John Hutton Designs for Donghia Ghost/Spirit Club Chair in of the Period Fabric

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John Hutton Designs for Donghia Ghost/Spirit Club Chair in of the Period Fabric

About the Item

A rare 1990’s John Hutton Designs for Donghia club chair from a series of updates to classical lines with an anthropomorphic slightly exaggerated design motif of era titled alternately Ghost and Spirit. This Club chair bears the hallmarks of chairs in this series however is considerably more bulky in construction and has an added complexity in the contoured curve of the leg rest with its rounded base. Other chairs in this series are tufted, smaller, and have a straight line to the base. This chair is sumptuously proportioned and lined and, as pointed by John Hutton in a 94 NY Times feature on his work, built to exude stability and engulfing quality. The article further goes in to explain the numbers behind custom fabrication in 1993 as an example of why their chairs must cost $3200 minimum. The chairs is solid ash construction with an added feature of being of some incredibly dense and durable variety specifically used by Donghia for years and years prior to the arrival of Hutton as the creative director of the company in the 80’s Upholstery is Donghia originals and of the period, in a golden yellow brown striped and textured fabric still in vintage original condition which shows minor signs of wear and use that are clearing up with subsequent cleanings. The only non cleanable non repairable S points are a stress tear on the upper left shoulder and signs of rubbing the same spot at the left leg. One leg shows a dent that is u restored otherwise the chair is in excellent original condition. A C.O M. Price is available however Donghia fabric is so expensive and high quality to begin with we recommend leaving it in of the period condition as it’s upholstery was overly considered ages ago and it’s timelessness shows that forethought. Retains both original Donghia Chicago and Donghia John Hutton Designs production labels on the base.

Creator:
Donghia (Manufacturer),John Hutton (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 33.5 in (85.09 cm)Width: 33 in (83.82 cm)Depth: 37 in (93.98 cm)Seat Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)
Style:
Neoclassical (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Ash,Fabric,Foam,Hand-Crafted,Other
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1990-1999
Date of Manufacture:
1994
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. See Listing Item Described Accurately.
Seller Location:
Fort mill, SC
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU6297230024672

Shop All Donghia

Donghia

With distinctive style touches like gray flannel upholstery and overstuffed seating, American designer Angelo Donghia (1935–85) was a visionary leader of bold interior design and furniture in the 1970s and ’80s. Although Donghia lived only to age 50, by the time of his death from AIDS-related pneumonia, his name graced numerous furniture and decor companies, in addition to his own interior designs.

After graduating from Parsons School of Design in 1959, Donghia joined the interiors firm of Yale R. Burge, and his star rose quickly from there. By 1963, he had been appointed vice president and in 1966, partner — a move that came with a name change for the firm to Burge-Donghia Interiors. In 1968, he founded the fabrics and wall coverings company & Vice Versa, and in 1978 he founded Donghia Furniture. With this holistic approach, Donghia was able to oversee nearly every element of an interior design project, which, for him, spanned everything from corporate offices (notably PepsiCo’s world headquarters in Purchase, New York) to the Metropolitan Opera Club at Lincoln Center to residential interiors for clients such as Diana Ross and Ralph Lauren.

After he inherited Burge’s firm, he continued to develop its reach as Donghia Associates. He opened a series of showrooms around the country to offer his designs to a wider audience, who loved the company’s marriage of minimal forms with luxe materials. His silver-foil ceilings, mixing of eclectic textile patterns and plush furniture set trends and, through mass marketing, influenced the direction of American interior design.

“I feel that I’ve developed my own style that is as classic and minimal as the ’30s style it reflects,” the designer once told New York magazine. In 2015, the retrospective “Angelo Donghia: Design Superstar” at the New York School of Interior Design chronicled his influence on all facets of modern interiors, from furnishings to wall coverings. It’s an approach that still resonates today. Donghia continued to operate as a company after his death, acquired by the Rubelli Group in 2005. After it filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and closed its showrooms, its name, designs, archives and inventory were acquired by Kravet.

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