Pair of Chests by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
View Similar Items
Pair of Chests by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Width: 46 in (116.84 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Excellent, refinished.
- Seller Location:Danville, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U12062582641275
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.
Dunbar Furniture
Revered for its handcrafted and highly collectible mid-century modern sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings, Dunbar Furniture was founded in 1910 in Berne, Indiana, but it didn’t gain widespread recognition until the ’30s, following the introduction of its president to a designer who would leave an indelible mark on the company’s legacy: Edward Wormley.
After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oswego, Illinois-born Wormley worked as an interior designer for Marshall Field’s before joining Dunbar in 1931. Initially focused on developing the company’s cheapest furniture line, which could be bought with soap coupons, he was soon leading Dunbar Furniture into a new era of residential furniture for modern American homes. He would serve as the company’s design director for over three decades, designing about 150 pieces each year.
During that time, he oversaw the production of designs in a wide range of materials, with influences ranging from Scandinavian modernism to Art Deco. There were modern upholstery pieces, like swiveling lounge chairs and low-slung sofas, and experiments with textural wood on bar carts and cabinets as well as minimal, sculptural tables and functional office furniture. A passionate collector of Tiffany Studios lamps, Wormley used their glass tiles in Dunbar tables in 1956. He also worked on the reproduction of pieces by designers such as Jean-Michel Frank and Richard Riemerschmid.
One standout Dunbar Furniture collection was Janus, introduced in the 1960s, with Austrian-born ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler. These pieces see the Natzlers’ uniquely artful ceramic tiles set into several styles of wooden tables. They remain some of the most sought-after mid-century modern Dunbar pieces on the vintage market today. During the peak of his design career and, indeed, the height of Dunbar Furniture’s history, Wormley amassed a whopping 30 Good Design awards between 1950 and 1955 through the “Good Design” exhibition, hosted by the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art. Dunbar today produces a limited selection of archival Wormley designs, but many sales of original Dunbar pieces are through the resale market.
Find a collection of authentic vintage Dunbar Furniture today on 1stDibs.
- Set of Four Walnut Dining Chairs Attributed to Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Danville, CAThis beautifully crafted set of four wingback Walnut Dining chairs was custom made for the Executive offices of Owens-Corning, attributed to Edward Wormley for Dunbar Furniture Co.....Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Large Pair of Marcel Crystal Candlesticks by Timo Sarpaneva for LittalaBy Timo SarpanevaLocated in Danville, CALarge Pair of Marcel crystal candlesticks by Timo Sarpaneva for Littala. Marcel, designed by Timo Sarpaneva, is one of the objects that was created for the new residence of the Presi...Category
1990s Finnish Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsCrystal
- Rare Pair of "Wave" Occasional Chairs by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti ItaliaBy Giovanni Offredi, SaporitiLocated in Danville, CAPair of wave lounge chairs by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti. Saporiti has long been the most Avant Garde of the high end Italian furniture makers and these chairs are no exception. T...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Pair of Brass Candlestick Lamps by Paul HansonLocated in Danville, CATall pair of brass candlestick table lamps by Paul Hanson. Shades are for display only and are not included with the lamps.Category
Vintage 1970s American Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$3,000 / set - Large Pair of NeoClassical Column lamps by MarbroBy The Marbro Lamp CompanyLocated in Danville, CAHuge pair of gilt wood Column lamps with solid polished brass double cluster attributed to Marbro.Category
Vintage 1960s American Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Murano Iridato Glass Ashtrays by SegusoBy Seguso Vetri d'ArteLocated in Danville, CARare Pair of beautiful Coral Iridato glass ashtrays by Seguso. When hit by the light, there is a stunning rainbow of colors revealed.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Glass
MaterialsGlass
- Chest by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA walnut dresser with rosewood handle and brass feet. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWalnut
- Classic Edward Wormley for Dunbar Chest of Drawers/ DresserBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in St.Petersburg, FLStunning walnut Dunbar chest designed by Edward Wormley. Four large scale drawers. Legs feature Japanese style- studio/ craftsman details. Leather wrapped handles (dark brown) show s...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- 1950s Bleached Mahogany Chest of Drawers by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn elegant and well proportioned eight (8) drawer bleached mahogany cabinet having distinctive laminated end pulls, on tapered dowel legs.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward Wormley Ebonized Dresser for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Los Angeles, CAEdward Wormley for Dunbar, c.1970s, USA. The mahogany dresser has been newly refinished and ebonized. It features three smaller drawers along the top of the dresser and four full len...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMahogany
On Hold$8,000 - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Ebonized Mahogany Dresser Chest, Newly RefinishedBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in South Bend, INAn exceptional Mid-Century Modern ebonized mahogany five-drawer chest of drawers By Edward Wormley for Dunbar USA, 1950s Measures: 34.13"W x 20"D x 31"H. Newly refinished...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMahogany
- 1950s Solid Walnut Dresser by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn asymmetrical dresser in solid walnut with exposed finger jointed joinery, having a shelved compartment accessed by bi-fold doors flanked by a b...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass