Edward Wormley for Dunbar Ottoman
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Edward Wormley for Dunbar Ottoman
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)Width: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)Depth: 23 in (58.42 cm)Seat Height: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Denton, TX
- Reference Number:Seller: Kgn20171stDibs: LU253837131853
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.
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar CabinetBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Denton, TXTwo Edward Wormley cabinets with corrugated wood sliding doors and center drawer section in a grey brown finish Each cabinet is 20" deep by 49" wide by 31.25 high.Category
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- Edward Wormley for Dunbar CredenzaBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Denton, TXClassic Edward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany credenza with solid brass hardware. Nine drawers with center cabinet.Category
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- Edward Wormley Slipper Sofa for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Denton, TXEdward Wormley slipper sofa for Dunbar with off white upholstery and ebonized bentwood legs. Older restoration.Category
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- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Custom SetteeBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Denton, TXThis assemblage of three chairs into a settee with bentwood arms was custom ordered by Stephens Financial for their office in Michigan. New upholstery may be desired.Category
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- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Elliptical Conference / Dining TableBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Denton, TXEdward Wormley for dunbar walnut elliptical conference / dining table. Extra long oval table that can be used in a large dining room or conference room.Category
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- Model 5309 Coffee Table by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Denton, TXModel 5309 rare coffee table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Combination of rosewood and brass with the original glass top.Category
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- Edward Wormley Ottoman for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley design x-base ottoman for Dunbar Furniture. Timeless and classic design by Wormley offering additional seating for any arrangement. Newly refinished and upholstered in...Category
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- Large Edward Wormley Donut Ottoman for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Miami, FLOriginal Edward Wormley Ottoman for Dunbar. Foam and fabric are new, springs are original. Expertly reupholstered. Original casters. Center cushion is removable.Category
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- Rolling Ottoman by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA round ottoman on casters with removable center cushion designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Beautifully restored and upholstered in silk velvet.Category
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