A Conoid Bench by George Nakashima
View Similar Items
A Conoid Bench by George Nakashima
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 84 in (213.36 cm)Depth: 30 in (76.2 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:20th Century
- Condition:Excellent original condition. No issues.
- Seller Location:Sea Cliff, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U1112128586138
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.
- George Nakashima Studio Conoid BenchBy George Nakashima Studio, George NakashimaLocated in Chicago, ILGeorge Nakashima Studio Conoid bench, 84" long. Strongly figured American black walnut with hickory spindles. Sold with a certificate of authenticity Measure: seat height 12.50".Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsHickory, Walnut
- Early George Nakashima Conoid Bench c. 1964By George NakashimaLocated in Brooklyn, NYGeorge Nakashima Conoid Bench c. 1964. Beautifully figured crotch grain American black walnut with Hickory spindles and rosewood butterflies. Very unusual topographic shaped slab....Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsHickory, Rosewood, Walnut
- George Nakashima Studio Conoid Bench Signed Mira Nakashima, 1992By George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in New York, NYGeorge Nakashima Studio Conoid bench signed Mira Nakashima 1992. The bench is walnut has hickory spindles and rosewood butterfly joints. This bench was commissioned for a private col...Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsHickory, Walnut
- Conoid Bench by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George Nakashima, USABy George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in Berlin, DEConoid bench in walnut, US 2021, by Mira Nakashima based on a George Nakashima design. The Bench is made in black walnut with hickory spindles and is s...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- Conoid Bench by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George Nakashima, USABy George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in Berlin, DEConoid bench in walnut, US 2021, by Mira Nakashima based on a George Nakashima design. The Bench is made in black walnut with hickory spindles.Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- Conoid Bench Manner of Mira Nakashima c1980Located in Paddock Wood Tonbridge, GBCONOID BENCH - NAKASHIMA C1980 George and Mira Nakashima style design Conoid bench, a stunning piece of furniture from the late 20th century. Crafted with precision in Teak and exotic wood, this sofa embodies the renowned American designer architect's signature style. With exceptional quality reproduction, it closely resembles the original design, . The remarkable amphitheater back boasts seamless wooden supports, creating a truly fabulous aesthetic. Having Butterly joint detail and nicely jointed legs...Category
Vintage 1980s Central American Post-Modern Benches
MaterialsTeak