Midcentury George Nakashima Dresser
View Similar Items
Midcentury George Nakashima Dresser
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer),Widdicomb Furniture Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 72 in (182.88 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Minimal wear.
- Seller Location:BROOKLYN, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1793210584861
George Nakashima
A master woodworker and M.I.T.-trained architect, George Nakashima was the leading light of the American Studio furniture movement. Along with Wharton Esherick, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, Nakashima was an artisan who disdained industrial methods and materials in favor of a personal, craft-based approach to the design. What sets Nakashima apart is the poetic style of his work, his reverence for wood and the belief that his furniture could evince — as he put it in the title of his 1981 memoir — The Soul of a Tree.
Born in Spokane, Washington, to Japanese immigrants, Nakashima traveled widely after college, working and studying in Paris, Japan and India, and at every stop he absorbed both modernist and traditional design influences. The turning point in Nakashima’s career development came in the United States in 1942, when he was placed in an internment camp for Asian-Americans in Idaho. There, Nakashima met a master woodcarver who tutored him in Japanese crafting techniques. A former employer won Nakashima’s release and brought him to bucolic New Hope, Pennsylvania, where Nakashima set up a studio and worked for the rest of his life.
Nakashima’s singular aesthetic is best captured in his custom-made tables and benches — pieces that show off the grain, burls and whorls in a plank of wood. He left the “free edge,” or natural contour, of the slab un-planed, and reinforced fissures in the wood with “butterfly” joints. Almost all Nakashima seating pieces have smooth, milled edges. Nakashima also contracted with large-scale manufacturers to produce carefully supervised editions of his designs. Knoll has offered his Straight chair — a modern take on the spindle-backed Windsor chair — since 1946; the now-defunct firm Widdicomb-Mueller issued the Shaker-inspired Origins collection in the 1950s.
Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 gave Nakashima his single largest commission: a 200-piece suite for his suburban New York estate. Today, Nakashima furniture is collected by both the staid and the fashionable: his work sits in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in the homes of Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Diane von Furstenberg and the late Steve Jobs.
Widdicomb Furniture Co.
Admirers of vintage mid-century modern furnishings likely recognize the Widdicomb Furniture Company name for the fruitful partnerships it forged with iconic designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and Mario Buatta. But there is more to the Widdicomb story than the albeit quite covetable sofas and bedroom furniture it produced during the middle of the 20th century.
A wealth of pine and oak forests rendered Grand Rapids, Michigan, a logging center during the 1800s, and it eventually gained recognition for its furniture industry. The American city became a destination for furniture makers who hailed from across the United States and beyond. Furniture maker George Widdicomb emigrated from England to the United States in 1845, eventually setting up a cabinet shop in Syracuse, New York, before moving west to Grand Rapids. There, he opened a shop with his four sons, including John Widdicomb, whose name would help carry the family legacy into the 20th century.
The Widdicomb shop in Grand Rapids prospered, as the patriarch’s formal English training allowed him to produce pieces with superior craftsmanship compared to those of his competitors. Although the Civil War halted business and took the life of one of the Widdicomb brothers, the family’s survivors would start anew as Widdicomb Brothers and Richards, soon renamed the Widdicomb Furniture Company.
John Widdicomb, however, split from the family business in 1897 to create the John Widdicomb Company, where he would go on to focus on Louis XV- and French Provincial-style furnishings. Chairs made in these styles have distinct characteristics, such as floral motifs carved in the frames and gently angled backrests. John's company also remained a family affair: The founder’s son, Harry, assumed control of the company when his father died in 1910, while John's nephew Ralph Widdicombe — who retained the English spelling of his last name and joined the John Widdicomb Company at its start — designed every single piece of the offerings at his uncle's manufacturing outfit until he retired in 1951. Ralph was an internationally distinguished furniture designer whose modern mahogany bedroom suite won first prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900.
The original iteration of Widdicomb, which was helmed by John's older brother William while John ran his own brand, had shifted from making period revival styles of furniture, such as Georgian and Chippendale, to manufacturing modern pieces in the late 1920s. Today vintage Widdicomb seating, tables and other pieces produced during the postwar years are particularly sought after by collectors of mid-20th-century furniture.
In 1959, master woodworker George Nakashima created his Origins collection for Widdicomb when the firm merged with Mueller Furniture Corporation and was known, for around 10 years, as Widdicomb-Mueller. Origins, a revered Shaker-influenced group of nightstands, upholstered lounge chairs, dining-room tables and more, saw Nakashima working with woods like Carpathian elm and laurel in his Pennsylvania studio.
Eventually, the two Widdicomb companies would combine in 1970, operating under the name John Widdicomb Co.
In 2002, the business closed after more than a century of operations, and its assets were acquired by Stickley Furniture. Interestingly, it was not the first time Widdicomb and Stickley overlapped: In the final years of the 19th century, the companies opened a shared storehouse in London, while John Widdicomb and Albert Stickley would travel Europe together for the purposes of research.
Find vintage Widdicomb coffee tables, case pieces, dining chairs and more on 1stDibs.
- Midcentury Studio Craft Handmade Tall Dresser Wardrobe Style of NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in BROOKLYN, NYStunning Mid-Century Modern Studio Craft custom handmade tall 3 drawer dresser wardrobe style of Nakashima. Very clean all original 2 section Wardrobe - lower dresser with upper wardrobe cabinet. Beautiful sculpted Minimalist design. All lower drawers slide very smooth. Top section is wide open with 2 doors with handing handles and one center brass hang bar...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
$3,725 Sale Price50% Off - Midcentury Set of 6 Dining Chairs by George NakashimaBy George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in BROOKLYN, NYA rare set of 6 model 206-W dining chairs in walnut designed by George Nakashima dining chairs. 'Origins' line, for John Widdicomb Furniture Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1950's. Black waln...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Midcentury American Studio Crafted Walnut 6 Drawer DresserBy Richard Artschwager, George Nakashima, George Nelson, Kipp StewartLocated in BROOKLYN, NYMid-century American Studio crafted Richard Artschwager walnut 6 drawer dresser or chest of drawers. Good vintage condition with solid walnut round tapered knobs. Clean inside and ou...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWood
$2,850 Sale Price25% Off - Amazing Midcentury Paul McCobb H Sacks & Sons 9-Drawer Tall Walnut DresserBy H Sacks & Sons, Paul McCobb, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in BROOKLYN, NYRare midcentury American designer Paul McCobb Walnut 9-drawer dresser wardrobe #8074. Original finish in beautiful Vintage condition, has original folding walnut front accordion doors with magnets in amazing condition, all solid walnut with a dark brown finish, the top is solid walnut very stunning. Top has a pop up vanity mirror with light...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Amazing Midcentury Paul McCobb H Sacks & Sons 14-Drawer Walnut Dresser CredenzaBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., Paul McCobb, H Sacks & SonsLocated in BROOKLYN, NYRare midcentury American designer Paul McCobb walnut 14-drawer dresser credenza #8053. Original finish in beautiful vintage condition, has front folding walnut front accordion doors with magnets in amazing condition, all solid walnut with a dark brown finish, the top is solid walnut very stunning. Has (14) drawers total all of them are super smooth and they are very clean inside and out. Also has (10) oak and walnut sliding flat shelves...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Midcentury Paul McCobb #1502 Small Jewelry Chest 10-Drawer Maple BrassBy Paul McCobb, Planner GroupLocated in BROOKLYN, NYRare Paul McCobb #1502 3' small chest of drawers in solid maple construction with walnut finish. Very high quality construction with original brass pulls black coated. Made for top o...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
$1,960 Sale Price20% Off
- George Nakashima "Origins' Walnut Dresser for WiddicombBy George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in San Diego, CAA very rare and exceptional mid-century Organic Modern monumental triple dresser. The Origins Group was created by George Nakashima, widely considered one of the world's greatest ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
$24,476 Sale Price20% Off - George Nakashima "Origins" Widdicomb Walnut Tall Chest Dresser 1962By George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Camden, MEGeorge Nakashima tall chest for Widdicomb's "Origins" line of furniture that was manufactured between 1958 - 1963. This is an Interesting e...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- George Nakashima Monumental Sculpted Walnut Dresser for Widdicomb, RestoredBy George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in South Bend, INA very rare and exceptional mid-century Organic Modern monumental triple dresser, sideboard, or credenza By George Nakashima for Widdicomb Furniture, "Origins" Collection USA, 1960...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- George Nakashima Sculpted Walnut Dresser for Widdicomb, Newly RestoredBy George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in South Bend, INA very rare and exceptional mid-century Organic Modern monumental triple dresser, sideboard, or credenza By George Nakashima for Widdicomb Furniture, "Origins" Collection USA, 1961...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Widdicomb Bedroom Dressers in the Style of George NakashimaBy George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYThis stunning pair of Mid-Century bedroom dressers features the rich natural finish and sculpted drawer pulls in the style of the George Nakashima "Origins" line, utilized so beautifully. Sculpted triangular legs and uniquely concave drawer...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
$8,750 Sale Price / set37% Off - George Nakashima Origins Dresser for WiddicombBy George NakashimaLocated in San Francisco, CAGeorge Nakashima design dresser for his Origins line by Widdicomb, 1959. Dramatic wood grain figuring throughout the body of the case and trapezoidal shape top extending to 105"in. w...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass