John Dickinson Monumental Cabinet for the Historic Firehouse, San Francisco 1970
About the Item
- Creator:John Dickinson (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 126.5 in (321.31 cm)Width: 67 in (170.18 cm)Depth: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1975
- Condition:Minor losses.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:Seller: c28041stDibs: LU847440942432
John Dickinson
Playful, sculptural, unexpected: Illustrious designer and decorator John Dickinson created interiors, lighting fixtures, seating and other furnishings that were wholly peculiar and unlike anything seen before. The Berkeley, California, native mined design movements of bygone eras for elements he would later integrate into what would become his signature anthropomorphic work.
Dickinson was inspired by Art Deco designers such as Jean-Michel Frank, who similarly drew on the past for his extravagant pieces, and found appeal in the claw-foot tables and seating that Georgian-era furniture makers produced.
Although Dickinson attended the Parsons School of Design in New York, he returned to the West Coast following graduation. He worked for decorating firms and furniture stores, and, in 1956, he set up his own practice in San Francisco, where he reinterpreted heritage in his sculptural lamps, stools and chairs with legs that terminate in hooves or resemble bones and tree branches.
Dickinson’s spare but sophisticated furniture is often associated with a “golden age” of San Francisco decorating that includes the work of designers Charles Pfister and Michael Taylor. Wider recognition over the years owes to collectors’ interest and exhibits such as “Fantasy and Function: The Furniture of John Dickinson,” which opened at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2003.
Despite his irreverent approach, Dickinson’s pieces were luxury items. He crafted lamps of unpolished brass and tables in chalky white plaster with a resin coating. His most iconic works are his Etruscan tables with legs resembling hooved animal feet and his Three-Legged African table, which was inspired by an artifact he discovered in an import shop. Dickinson took on only handpicked, young, well-to-do clients who were willing to give him free rein to experiment with these unusual forms and industrial materials. Leading department stores like Lord & Taylor, however, were also among his clientele. In 1977, Dickinson was commissioned to design a furniture collection for Macy’s. It featured white lacquered bookcases that drew on urban architecture and table lamps with bodies that mimicked animal bones.
Owing to his untimely death, and the fact that he worked in plaster, a highly breakable material, few of Dickinson’s original pieces exist to this day. Their scarcity renders every remaining Dickinson design a valuable heirloom guaranteed to make a statement in any room.
Find vintage John Dickinson furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Chicago, IL
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View AllVintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Ash
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Modern End Tables
Pine
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Leather, Walnut
You May Also Like
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Wood, Mahogany
20th Century English Cabinets
Wood
Early 2000s American Shaker Cabinets
Steel
Mid-20th Century French Cabinets
Cherry
Vintage 1950s Belgian Empire Revival Cabinets
Glass, Wood
Early 20th Century Danish Jugendstil Cabinets
Teak