Sculptural Bookshelf by Kipp Stewart
View Similar Items
Sculptural Bookshelf by Kipp Stewart
About the Item
- Creator:Drexel (Manufacturer),Kipp Stewart (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Width: 57 in (144.78 cm)Depth: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good condition. Minor surface scratches, small dings, and wear, commensurate with age and use.
- Seller Location:Atlanta, GA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU871810829181
Kipp Stewart
The ultimate multi-hyphenate, Kipp Stewart (b. 1928) counted painting, photography, architecture and furniture design among his talents. Known to furniture obsessives for the Declaration series he codesigned for North Carolina’s Drexel Furniture, Stewart was actually born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1928 and is most commonly associated with mid-century design movements of his adopted home state of California. There, in 1972, Stewart designed the Ventana Big Sur, a luxury resort near Montecito for which he oversaw architecture, planning, furniture and interior design across 160 acres of land.
By the time Stewart spearheaded the Ventana, he was already well versed in furniture design. After briefly serving in the U.S. Navy as a teenager, Stewart enrolled at the Chouinard Art Institute (present-day CalArts) in Los Angeles. By the time he graduated, he was steeped in the world of modern seating design, experimenting with new chair models that bridged form and function. Charles and Ray Eames were important influences on his early work, which included a chrome-framed lounge chair whose reclined shape bears a striking resemblance to the Eameses’ iconic lounge.
In the late 1950s, Stewart partnered with another West Coast furniture designer, Stewart MacDougall, on a line of modern furniture for Drexel. (The pair were also producing case pieces and more for Glenn of California.) Drexel soon unveiled Stewart and McDougall’s Declaration line, which was constructed entirely of natural walnut and featured the choice of white porcelain or brass drawer pulls and cabinet door handles. Although its stylish credenzas and other pieces reflect the kind of slim-lined, low-slung silhouettes for which mid-century design has become known, there are also elements that nod to earlier American and European furniture design, such as the dining chairs whose flattened spindle backs recall Shaker and Windsor chair design, distinguishing them from the modern designs becoming prolific in Scandinavia at the time. The pieces were so indicative of a particularly American style, in fact, that several items from the collection were selected by the U.S. government to represent the country at the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958.
While Stewart found success as a painter and with his Ventana hotel project — and had also designed chairs, chests and more for Directional — the Drexel Declaration line is his best-known furniture collection and remains highly sought after by collectors today.
Find a wide range of vintage Kipp Stewart furniture on 1stDibs, including dining room chairs, end tables and more.
Drexel
While vintage Drexel Furniture dining tables, dressers and other pieces remain highly desirable for enthusiasts of mid-century modern design, the manufacturer's story actually begins decades before its celebrated postwar-era Declaration line took shape.
In 1903, in the small town of Drexel in the foothills of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, six partners came together to found a company that would become one of the country’s leading furniture producers. The first offerings from Drexel Furniture were simple: a bed, washstand and bureau all crafted from native oakwood, sold as a bedroom suite for $14.50.
One of Drexel’s early innovations was to employ staff designers, something the company initiated in the 1930s. This focus on design, which few other furniture companies were committing to at the time, allowed Drexel to respond to a variety of new and traditional tastes. This included making pieces inspired by historic European furniture, like the popular French Provincial–style Touraine bedroom and dining group that borrowed its curves from Louis XV-era furniture. Others replicated the ornate details of 18th-century chinoiserie or the embellishments of Queen Anne furniture. Always ready to adapt to new customer demands, during World War II, Drexel built a sturdy desk designed especially for General Douglas MacArthur.
In the postwar era, Drexel embraced the clean lines of mid-century modernism with the Declaration collection designed by Stewart MacDougall and Kipp Stewart that featured elegant credenzas and more made in walnut, and the Profile and Projection collections designed with sculptural shapes by John Van Koert. In the 1970s, Drexel introduced high-end furniture in a Mediterranean style.
Drexel changed hands and visions throughout the years. It was managed by one of the original partners — Samuel Huffman — until 1935, at which time his son Robert O. Huffman took over as president. It was then that the company began to expand, with several acquisitions of competitors in the 1950s, including Table Rock Furniture, the Heritage Furniture Co. and more. With the manufacturer’s success — spurred by its embrace of advertising in home and garden magazines — it opened more factories in both North and South Carolina. By 1957, the company that had started with a factory of 50 workers had 2,300 employees and was selling its furniture nationwide.
Drexel underwent a series of name changes in its long history. Its acquisition of Southern Desk Company in 1960 bolstered its production of institutional furniture for dormitories, classrooms, churches and laboratories. In the following decades, contracts with government agencies, hotels, schools and hospitals brought its high-quality furniture to a global audience. U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers bought Drexel Enterprises in 1968, and it became Drexel Heritage Furnishings.
In 2014, the last Drexel Heritage plant, in Morganton, North Carolina, reportedly closed its doors. The company rebranded as Drexel in 2017.
The range of vintage Drexel furniture for sale on 1stDibs includes end tables designed by Edward Wormley, walnut side tables designed by Kipp Stewart and lots more.
- Kipp Stewart Walnut Coffee Table for DrexelBy Drexel, Kipp StewartLocated in Atlanta, GAMid-Century Modern coffee table, designed by Kipp Stewart for Drexel Declaration, American, circa 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- Kipp Stewart Midcentury Walnut Dining TableBy Kipp Stewart, DirectionalLocated in Atlanta, GAOutstanding midcentury walnut dining table, designed by Kipp Stewart for Directional, American, circa 1960s. Beautiful grained walnut throughout. It expands from a compact ovaled squ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Clean Lined Walnut Mirror by Kipp Stewart for DrexelBy Kipp StewartLocated in Atlanta, GAClean lined walnut mirror by Kipp Stewart for Drexel, American, circa 1950s. Retains it's warm original patina. Has been cleaned and Danish oiled. Can be hung vertically or horizonta...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror, Walnut
$850 Sale Price43% Off - Danish Modern Teak Bookshelf Wall UnitLocated in Atlanta, GADanish Modern Teak Bookshelf Wall Unit, Denmark, circa 1960s. This piece is a versatile size and can be used as a bookshelf, bar, media cabinet, vitrine...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsGlass, Wood, Teak
- Set of 8 Kipp Stewart Dining Chairs - Refinished & Reupholstered in Your FabricBy Calvin Furniture, Kipp StewartLocated in Atlanta, GASet of Eight Curvaceous Dining Chairs, designed by Kipp Stewart for Calvin, American, circa 1960s. These chairs are currently being refinished ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood, Walnut
- 1930s Art Deco Bookshelf in the Manner of Gilbert Rohde RefinishedBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in Atlanta, GA1930s Art Deco Bookcase, in the manner of Gilbert Rohde, American, circa 1930s. This came from the same estate as the Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller desk...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Shelves
MaterialsMetal
- Kipp Stewart & Stewart McDougall For Drexel Walnut Bookcase, Classic ModernistBy Kipp Stewart, DrexelLocated in Buffalo, NYWalnut Bookcase by Kipp Stewart For Drexel Furniture. " Wishbone " Legs... Classic Mid Centutu Modern design,, Nice original condition,, Wonderful richly grained walnut,, minor venee...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsWalnut
- Kipp Stewart for Drexel Declaration Mid Century Walnut BookcaseBy Drexel, Kipp StewartLocated in Countryside, ILKipp Stewart for Drexel Declaration Mid Century Walnut Bookcase This bookcase measures: 59 wide x 17.5 deep x 30.75 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call r...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsWalnut
- 19th Century English Bamboo Bookshelf with Lovely Painted FinishLocated in Buchanan, MIA 19th century English bamboo bookshelf with lovely painted finish.Category
Antique Late 19th Century English Bookcases
MaterialsBamboo
- Kipp Stewart & Stewart MacDougall Walnut DresserBy Kipp Stewart, DrexelLocated in Chicago, ILRestored to better than new condition, ten-drawer dresser by Kip Stewart and Stewart MacDougall for their Drexel Declaration collection. Four exposed drawers with original spherical ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Dressers
MaterialsBrass
$4,200 Sale Price20% Off - Midcentury Walnut Cabinet by Kipp Stewart for DrexelBy Drexel, Kipp StewartLocated in North Hollywood, CAMidcentury walnut cabinet designed by Kipp Stewart for Drexel in the United States circa 1950s. This vintage cabinet features a lower sectio...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsGlass, Walnut
- Drexel Declaration Credenza in Walnut by Kipp StewartBy Drexel, Kipp StewartLocated in Berkeley, CAOrigin: USA Designer: Kipp Stewart Manufacturer: Drexel Era: 1960s Materials: Walnut Measurements: 72.5″ wide x 20″ deep x 31″ tall Condition: In good original condition with typic...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsCane, Oak