Party Sofa Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar ( pair available )
View Similar Items
Party Sofa Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar ( pair available )
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 26 in (66.04 cm)Width: 102 in (259.08 cm)Length: 26 in (66.04 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Structurally sound. Needs reupholstery.
- Seller Location:Dallas, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85186019433
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 vintage seating, storage cabinets, bar carts and other 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.
- Dunbar Sofa Designed by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA sofa designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Fluted rosewood legs with brass caps.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsFabric
- Party Sofa by Edward Wormley for Dunbar in Original LeatherBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA party sofa designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar in original buttery soft light tan leather. Matching pair available. Priced individually.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- Pair of Party Sofas by Edward Wormley for Dunbar in Original LeatherBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA beautiful pair of party sofas designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar in original buttery soft light tan leather.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- Sofa by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA small sofa / settee designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Iconic form with tapered brass legs. Fully restored and upholstered in Designtex / Lambert / Smoke.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsBouclé
- Pair of Mahogany Sofas by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA rare pair of mahogany framed sofas designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsMahogany
$28,000 / set - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Sofa / DaybedBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA one arm sofa / daybed with brass legs. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Fully restored.Category
Vintage 1950s Sofas
MaterialsFabric
- Sofa by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dorchester, MAThis elegant sofa is a classic 1950s design by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. It features a tufted back and a long bench seat resting on tapered walnut fee...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar SofaBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Sofa, early design with great scale, spring seating system, reupholstered and rebuilt reupholstered with wool ...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery
- Janus Corner Sofa Designed by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Stamford, CTA Janus Collection corner sofa produced by Dunbar and designed by Edward Wormley. Model 629A. Upholstered in Rogers and Goffigon fabric.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsWalnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar, The Party Sofa, Model 5407, for Reupholstery.By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Oakland, CAMid-century sofa designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, Party sofa, Model 5407, United States, 1950. Crafted with a solid wood frame and inner spring seats, this sofa is upholstered ...Category
Antique 1650s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsVelvet
- Sectional Sofa by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Los Angeles, CAEdward Wormley for Dunbar, c.1960s, USA, two-piece sectional sofa. The sofa features split arm rests and an exposed sculpted ebonized wood frame. This sofa has been fully reupholster...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsVelvet, Walnut
- Dunbar Sofa by Edward WormleyBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Brooklyn, NYChic gold velvet upholstered sofa with down back and side cushions and sprung seat. Beautifully carved mahogany feet. This is an extremely well built and comfortable sofa, with typic...Category
Vintage 1950s American Sofas