Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Dining Chairs, Set of Six
View Similar Items
Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Dining Chairs, Set of Six
About the Item
- Creator:Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 34.75 in (88.27 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)Seat Height: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- 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. Minor fading. Good original vintage condition. Sturdy and structurally sound. Minor wear and fading to upholstery from age and use.
- Seller Location:South Bend, IN
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2745319713552
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 Furniture
Revered for its handcrafted and highly collectible mid-century modern sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings, Dunbar Furniture was founded in 1910 in Berne, Indiana, but it didn’t gain widespread recognition until the ’30s, following the introduction of its president to a designer who would leave an indelible mark on the company’s legacy: Edward Wormley.
After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oswego, Illinois-born Wormley worked as an interior designer for Marshall Field’s before joining Dunbar in 1931. Initially focused on developing the company’s cheapest furniture line, which could be bought with soap coupons, he was soon leading Dunbar Furniture into a new era of residential furniture for modern American homes. He would serve as the company’s design director for over three decades, designing about 150 pieces each year.
During that time, he oversaw the production of designs in a wide range of materials, with influences ranging from Scandinavian modernism to Art Deco. There were modern upholstery pieces, like swiveling lounge chairs and low-slung sofas, and experiments with textural wood on bar carts and cabinets as well as minimal, sculptural tables and functional office furniture. A passionate collector of Tiffany Studios lamps, Wormley used their glass tiles in Dunbar tables in 1956. He also worked on the reproduction of pieces by designers such as Jean-Michel Frank and Richard Riemerschmid.
One standout Dunbar Furniture collection was Janus, introduced in the 1960s, with Austrian-born ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler. These pieces see the Natzlers’ uniquely artful ceramic tiles set into several styles of wooden tables. They remain some of the most sought-after mid-century modern Dunbar pieces on the vintage market today. During the peak of his design career and, indeed, the height of Dunbar Furniture’s history, Wormley amassed a whopping 30 Good Design awards between 1950 and 1955 through the “Good Design” exhibition, hosted by the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art. Dunbar today produces a limited selection of archival Wormley designs, but many sales of original Dunbar pieces are through the resale market.
Find a collection of authentic vintage Dunbar Furniture today on 1stDibs.
- Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Solid Oak Dining Chairs, Set of FourBy Dunbar FurnitureLocated in South Bend, INA nice set of four Mid-Century Modern dining chairs By Dunbar Furniture USA, 1970s Solid oak frames, with upholstered seats and backs. Two chairs with high end blue leather ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Upholstery, Oak
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Walnut Sideboard CredenzaBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional Mid-Century Modern sideboard, credenza, or bar cabinet By Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture USA, 1950s Walnut, with original brass hardware. Measures: 66.25"W x ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Sculpted Oak Armchairs, PairBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous pair of Mid-Century Modern sculpted oak club or lounge armchairs with unique original upholstery in geometric design By Edward Wormley for Dunbar USA, circa 1960s ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Oak
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Walnut Writing Desk, RefinishedBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional Mid-Century Modern writing desk By Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture USA, 1950s Patchwork bleached walnut top, with solid walnut legs and brass-capped feet....Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid-Century Modern Walnut Twin Headboards, PairBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in South Bend, INA gorgeous pair of Mid-Century Modern sculpted walnut twin headboards By Edward Wormley for Dunbar USA, 1950s Measures: 42.25"W x 1.75"D x 36.13"H. Very good original vin...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsWalnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Janus Collection Lounge Chairs, PairBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional pair of Janus Collection lounge chairs By Edward Wormley for Dunbar USA, 20th Century Ebonized sculpted walnut arms and legs with an exposed frame, and red up...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Set of Six Edward Wormley for Dunbar Caned Dining ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Rio Vista, CALabeled set of six mid-century modern caned dining chairs featuring new modern boucle upholstery redux. Iconic chairs designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar having walnut frames in an angular design with an ebonized finish. The rectangular back has a cane inset...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBouclé, Cane, Wood
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Mahogany Dining Chairs, Set of 8By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mid century Mahogany dining chairs - set of 8 Each armless chair measures: 20 wide x 20 deep x 33 high, with a seat height of 17 inches Each captains ch...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- Set of Six Edward Wormley for Dunbar Curved-Back Dining ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILSet of Six Edward Wormley for Dunbar Curved-Back Dining Chairs, Model 4580 without arms and Model 4581 arm chairs, Features solid mahogany frames with cane backs and original leather...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Cane, Mahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Dining Chairs, Set of 8By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St.Petersburg, FLA set of 8 rare dining chairs designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. This set features two arm or "Captain's" chairs along with 6 side chairs. Great form with a gentle curved back an...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- Dining Chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, Set of Six, 1950sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Houston, TXEdward Wormley, two armchairs, and four side chairs. Dunbar, USA. Mahogany and leather. Signed with applied gold rectangular metal manufacturer's label to the seat bottom [Dunb...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Set of Four Edward Wormley for Dunbar Horned Dining ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Rio Vista, CAIconic and rare set of four horned antler chairs designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Known as 5580 model dining chairs crafted from mahogany with a caned seat. Arguably these are ...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Mahogany
$19,200 Sale Price / set20% Off