Edward Wormley Lounge Chair and Ottoman
View Similar Items
Edward Wormley Lounge Chair and Ottoman
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 35 in (88.9 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Dallas, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU851824275252
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 vintage seating, storage cabinets, bar carts and other 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 Tufted ottomanBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA rare tufted ottoman on fluted rosewood legs with brass feet. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Reupholstered in green velvet.Category
Vintage 1950s Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsRosewood
- Pair of Large Lounge Chairs and Ottoman by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXAn oversized pair of Edward Wormley for Dunbar lounge chairs with full down back cushions, sitting on four casters. Matching ottoman on casters as well. Fully restored and upholstere...Category
Vintage 1950s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
- 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
Vintage 1950s Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsFabric
- Pair of Soriana Lounge Chairs and Ottoman by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for CassinaBy Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Dallas, TXA pair of Soriana lounge chairs and ottoman in original black leather. Designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina.Category
Vintage 1970s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Four Dunbar Janus Lounge Chairs by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA beautifully restored set of four matching Janus lounge chairs with walnut frames and green velvet upholstery. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsVelvet, Walnut
$24,000 / set - Channel Back Lounge Chair by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXAn unusual and early design by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. This channel back lounge chair has mahogany trim and aluminum legs. Fully restored and reupholstered in Designtex / Lambert ...Category
Vintage 1950s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Edward Wormley Model 5701 Lounge Chair & OttomanBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Highland, INThis spectacular design by Ed Wormley from his Janus collection for Dunbar, the model 5701 lounge chair and ottoman is a generous chair with a relaxing, deep seat and sumptuous cushi...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMahogany, Upholstery
$10,000 / set - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Lounge Chair and OttomanBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mid century lounge chair and ottoman The lounge chair measures: 27 wide x 30 deep x 39 high, with a seat height of 17 inches and arm height of 23 inches ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Edward Wormley Dunbar MCM Lounge Chair and Ottoman with Jack Lenor Larsen FabricBy Jack Lenor Larsen, Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Lounge chair and ottoman with Jack Lenor Larsen Fabric The chair measures: 32 wide x 48 deep x 42.5 high, with a seat height of 17 inches Th...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Edward Wormley Mr. lounge Chair and OttomanBy Edward WormleyLocated in West Palm Beach, FLEdward Wormley for Dunbar Mr Chair and Ottoman Tapering steel legs ottoman is 13"h x 25" x 29"Category
Vintage 1950s American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Edward Wormley Lounge Chair with Ottoman by Dunbar, USA 1960sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Berlin, DEEdward Wormley lounge chair with ottoman by Dunbar, USA 1960s Dunbar lounge chair with ottoman. The measurements given apply to the Lounge Chair. The ottoman measures 60cm depth, 60...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Edward J. Wormley Lounge Chair and Ottoman circa 1950s for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St. Louis, MOEdward J. Wormley lounge chair and ottoman for Dunbar circa 1950s on solid brass castors. The lounge chair has a trapezoid shape, wider in the front (27.5" W) and tapers to the back....Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery