Pair of Janus Lounge Chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
View Similar Items
Pair of Janus Lounge Chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 27 in (68.58 cm)Length: 32 in (81.28 cm)Seat Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU81258214843
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 Teardrop Chairs for Dunbar, Model 5106By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley design "Teardrop" lounge chairs, Model 5106 for Dunbar Furniture. Uniques shape chairs newly upholstered on polished and lacquered solid brass legs, ready to install.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley Dining Chairs for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley design for Dunbar set of six mahogany and cane dining chairs, comprising five side and one armchair. Perfectly refinished...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
$10,800 / set - Edward Wormley Ottoman for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated 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
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
$8,500 / set - Edward Wormley Antler Chairs for Dunbar, Model 5580By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley design antler dining chairs for Dunbar, Model 5580. Rare and attractive design chair by Wormley in the height of his design career. Frames are bleached mahogany with...Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Mahogany
$12,000 / set - Edward Wormley Brass Bench for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CASophisticated brass square frame bench designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Very good original condition, Model #5428.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley Magazine Table for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley magazine table for Dunbar, Berne Indiana. Classic mid-century design by Edward Wormley, sophisticated yet modern. Newly refinished with original order tags intact, rea...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Pair of Edward J. Wormley Janus Lounge Chairs for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Wayne, NJA set of 2 Edward J. Wormley Janus lounge chairs for Dunbar. If you are in the New Jersey , New York City Metro Area , please contact us with your delivery zipcode, as we may be able...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
$4,125 Sale Price / set25% Off - Janus Lounge Chairs by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILThe Edward Wormley 5701 chair for Dunbar's Janus Collection is a true masterpiece of mid-century modern design. This stunning chair is upholstered in a Holly Hunt's Great Plains heav...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
$14,000 / set - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Janus Collection Lounge Chairs, PairBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated 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
- Dunbar Janus Lounge Chair by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAThe Edward Wormley "Janus" armchair is a mid-century modern classic, designed by the renowned American furniture designer Edward Wormley in 1957 for Dunbar Furniture. The chair was p...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Janus Collection Lounge ChairBy Edward WormleyLocated in Middlesex, NJEdward Wormley for Dunbar Janus collection lounge chair.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Janus Collection Lounge ChairBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Southampton, NJJanus Collection lounge chair by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Ebonized sculpted walnut arms and legs with an exposed frame, and red upholstery with a button tufted back and curved seat...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut