pennsylvania, where Nakashima set up a studio and worked for the rest of his life.
Nakashima’s singular aesthetic is best captured in his custom-made tables and benches — pieces that show off the grain, burls and whorls in a plank of wood. He left the “free edge,” or natural contour, of the slab un-planed, and reinforced fissures in the wood with “butterfly” joints. Almost all Nakashima seating pieces have smooth, milled edges. Nakashima also contracted with large-scale manufacturers to produce carefully supervised editions of his designs. Knoll has offered his Straight chair — a modern take on the spindle-backed Windsor chair — since 1946; the now-defunct firm Widdicomb-Mueller issued the Shaker-inspired Origins collection in the 1950s.
Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 gave Nakashima his single largest commission: a 200-piece suite for his suburban New York estate. Today, Nakashima furniture is collected by both the staid and the fashionable: his work sits in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in the homes of Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Diane von Furstenberg and the late Steve Jobs.
- Dining Chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, Set of Six, 1950sBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Houston, TXEdward Wormley, two armchairs, and four side chairs. Dunbar, USA. Mahogany and leather. Signed with applied gold rectangular metal manufacturer's label to the seat bottom [Dunb...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Arthur Umanoff Desk Clock, George Nelson & Associates, 1950sBy Howard Miller, George NelsonLocated in Houston, TXGeorge Nelson & Associates table clock. Howard Miller Clock Company, USA. Rosewood, steel. Measures: 4.25 W x 3 D x 5.5 H inches. Signed with decal manufacturer's label t...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Clocks
MaterialsSteel
- George Nelson & Associates for Herman Miller Cabinet Model 5211By George Nelson, Herman MillerLocated in Houston, TXGeorge Nelson & Associates Miniature cabinet, model 5211 Herman Miller USA, 1950s Walnut, rosewood, enameled steel, laminate, porcelain Measures: 20.25 W × 14 D × 32.25 H in ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsWalnut
- Richard Meier Armchairs Set of 10 for KnollBy Knoll, Richard MeierLocated in Houston, TXRichard Meier Armchairs, 10 chairs Knoll USA, 1982 Maple Measures: 26.5 H × 20.5 W × 20 D in. Large set. In original condition.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMaple
$38,000 / set - Large Richard Meier Dining Set for KnollBy Knoll, Richard MeierLocated in Houston, TXRichard Meier Dining Set Dining table, armchairs, 10 chairs Knoll USA, 1982 Maple Measures: 27.5 H × 96 W × 60 W in table Measures: 26.5 H × 20.5 W × 20 D in. Large dining set...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsMaple
$54,000 / set - Cassina 'Soriana' Sofa by Afra and Tobia Scarpa in Original LeatherBy Cassina, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Houston, TXAfra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana leather sofa. Cassina. Italy, 1969. leather, chrome-plated steel. Soriana three or four seat sofa in original condition. Original leather.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- George Nakashima Slab-Arm RockerBy George NakashimaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA fine example of this form. The family requested an extra wide slab -arm. Signed with the clients name.Category
Vintage 1960s American Rocking Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chair and ArmchairLocated in Brooklyn, NYLovely vintage modern wood frame chairs with sculpted arms, spindle backs and thick cushions. (Please confirm item location - NY or NJ - with dealer).Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood
$1,984 Sale Price / set26% Off - 1980s, Black and White Rocking ArmchairLocated in Marbella, ESCategory
Late 20th Century North American Rocking Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- George Nakashima Dining Armchair for WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., George NakashimaLocated in Los Angeles, CABlack walnut dining armchair by George Nakashima for Grand Rapids, Michigan-based company Widdicomb, c.1960s for their "Origins" collection. This rare dining chair, is one of the few...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- George Nakashima Captain’s Armchairs in CherryBy George NakashimaLocated in Waalwijk, NLGeorge Nakashima, captain’s chairs or armchairs, cherry, United States, 1982 With regard to its essential form, material use, and woodwork, this pair of captain’s chairs is a testim...Category
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsCherry
$7,450 / item - Cabinetmakers Carved Rocking Armchair in Sheepskin and Oak, Denmark, 1930By Axel Larsson, Axel Einar HjorthLocated in Odense, DKWonderful unique armchair made by a Danish cabinetmaker in the 1920-40s. The chair is made from solid oakwood and is upholstered in lambswool. It has slightly curved rocker rails whi...Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSheepskin, Oak