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Edward Wormley for Dunbar Bracket Back Sofa in Mohair

About
Details
- CreatorDunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 28 in. (71.12 cm)Width: 90.5 in. (229.87 cm)Depth: 32 in. (81.28 cm)Seat Height: 16 in. (40.64 cm)
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1960s
- ConditionReupholstered. Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Like new.
- Seller LocationDallas, TX
- Reference Number
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Dallas, TX
- Return Policy
This item cannot be returned.
About the Designer
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 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 for Dunbar Bracket Back Sofa in Dijon Colored MohairBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXBeautifully updated and restored. The iconic bracket back sofa by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. This has been reupholstered in a stunning high-quality mohair. Color is listed as "Dijon"...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMohair, Mahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Bracket Back SofaBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXUpholstered in Rogers & Goffigon wool fabric, mahogany frame. Solid brass fittings.Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Party Sofa Model 5407 in Dark Gray LeatherBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXEdward Wormley's iconic party sofa for Dunbar. Reupholstered in dark gray leather. A super comfortable sofa with loads of style. A design classic from the 1950s.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Party Sofa Model 5407, Pair AvailableBy Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXReady for new upholstery. Gorgeous lines, super comfortable, a classic look. We have two available. One in black leather and this one.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Sideboard in MahoganyBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXNot often seen, a fully restored sliding door sideboard by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. The cabinet features four sliding doors with loads of interior storage. The top section has two ...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Sideboard, Rare ModelBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXThis is a beautifully restored sideboard by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. The cabinet has plenty of storage and is executed in a rich mahogany with darker banded wood on edges. Cabinets...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsMahogany
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