Gilbert Rohde Side Chair
About the Item
- Creator:Gilbert Rohde (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 34.5 in (87.63 cm)Depth: 28 in (71.12 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940s
- Condition:Minor scratches to the legs.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:
Gilbert Rohde
Pioneering self-taught industrial designer, writer and teacher Gilbert Rohde helped define the earliest phase of modernism in the United States. He is one of the most influential figures of 20th-century design and is credited with helping legendary mid-century modern furniture manufacturer Herman Miller avert financial disaster during the Great Depression.
Born in New York City, Rohde studied painting at the Art Students League after high school. He found lucrative employment, first as a political cartoonist and then as a catalog illustrator for American department stores. He was particularly enthralled with drawing furnished interiors.
Rohde began to design furniture in his spare time. He traveled to the Bauhaus school in Germany and the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, and drew on the Art Deco movement and the work of designers such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann in his early pieces. Rohde opened his own studio in 1929 and secured private and commercial commissions. His clients would come to include formidable furniture makers Heywood-Wakefield and Troy Sunshade, and his innovative bentwood furnishings for them were practical and intended for the modern consumer.
In 1930, Rohde met Herman Miller founder D.J. De Pree in the company’s Michigan showroom during a business trip. By then, Rohde had a long list of prominent clients and his furniture had been exhibited in museums and galleries. Herman Miller was weathering a devastating slowdown in business, and the American furniture industry had generally been hit hard by the Great Depression.
Rohde boldly informed De Pree that the brand’s furniture had become outdated, which was part of the reason the company was in financial jeopardy. Homes had become smaller and could no longer accommodate the large Gothic– and Victorian–style furnishings and traditional reproductions of period bedroom suites that Herman Miller was offering at the time, Rohde explained.
Rohde secured a contract to design for the Michigan manufacturer. He championed the use of exotic woods and tubular steel, and created streamlined, unadorned bedroom furniture for Herman Miller — collections that included convenient vanities, which were unconventional pieces for De Pree’s company back then.
In 1933, Rohde oversaw the design of two bedrooms featuring sleek Herman Miller furniture — including innovative storage pieces he designed — as part of an International–style exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The installation garnered acclaim for De Pree’s brand all over the world and afforded Rohde the opportunity to execute on his visionary ideas in front of a global audience. Rohde later designed lighting, seating and more for Herman Miller and was extensively involved in the company's marketing strategy and other areas of the business.
In 1942, Herman Miller, anticipating a postwar economic boom, began to produce office furniture for the first time, but its legacy is in the home. Working with legendary designers such as Ray and Charles Eames, Isamu Noguchi and Alexander Girard, the manufacturer fostered some of the boldest expressions of what we now call mid-century modern style.
Find vintage Gilbert Rohde coffee tables, lounge chairs, table lamps and other items on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- Gilbert Rohde Style Lounge ChairBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in New York, NYGilbert Rohde style lounge or slipper chair with a black wood frame and brass sabots to the front feet. Mid-Century Modern.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Pair Neoclassical Style Side ChairsLocated in New York, NYPair neoclassical style side chairs. The chairs have black lacquered wood frames, a decorative gold pattern with a round bronze insert to ...Category
Vintage 1960s Neoclassical Side Chairs
MaterialsBronze
- English Tufted Leather Side ChairLocated in New York, NYEnglish tufted leather side chair. The chair has rolled arms, heavy tufted back with solid walnut legs. Club chair.Category
Vintage 1970s English Side Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Mid-Century Modern Sculptural Pair Side ChairsLocated in New York, NYPair of Mid-Century Modern upholstered side chairs. The chairs have sculptural walnut frames. Also have tufted loose cushions. Chairs are...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair of 1960s Grosfeld House Side ChairsLocated in New York, NYPair of 1960s Grosfeld House side chairs. The chairs are upholstered in Boucle and have solid maple legs with black trim.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsMaple, Bouclé
- Pair of 1960s Grosfeld House Style Side ChairsBy Grosfeld HouseLocated in New York, NYPair of 1960s Grosfeld House style side or lounge chairs. Has a white decorative frame and upholstered velvet seat and back cushion.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsVelvet, Wood
- Gilbert Rohde Slipper ChairBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in New York, NYThe Gilbert Rohde slipper chair designed for Herman Miller, having an upholstered round seat supporting a separate upholstered back all on four turned legs.Category
20th Century Slipper Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Gilbert Rohde Slipper Lounge ChairBy Gilbert Rohde, Herman MillerLocated in St. Louis, MOGilbert Rohde slipper chair for Herman Miller, from the Hollywood glam years. Chair shown is already spoken for but we have another not yet reupholstered that is available. 4 yards ...Category
Vintage 1930s American Hollywood Regency Slipper Chairs
MaterialsMahogany, Upholstery
- Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller Upholstered Slipper ChairsBy Gilbert Rohde, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYWonderful pair of art deco, slipper, lounge chairs by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller features a rounded profile with upholstered seat and back in a woven blue linen blend.Category
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Slipper Chairs
MaterialsMahogany, Fabric
- Gilbert Rohde, Slipper Chair, Fabric, Wood, USA, 1940sBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in High Point, NCA beige fabric and stained wood slipper chair designed by Gilbert rohde and produced by Haywood Wakefield, USA, 1940s. Seat height 16”.Category
Vintage 1940s American Scandinavian Modern Slipper Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Pair of Button Tufted Slipper Chairs by Gilbert RohdeBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in Asbury Park, NJElegant pair of Button Tufted Slipper Chairs Designed by Gilbert Rohde For Herman Miller.Category
Vintage 1940s American Slipper Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Mahogany
- Pair of 1940s Lounge or Side Chairs Attributed to Gilbert RohdeBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in Chicago, ILA rare period form attributed to Gilbert Rohde. Primavera finish. In the manner of Milo Baughman and Edward Wormley for Dunbar Some wear to finish and original upholstery.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWood