Dunbar Brass Bench
View Similar Items
Dunbar Brass Bench
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Width: 27.5 in (69.85 cm)Depth: 21.5 in (54.61 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: f81251511063398813fs
Edward Wormley
As the longtime director of design for the Dunbar furniture company, Edward Wormley was, along with such peers as George Nelson at Herman Miller Inc., and Florence Knoll of Knoll Inc., one of the leading forces in bringing modern design into American homes in the mid-20th century. Not an axiomatic modernist, Wormley deeply appreciated traditional design, and consequently his vintage seating, storage cabinets, bar carts and other work has an understated warmth and a timeless quality that sets it apart from other furnishings of the era.
Wormley was born in rural Illinois and as a teenager took correspondence courses from the New York School of Interior Design. He later attended the Art Institute of Chicago but ran out of money for tuition before he could graduate. Marshall Field hired Wormley in 1930 to design a line of reproduction 18th-century English furniture; the following year he was hired by the Indiana-based Dunbar, where he quickly distinguished himself. It was a good match.
Dunbar was an unusual firm: it did not use automated production systems; its pieces were mostly hand-constructed. For his part, Wormley did not use metal as a major component of furniture; he liked craft elements such as caned seatbacks, tambour drawers, or the woven-wood cabinet fronts seen on his Model 5666 sideboard of 1956. He designed two lines for Dunbar each year — one traditional, one modern — until 1944, by which time the contemporary pieces had become the clear best sellers.
Many of Wormley’s signature pieces — chairs, sofas, tables and more — are modern interpretations of traditional forms. His 1946 Riemerschmid Chair — an example is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art — recapitulates a late 19th-century German design. The long, slender finials of his Model 5580 dining chairs are based on those of Louis XVI chairs; his Listen-to-Me Chaise (1948) has a gentle Rococo curve; the “Precedent” line that Wormley designed for Drexel Furniture in 1947 is a simplified, pared-down take on muscular Georgian furniture. But he could invent new forms, as his Magazine table of 1953, with its bent wood pockets, and his tiered Magazine Tree (1947), both show. And Wormley kept his eye on design currents, creating a series of tables with tops that incorporate tiles and roundels by the great modern ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler.
As the vintage items on 1stDibs demonstrate, Edward Wormley conceived of a subdued sort of modernism, designing furniture that fits into any decorating scheme and does not shout for attention.
- Edward Wormley Brass Bench for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CASophisticated brass square frame bench designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Very good original condition, Model #5428.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley Bench by Dunbar, Model 5429By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley design bench for Dunbar, Model 5429. Classic design by Wormley in brass square frame on capped feet. Newer Jack Lenor Larsen upholstery that presents very well, ready ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsBrass
- Nicos Zographos Stainless Steel BenchBy Nicos ZographosLocated in San Francisco, CANicos Zographos design stainless steel and leather upholstered bench. Classic modern design lines made with a high quality solid stainless steel frame in very good restored conditio...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Tommi Parzinger Bench for Parzinger OriginalsBy Tommi ParzingerLocated in San Francisco, CATommi Parzinger design bench for Parzinger Originals, N.Y. Upholstered in what appears to be the original white leather on a brass tubular studded frame. A rare design made with high...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsBrass
- Paul Evans Cityscape Stool or BenchBy Paul EvansLocated in San Francisco, CAPaul Evans design stool or bench for his Cityscape line, U.S.A. A rare form offered in its original black tufted leather and chrome patch quilt motif. Inspired by the city skyline, ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsChrome
- Torbjorn Afdal "Krobo" Table/Bench by Bruksbo NorwayBy Mersman, Torbjørn AfdalLocated in San Francisco, CATorbjorn Afdal "Krobo" Table/Bench by Bruksbo Norway. Gorgeous rosewood long bench or low table perfect for a hallway or to display sculptures or a ...Category
Vintage 1970s Norwegian Scandinavian Modern Benches
MaterialsRosewood
$4,500 / item
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Bermuda Bench as Found ConditionBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Ferndale, MIEdward Wormley design for Dunbar furniture of Berne Indiana. Elegant design rectangular bench on tall taper legs with high sides. I am offering the bench in solid and stable as found...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsWood
- Two Mid-Century "Bermuda" Benches by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXVintage 1940's "Bermuda" benches model #4962 designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar FurnitureBerne, Indiana. Playful and sculptural the bermuda bench raises the bar for stylish seatin...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- 1940's Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mahogany Regency Style X Form Bench or StoolBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in St. Louis, MOEarly design for Dunbar, mahogany bench or vanity stool model 1050. Curved or X form base with classical styling, with older upholstered seat. Mahogany frame will be restored prior t...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Brass X Form BenchLocated in Atlanta, GABrass X form bench, American, circa 1950s. This bench has been recently reupholstered in an ivory color boucle fabric. The brass base retains its original...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsMetal, Brass
$2,800 - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Thebes StoolsBy Edward WormleyLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA pair of Thebes Stools designed by Edward Wormley manufactured by Dunbar Mahogany legs with Boucle Upholstery The Estate we purchased from had...Category
Vintage 1950s American Stools
MaterialsUpholstery
$10,500 / set - Pair of Dunbar Thebes Stools by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA beautifully restored pair of Dunbar Thebes stools designed by Edward Wormley.Category
Vintage 1950s Stools
MaterialsMahogany
$7,500 / set