Round Vintage Ottoman by T.H. Robjohns-Gibbings
About the Item
- Creator:T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)Diameter: 36 in (91.44 cm)Seat Height: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use. Normal wear to turned wood feet.
- Seller Location:East Hampton, NY
- Reference Number:
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
British-born designer, interior decorator and author T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905–76) was one of the great American tastemakers in the middle decades of the 20th century. Much like Edward Wormley, Robsjohn-Gibbings was a design classicist by education and inclination, but he would come to create some of the most gracious and livable modern furnishings of the era.
Robsjohn-Gibbings studied architecture at the University of London, then held various jobs that included designing décors for passenger liners and working as the art director of a film studio. In the early 1930s, while employed by the upper-crust interior designer Charles J. Duveen, Robsjohn-Gibbings experienced an epiphany during a visit to the British Museum. Examining the furniture depicted on ancient Greek ceramics — lithe stools and klismos chairs — he realized that he had found a design touchstone. By 1936, he had moved to New York and set up a showroom on Madison Avenue for his modern reinterpretations of classic Greek designs. Aided by contacts he’d developed while working with Duveen, he quickly established a clientele that included Elizabeth Arden, Doris Duke and Thelma Chrysler Foy.
Through his writings for magazines and books, Robsjohn-Gibbings earned a public following and was established as an urbane arbiter of taste. From 1943 to 1956, he produced an understated line of modernist furnishings for Widdicomb, which included one of the icons of the period: the tiered, biomorphic Mesa coffee table (1951). Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece, in 1966, and created a new line of antiquity-inspired pieces for the firm Saridis. The series turned out to be his swan song.
Collectors’ interest in Robsjohn-Gibbings was reignited in the 1980s, when the 200-plus pieces from his 1936–38 commission for the Bel-Air estate of Los Angeles socialite Hilda Boldt Weber — pared-down neoclassical pieces rendered in blond wood (with the occasional flourish) — came on the market. (Up until then, the collection had remained in the house, despite its having changed hands several times.)
But his work for Widdicomb remains his most widely known, appreciated for its elegance and generous proportions. Robsjohn-Gibbings despised the stern aesthetic associated with his Bauhaus contemporaries, and a keynote of his modernist pieces is that they have no sharp angles. His chair and sofa frames, table legs and even many cabinets feature softly contoured edges. In whatever styled he designed, Robsjohn-Gibbings was guided by simplicity and timelessness. He wanted his furniture to be lived with happily.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: North Miami, FL
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Original Vintage T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Dining Table with LeafBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in East Hampton, NYThis iconic design by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb is in wonderful original condition - some minor cosmetic issues. Blonde ash wood table may be res...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWood
- Vintage T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings Bleached Walnut Sofa for WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in East Hampton, NYLoveseat by T.H Robsjohn Gibbings, for Widdicomb. This sofa features rounded original solid bleached walnut wood frame with armrests. The cushions have been newly reupholstered in a ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
- Rare Vintage T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Attrib. Bench, Two AvailableBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in East Hampton, NYA VERY comfortable walnut wood X-frame base bench which is likely a special commission for Robsjohn-Gibbings. We have TWO benches, sold separately. Newly upholstered. THIS ITEM IS L...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsWalnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Slipper Chairs, PairBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in East Hampton, NYClassic pair of slipper chairs designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, circa 1954. The frames are walnut and the chairs have been recently reupholstered in button tufted soft Yves Klein ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Rare Vintage Arne Norell Teak Armchair and Ottoman with Leather StrapsBy Arne NorellLocated in East Hampton, NYGrand Scandinavian design with so many handsome details like leather straps for headrests and armrests. Fully restored with new sunbrella canvas fabric in khaki and refinished teak w...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Canvas, Teak
- Rare T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Coffee TableBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in East Hampton, NYA rare midcentury design by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings coffee table with center magazine holder box which is removable. A rich dark finish and black matte magazine box...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Modern Stool or Bench Attributed to T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Atlanta, GAModern stool or bench, attributed to T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, American, circa 1950s. This piece is currently being reupholstered and can be completed in your fabric at no additional c...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsMetal
- Fabulous Sabre Leg Walnut Stool/Ottoman by T H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, C. 1950sBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Pemberton, NJFabulous upholstered stool/ottoman with walnut frame. Designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. American, c. 1950 This piece measures 20"t x 20'w x 20"d.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Ottomans and Poufs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Custom Walnut Bench for the Kandell ResidenceBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Brooklyn, NYLikely one-of-kind walnut bench with notched faux-bois bamboo carved frame, from the master bedroom in the Penthouse apartment at the original Ritz Carlton on Manhattan's Park Ave. S...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair of Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs by T.H. Robjohn-GibbingsBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in New York, NYElegant Pair of Midcentury Modern Maple Hardwood Lounge or Club Chairs / Armchairs, Model # 1651 by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Furniture Company. The chairs embrace a sleek...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Hardwood, Maple
- As Found Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb Footstool or OttomanBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Ferndale, MILong stored in my warehouse selling "as is " thinking someone out there has a chair this will work with . Clearly needs to be refinished and upholstered.Category
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Footstools
MaterialsUpholstery
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Chair and OttomanBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Chicago, ILChic and rare upholstered spoon lounge chair and ottoman set designed by T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb, 1950's. The walnut frame has been lacquered in ebony and the chair ha...Category
Vintage 1950s American Hollywood Regency Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Walnut