- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
Pair of Lounge Chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar

About
Details
- CreatorEdward Wormley (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 28.5 in. (72.39 cm)Width: 29 in. (73.66 cm)Depth: 34.75 in. (88.27 cm)Seat Height: 17 in. (43.18 cm)
- Sold AsSet of 2
- Materials and Techniques
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1950
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use. Very good condition with an older reupholstery that wasn't done by us. Not perfect but usable as is. Reupholstery recommended.
- Seller LocationDallas, TX
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU851822083202
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingRates vary by destination and complexity. We recommend this shipping type based on item size, type and fragility.Ships From: Dallas, TX
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
About Edward Wormley (Designer)
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 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 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.
- By Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA pair of lounge chairs with ash frames. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Restored with down cushion and R...Category
Vintage 1950s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAsh
- By Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA pair of large-scale tufted party club chairs designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Two pairs available as wel...Category
Vintage 1950s Club Chairs
- By Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXAn early pair of lounge chairs designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Fully restored with Holly Hunt fabric and ...Category
Vintage 1940s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
- By Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA swiveling lounge chair on mahogany base. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Ottoman available separately.Category
Vintage 1950s Swivel Chairs
- By Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXAn elegant A-frame lounge chair with original pink leather. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- By Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXLounge chair by Edward Wormley for Dunbar in original leather.Category
Vintage 1950s Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
You May Also Like
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Wood, Upholstery
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
The 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Insured Global Delivery