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Sofa/Chaise by Edward Wormley for Dunbar

About
Details
- CreatorEdward Wormley (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 29 in. (73.66 cm)Width: 81 in. (205.74 cm)Depth: 34 in. (86.36 cm)Seat Height: 17 in. (43.18 cm)
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1950s
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use. Structurally sound. Original fabric should be replaced.
- Seller LocationDallas, TX
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU85186937143
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Dallas, TX
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
About the Designer
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 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.
- Dunbar Sofa Designed by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA sofa designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Fluted rosewood legs with brass caps.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsFabric
- Dunbar Oasis Sofa by Edward WormleyBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXEarly and rare oasis sofa model #5200 designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Fully restored and upholstered in Donghia mohair.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsMohair
- Dunbar Oasis Sofa by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXEarly and rare oasis sofa model #5200 designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Pair available.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsFabric
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar model 5316 SofaBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA rare model 5316 sofa designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar in 1953. Floating back with exposed mahogany frame. Fully restored and upholstered in Holly Hunt / Vladimir / Silver Fog ...Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsMahogany
- Pair of Angled Sofas by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA matching pair of angled sofas designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Beautifully restored with refinished mahogany bases and reupholstered in Larsen / Tsuga / Snow fabric.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsFabric
$36,000 / set - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Model 6329A Large Angled SofaBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXThe larger of the two sizes, this model 6329A angled sofa retains its original fabric in wonderful condition. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Mahogany stretcher base.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsMahogany
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