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Party Sofa in Original Jack Lenor Larson Fabric by Edward Wormley for Dunbar

About
Details
- CreatorEdward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Maker)
- DimensionsHeight: 25 in. (63.5 cm)Width: 110 in. (279.4 cm)Depth: 36 in. (91.44 cm)
- StyleMid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1950
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use.
- Seller LocationPhiladelphia, PA
- Reference Number
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Clifton Heights, PA
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
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.
- Mid-Century Modern Sofa after Edward Wormley for Dunbar in Tweed and Walnut LegsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Philadelphia, PAA handsome modern sofa in the style of Edward Wormley for Dunbar. It features a sleek modern design with wool tweed and thick walnut legs. Upholstery is original and will need updating.Category
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- Pair of Matching Club Chairs in the Manner of Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Philadelphia, PAA great pair of club chairs from the late 1960s in the style of Edward Wormley. Upholstery has some light soiling and can be reupholstered at $600 per chair (buyer supplies fabric).Category
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- Dunbar Round Occasional Tables by Edward Wormley in Stainless Steel Mid-CenturyBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAA pair of exceptionally rare and unusual round occasional tables in walnut and rosewood with Micarta tops and stainless steel structure. Tables with a single drawer and rosewood feet...Category
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- Pair of Mid-Century Modern "A" Chairs Attributed to Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAAn exquisite matching pair of "A" chairs designed by Edward Wormley and produced by Dunbar circa 1950s. These chairs were newly lacquered in jet black and the seats are freshly reuph...Category
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- Restored Edward Wormley Dunbar White Enamel Walnut Leather Cabinet Dresser 1950sBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAA stunning large double dresser in restored white enamel case, with warmly contrasting figured and book-matched walnut drawer fronts, having brown leather wrapped handles. This well-...Category
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- Edward Wormley Pair of Outstanding Armchairs for Dunbar in Velvet Mid CenturyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Philadelphia, PAStunning pair of Edward Wormley for Dunbar armchairs. Dark African mahogany frames with intersecting brushed steel cross stretchers. Newly upholstered in a white textured velvet.Category
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$5,280 Sale Price / set20% Off
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