Rare Pair of Streamline Moderne Chrome Spring Rockers Designed by Gilbert Rohde
View Similar Items
Rare Pair of Streamline Moderne Chrome Spring Rockers Designed by Gilbert Rohde
About the Item
- Creator:Gilbert Rohde (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 23 in (58.42 cm)Depth: 28 in (71.12 cm)Seat Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Streamlined Moderne (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1930
- Condition:Professionally restored and refinished by LookModern.
- Seller Location:Portland, OR
- Reference Number:Seller: JG-18771stDibs: LU92956882343
Gilbert Rohde
Pioneering self-taught industrial designer, writer and teacher Gilbert Rohde helped define the earliest phase of modernism in the United States. He is one of the most influential figures of 20th-century design and is credited with helping legendary mid-century modern furniture manufacturer Herman Miller avert financial disaster during the Great Depression.
Born in New York City, Rohde studied painting at the Art Students League after high school. He found lucrative employment, first as a political cartoonist and then as a catalog illustrator for American department stores. He was particularly enthralled with drawing furnished interiors.
Rohde began to design furniture in his spare time. He traveled to the Bauhaus school in Germany and the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, and drew on the Art Deco movement and the work of designers such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann in his early pieces. Rohde opened his own studio in 1929 and secured private and commercial commissions. His clients would come to include formidable furniture makers Heywood-Wakefield and Troy Sunshade, and his innovative bentwood furnishings for them were practical and intended for the modern consumer.
In 1930, Rohde met Herman Miller founder D.J. De Pree in the company’s Michigan showroom during a business trip. By then, Rohde had a long list of prominent clients and his furniture had been exhibited in museums and galleries. Herman Miller was weathering a devastating slowdown in business, and the American furniture industry had generally been hit hard by the Great Depression.
Rohde boldly informed De Pree that the brand’s furniture had become outdated, which was part of the reason the company was in financial jeopardy. Homes had become smaller and could no longer accommodate the large Gothic– and Victorian–style furnishings and traditional reproductions of period bedroom suites that Herman Miller was offering at the time, Rohde explained.
Rohde secured a contract to design for the Michigan manufacturer. He championed the use of exotic woods and tubular steel, and created streamlined, unadorned bedroom furniture for Herman Miller — collections that included convenient vanities, which were unconventional pieces for De Pree’s company back then.
In 1933, Rohde oversaw the design of two bedrooms featuring sleek Herman Miller furniture — including innovative storage pieces he designed — as part of an International–style exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The installation garnered acclaim for De Pree’s brand all over the world and afforded Rohde the opportunity to execute on his visionary ideas in front of a global audience. Rohde later designed lighting, seating and more for Herman Miller and was extensively involved in the company's marketing strategy and other areas of the business.
In 1942, Herman Miller, anticipating a postwar economic boom, began to produce office furniture for the first time, but its legacy is in the home. Working with legendary designers such as Ray and Charles Eames, Isamu Noguchi and Alexander Girard, the manufacturer fostered some of the boldest expressions of what we now call mid-century modern style.
Find vintage Gilbert Rohde coffee tables, lounge chairs, table lamps and other items on 1stDibs.
- American Art Deco Tubular chrome Chair Designed by Gilbert RohdeBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in San Diego, CAModernist Chrome Cantilever Chair by Etowah Mfg, Bauhaus / Art Deco, Super stylized Amazing original condition. Extremely comfortable. Superior quality and construction.Designed by G...Category
20th Century American Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
- Art Deco Streamline Lounge Chair Designed by Gilbert Rohde for Heywood WakefieldBy Gilbert Rohde, Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Buffalo, NYArt Deco lounge chair designed by Gilbert Rohde for Heywood Wakefield, Classic Art Deco streamline design, superior 1930s quality and heavy spring construction. Painted gold wood fra...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Lounge Chairs
MaterialsVelvet, Wood
- Gilbert Rohde Att. Pair of American Armchairs in Red Velvet Damask and WoodBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in Milano, ITExtraordinary pair of American armchairs attributed to Gilbert Rohde from the 1950s. The pair of armchairs are made of very elegant red dam...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsVelvet, Wood
- Gilbert Rohde Styled Art Deco Z Sitting Chairs (B)By Gilbert RohdeLocated in Cincinnati, OHA set of two sculptural chromed framed sitting chairs in the design manner of Gilbert Rohde's Z chairs . Upholstered in a satin black soft and smooth leatherette fabric which makes t...Category
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
- 2 Gilbert Rohde Styled Art Deco Z Sitting Chairs (A)By Gilbert RohdeLocated in Cincinnati, OHA set of two sculptural chromed framed sitting chairs in the design manner of Gilbert Rohde's Z chairs . Upholstered in a satin black soft and smooth leatherette fabric which makes t...Category
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
$1,275 / set - Gilbert Rohde, Armchairs, Cherry, Velvet, USA, 1940sBy Gilbert Rohde, Herman MillerLocated in High Point, NCA pair of cherrywood and purple velvet armchairs designed by Gilbert Rohde and produced by Herman Miller, Zeeland, Michigan, 1940s. Seat height 17.5”.Category
Vintage 1940s American Modern Armchairs
MaterialsCherry, Velvet