Rare Norman Cherner Chair
View Similar Items
Rare Norman Cherner Chair
About the Item
- Creator:Norman Cherner (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 19 in (48.26 cm)Depth: 16 in (40.64 cm)Seat Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:c. 1951
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. In structurally fine condition, with wear to the metal and a variegated, deep patina to the wood.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8285772456
Norman Cherner
Norman Cherner was an influential designer who explored postwar technological innovations and how to incorporate them into furniture production and architecture. And while its history is complicated, his Cherner chair is one of the most successful examples of mid-century modern molded plywood seating.
Born in New York City, Cherner was an architect and a prolific designer who taught at Columbia University’s Teachers College. An enthusiast of the Bauhaus, he gave lectures in the late 1940s on the principles of the legendary German design school at the Museum of Modern Art.
Cherner was fascinated with the concept of cost-efficient design, and this extended into his pioneering ideas for prefabricated housing. His philosophy was that a modular home should be a complete design concept that included economical furniture and lighting. He published several DIY books, such as How to Build a House for $6,000. Cherner caught the interest of a housing cooperative in upstate New York and was contracted to design and oversee the construction of prefabricated housing in the town of Ramapo. The U.S. Department of Housing assembled a pre-built Cherner home for exhibition in Vienna.
But he is best known for his chair.
In the 1950s, one of George Nelson’s designers, John F. Pile, created the Pretzel chair. It had structural problems and proved too costly to make at Herman Miller, where Nelson was director of design. Production was subcontracted to Massachusetts company Plycraft, but the agreement didn’t last long owing to a dispute between the furniture manufacturers. Based on a recommendation from Nelson, Plycraft sought out Cherner to redesign the chair so that it would be durable and affordable to produce.
Cherner submitted his redesign only to be told that Plycraft had shelved the project. However, Plycraft secretly began producing what would become the Cherner chair under a different name — and Cherner later stumbled across his seat in New York. Cherner sued Plycraft and won. The chair became instantly popular after being featured in a Norman Rockwell illustration for a Saturday Evening Post cover in September of 1961.
Other noteworthy Cherner designs include his Konwiser furniture line, Multiflex storage units and tube lighting. The Museum of Modern Art praised his Konwiser collection as “some of the most progressive furniture designs available to the American public.”
In 1972, Plycraft discontinued production of his chair, and Cherner died in 1987. In 1999, his two sons founded the Cherner Chair Company and began making furniture based on their father's original designs for armchairs, chairs — including the Cherner chair — tables and credenzas.
Find vintage Norman Cherner furniture on 1stDibs today.
- Norman Cherner Cabinet for Multiflex Corp.By Multiflex Corp., Norman ChernerLocated in New York, NYModular "Studio Group" cabinet composed of walnut with a white micarta top, lacquered masonite doors and panels, and angle-steel pulls and frame. The “Curtainwall” principle applied to furniture, allowing easy extension in either a vertical or horizontal direction. An elegant riff on the Eames ESU, designed by Norman Cherner (along with Matthew Cooper) and manufactured by the Multiflex Corp circa 1954. The Studio Group was featured in George Nelson’s Storage book and was a MoMA Good Design selection in 1954. The present unit has two sliding door cabinets flanking a bank of three drawers. Behind each pair of sliding doors is a black masonite bottom and white masonite back. The frame, which disassembles to a large degree, is held together with brass buttons that are optionally visible on the outside (MoMA preferred visibility as expressive and suitable to the piece). Cherner famously designed the narrow-waisted Plycraft armchair along with an award-winning furniture line for Konwiser and was the author of the 1953 book Make Your Own Modern Furniture. Along with a nine drawer chest of drawers and a double-tall unit...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsSteel
- Norman Cherner Chest of Drawers for Multiflex CorpBy Norman Cherner, Multiflex Corp.Located in New York, NYModular nine-drawer "Studio Group" chest composed of walnut with a white micarta top, lacquered masonite drawer bottoms and angle-steel pulls and frame. The “Curtainwall” principle applied to furniture, allowing easy extension in either a vertical or horizontal direction. An elegant riff on the Eames ESU, designed by Norman Cherner (along with Matthew Cooper) and manufactured by the Multiflex Corp circa 1954. The present unit has three banks of three drawers; the full-length angled steel pulls contribute to the overall graphic scheme of contrasting stripes. The Studio Group was featured in George Nelson’s Storage book and was a MoMA Good Design selection in 1954. The frame, which disassembles to a large degree, is held together with brass buttons. Cherner famously designed the narrow-waisted Plycraft armchair along with an award-winning furniture line for Konwiser and was the author of the 1953 book Make Your Own Modern Furniture. Along with a sliding door cabinet and a double-tall unit...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsSteel
- Norman Cherner Double High Cabinet for Multiflex Corp.By Multiflex Corp., Norman ChernerLocated in New York, NYStacked and fastened "Studio Group" modular units composed of walnut, angled steel, and lacquered masonite. with sliding doors at top and an open compartment at bottom. The “Curtainw...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsSteel
- Greta Grossman Folding ChairBy Greta Magnusson GrossmanLocated in New York, NYExceedingly rare, sculpturally resonant Greta Grossman indoor/outdoor folding chairs, of painted tubular steel and cotton cord, produced in Cali...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Folding Plywood Child's ChairBy Norman ChernerLocated in New York, NYFolding child’s chair composed of three pieces of cut plywood, a canvas sling, and steel pins. The frame pivots open and closed via the pins and a groove cut into the plywood seat. American, circa 1950, in an organic design idiom in the manner of Norman Cherner or Arthur Collani, both of whom provided blueprints for DIY projects. As with analogous Shaker furniture...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCanvas, Plywood
- Arthur Collani Plywood "Modern" ChairBy Arthur CollaniLocated in New York, NYThree-legged "Modern" chair in cut Douglas Fir plywood. A home construction project, based on a pattern by Arthur Collani, whose designs appeared in Home Craftsman Magazine in the early 1950s. Readers were provided with schematic drawings, written instructions, and pictures of the finished product. This organic design chair...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Norman Cherner Mid Century ChairBy Norman Cherner, The Cherner Chair CompanyLocated in Countryside, ILNorman Cherner mid century chair The chair measures: 17 wide x 20.5 deep x 32 high, with a seat height and chair clearance of 18 inches All pieces of furniture can be had in ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Plycraft Chairs by Norman ChernerBy Norman ChernerLocated in Van Nuys, CAThis is a set of 4 colorful chairs designed by Norman Cherner for Plycraft. Each chair is painted in its own unique color: red, green, blue, and yellow....Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
$4,048 Sale Price / set8% Off - Bentwood Side Chair By Norman Cherner For PlycraftBy Plycraft, Norman ChernerLocated in Brooklyn, NYMid-century modern, ply bentwood, side chair by Norman Cherner for Plycraft in a dark walnut finish. This iconic mid-century modern chair that is striking from every angle can be use...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsBentwood, Plywood
- Pair of Norman Cherner Side ChairsBy Norman ChernerLocated in Berlin, BerlinPair of side chairs designed by Norman Cherner. U.S.A., Cherner, 1958. A pair of recent production side chairs in classic walnut laminate on moulded plywood...Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
$1,914 / set - Pair of Vintage Norman Cherner Plycraft Wood Leather ChairsBy Norman ChernerLocated in Pasadena, TXPair of vintage Norman Cherner plycraft bent wood leather chairs Norman Cherner studied and taught at the Columbia University Fine Arts Department ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsOak
- Mid-Century Bentwood Chairs in the Style of Norman ChernerBy Norman ChernerLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis pair of mid century chairs in the style of Norman Cherner feature a bentwood design, original vinyl upholstered seat backs, and black painted tapered legs which offer a modern a...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
