Mid Century George Nakashima Grass Straw Chair in Walnut Produced in 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27.17 in (69 cm)Width: 22.45 in (57 cm)Depth: 18.12 in (46 cm)Seat Height: 15.36 in (39 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5488238380592
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Stockholm, Sweden
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Mid Century Sculptural Mirror in style of Georges Jouve Produced in France 1960sBy Georges JouveLocated in Stockholm, SERare black mid century ceramic free form wall mirror in style of Georges Jouve produced in France 1960s. In good original condition. There are two holes diagonal to each other on th...Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsCeramic
- Bruno Mathsson Mid-Century Easy Chair "Arbetsstolen" Produced in Sweden, 1960sBy Firma Karl Mathsson, Bruno MathssonLocated in Stockholm, SERare easy chair model "Arbetsstolen" designed by Bruno Mathsson and produced by Firma Karl Mathsson i Värnamo, Sweden. In good vintage condition with small signs from age and use. Si...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch, Paper
- George Nelson "Half Nelson" Mid Century Table Lamp Produced by Koch & Lowy 1960sBy George NelsonLocated in Stockholm, SEVery rare table / desk mid century lamp mode "Half Nelson" in enameled aluminum designed by George Nelson and produced by Koch & Lowy, USA 1960s. In good vintage and original conditi...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum, Chrome
- Pierre Jeanneret Midcentury "Box Chair" in Teak Produced in India, 1950sBy Pierre JeanneretLocated in Stockholm, SERare "box chair" in dark stained teak designed by Pierre Jeanneret produced in India for his and Le Corbusier's university projects in the 1950s. In great vintage condition with smal...Category
Vintage 1950s Indian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsRattan, Teak
- Swedish Mid Century Copper Cylinder Pendants Produced in Sweden, 1960sLocated in Stockholm, SERare and great set of four mid century copper cylinder pendants by anonymous designer produced in Sweden, 1960s. In good original condition with patina from age and use. Four pendant...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCopper
- Midcentury Freeform Mirror in Style of Georges Jouve Produced in France, 1960sBy Georges JouveLocated in Stockholm, SEVery rare and beautiful mid century free form mirror in black glazed ceramic in style of Georges Jouve. In great vintage and original condition. Pro...Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsCeramic
- George Nakashima Grass Seat ChairsBy George NakashimaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA set of 4 Grass Seat Chairs by George Nakashima. Nice patina to both wood and grass seats. Original owners name availableCategory
Vintage 1960s American Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Studio Grass Seated ChairBy George Nakashima Studio, George NakashimaLocated in Los Angeles, CAGrass-seated chair from circa 1950s production in black walnut by George Nakashima for Nakashima Studios with original seagrass seat. Two chairs available; priced individually. Meas...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWalnut, Seagrass
- Pair of George Nakashima Captain's Dining Chairs in WalnutBy George NakashimaLocated in Rockaway, NJPair of George Nakashima Captain's Dining Chairs in Walnut.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima, Rare Sculptural Pair of Conoid Chairs in Walnut, Signed, 1989By George NakashimaLocated in New York, NYGeorge Nakashima (1905–1990) An exceptional pair of Conoid chairs by Pennsylvania studio craft movement patriarch George Nakashima, among the last he sculpted before his death. In ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsHickory, Walnut
- 1960s Walnut Stool by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Sagaponack, NYA walnut barstool designed by American Craftsman Master George Nakashima with hand-hewn spindles supporting a thin backrest, a shaped seat on four spl...Category
Vintage 1960s American American Craftsman Stools
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Straight Chair for KnollBy Knoll, George NakashimaLocated in Los Angeles, CADesigned by master craftsman George Nakashima for Knoll in 1946, the N19 chair was intended as a mass-produced counterpoint to the Nakashima Studio’s popular “Straight Chair...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsWalnut