Pair of T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Armchairs
View Similar Items
Pair of T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Armchairs
About the Item
- Creator:Widdicomb Furniture Co. (Manufacturer),T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 27 in (68.58 cm)Seat Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Wood,Stained
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Please request a detailed condition report for this item.
- Seller Location:Ft Lauderdale, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU88501955712
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
British-born designer, interior decorator and author T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905–76) was one of the great American tastemakers in the middle decades of the 20th century. Much like Edward Wormley, Robsjohn-Gibbings was a design classicist by education and inclination, but he would come to create some of the most gracious and livable modern furnishings of the era.
Robsjohn-Gibbings studied architecture at the University of London, then held various jobs that included designing décors for passenger liners and working as the art director of a film studio. In the early 1930s, while employed by the upper-crust interior designer Charles J. Duveen, Robsjohn-Gibbings experienced an epiphany during a visit to the British Museum. Examining the furniture depicted on ancient Greek ceramics — lithe stools and klismos chairs — he realized that he had found a design touchstone. By 1936, he had moved to New York and set up a showroom on Madison Avenue for his modern reinterpretations of classic Greek designs. Aided by contacts he’d developed while working with Duveen, he quickly established a clientele that included Elizabeth Arden, Doris Duke and Thelma Chrysler Foy.
Through his writings for magazines and books, Robsjohn-Gibbings earned a public following and was established as an urbane arbiter of taste. From 1943 to 1956, he produced an understated line of modernist furnishings for Widdicomb, which included one of the icons of the period: the tiered, biomorphic Mesa coffee table (1951). Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece, in 1966, and created a new line of antiquity-inspired pieces for the firm Saridis. The series turned out to be his swan song.
Collectors’ interest in Robsjohn-Gibbings was reignited in the 1980s, when the 200-plus pieces from his 1936–38 commission for the Bel-Air estate of Los Angeles socialite Hilda Boldt Weber — pared-down neoclassical pieces rendered in blond wood (with the occasional flourish) — came on the market. (Up until then, the collection had remained in the house, despite its having changed hands several times.)
But his work for Widdicomb remains his most widely known, appreciated for its elegance and generous proportions. Robsjohn-Gibbings despised the stern aesthetic associated with his Bauhaus contemporaries, and a keynote of his modernist pieces is that they have no sharp angles. His chair and sofa frames, table legs and even many cabinets feature softly contoured edges. In whatever styled he designed, Robsjohn-Gibbings was guided by simplicity and timelessness. He wanted his furniture to be lived with happily.
Widdicomb Furniture Co.
Admirers of vintage mid-century modern furnishings likely recognize the Widdicomb Furniture Company name for the fruitful partnerships it forged with iconic designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and Mario Buatta. But there is more to the Widdicomb story than the albeit quite covetable sofas and bedroom furniture it produced during the middle of the 20th century.
A wealth of pine and oak forests rendered Grand Rapids, Michigan, a logging center during the 1800s, and it eventually gained recognition for its furniture industry. The American city became a destination for furniture makers who hailed from across the United States and beyond. Furniture maker George Widdicomb emigrated from England to the United States in 1845, eventually setting up a cabinet shop in Syracuse, New York, before moving west to Grand Rapids. There, he opened a shop with his four sons, including John Widdicomb, whose name would help carry the family legacy into the 20th century.
The Widdicomb shop in Grand Rapids prospered, as the patriarch’s formal English training allowed him to produce pieces with superior craftsmanship compared to those of his competitors. Although the Civil War halted business and took the life of one of the Widdicomb brothers, the family’s survivors would start anew as Widdicomb Brothers and Richards, soon renamed the Widdicomb Furniture Company.
John Widdicomb, however, split from the family business in 1897 to create the John Widdicomb Company, where he would go on to focus on Louis XV- and French Provincial-style furnishings. Chairs made in these styles have distinct characteristics, such as floral motifs carved in the frames and gently angled backrests. John's company also remained a family affair: The founder’s son, Harry, assumed control of the company when his father died in 1910, while John's nephew Ralph Widdicombe — who retained the English spelling of his last name and joined the John Widdicomb Company at its start — designed every single piece of the offerings at his uncle's manufacturing outfit until he retired in 1951. Ralph was an internationally distinguished furniture designer whose modern mahogany bedroom suite won first prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900.
The original iteration of Widdicomb, which was helmed by John's older brother William while John ran his own brand, had shifted from making period revival styles of furniture, such as Georgian and Chippendale, to manufacturing modern pieces in the late 1920s. Today vintage Widdicomb seating, tables and other pieces produced during the postwar years are particularly sought after by collectors of mid-20th-century furniture.
In 1959, master woodworker George Nakashima created his Origins collection for Widdicomb when the firm merged with Mueller Furniture Corporation and was known, for around 10 years, as Widdicomb-Mueller. Origins, a revered Shaker-influenced group of nightstands, upholstered lounge chairs, dining-room tables and more, saw Nakashima working with woods like Carpathian elm and laurel in his Pennsylvania studio.
Eventually, the two Widdicomb companies would combine in 1970, operating under the name John Widdicomb Co.
In 2002, the business closed after more than a century of operations, and its assets were acquired by Stickley Furniture. Interestingly, it was not the first time Widdicomb and Stickley overlapped: In the final years of the 19th century, the companies opened a shared storehouse in London, while John Widdicomb and Albert Stickley would travel Europe together for the purposes of research.
Find vintage Widdicomb coffee tables, case pieces, dining chairs and more on 1stDibs.
- Set of Four Modern Dining Chairs in Red Lacquer, Italy, 1980sLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLSet of four modern dining chairs in red lacquer, Italy, 1980s. High-style, cantilevered glossy tomato-red lacquer wood chairs / armchairs / dining chairs by Tecnosedia, Italy. Seat ...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Regency Style X-Base Chrome Arm or Lounge Chair 1970sLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLRegency Style X-Base Chrome Arm or Lounge Chair 1970's. Exceptional X-base Chrome 1960's lounge chair. Super stylish lounge or arm chair, unique in design, deep-seated, heavy polish...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Peacock Chair by Hans Wegner for Johannes Hansen, Denmark, 1947By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLPeacock chair by Hans Wegner for Johannes Hansen 1947 Aldo known as PP550. Early 1960's production. Branded manufacturer's mark to underside ‘Johannes Hansen Copenhagen Denmark’. Ve...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsPapercord, Ash, Teak
- Pair of Lamps by James Mont in Painted Gilded WoodBy James MontLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLPair of Lamps by James Mont in Painted Gilded Wood A pair of bulbous form Asian red painted and gold gilt over wood table lamps with original glass shades and linen shades. Some chi...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsWood
$6,000 / set - Pair of Slipper Lounge Chairs by Kipp Stewart for Directional 1960sBy Directional, Kipp StewartLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLPair of Slipper Lounge Chairs by Kipp Stewart for Directional 1960s Newly upholstered in slate gray / dark indigo cotton fabric with fiv...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Slipper Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Pair of Mid Century French Side or End Tables French 1960sLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLPair of mid century French side or end tables French 1960s Pair of mid century French side or end tables French 1960's. Unique tables d'appoint on carved poly chromed wood base / sh...Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsIron
- Pair of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Open ArmchairsBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Chicago, ILRestored T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings maple framed open armchairs with new dark chocolate wool upholstery.Category
Vintage 1950s American Armchairs
MaterialsVelvet, Maple
- Pair of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Sleek Lined Armchairs for WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Chicago, ILPair of expertly restored sleek lined arm chairs designed by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. Holland & Sherry wool upholstery in a grey and white very small checker board patt...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- Radiant Pair of Walnut Loungers Attributed to Robsjohn-Gibbings, circa 1955By T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Atlanta, GAThese magnificent lounge chairs are shipped as professionally photographed and described in the listing narrative: Meticulously professionally restored and installation ready. Expert...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Pair T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings ArmchairsBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in New York, NYPair T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings armchairs for Widdicomb. Solid walnut frames and newly upholstered.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
$6,500 / set - Pair of T. H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb Arm ChairsBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Kansas City, MOElegant pair of Robsjohn-Gibbings armchairs.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsCane, Mahogany, Upholstery
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Armchairs, Walnut, Fabric, USA, 1950sBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in High Point, NCA pair of walnut and off-white fabric armchairs or side chairs designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and produced by Widdicomb, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, 1950s. 20” seat heightCategory
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Walnut