T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Dresser or Six Drawer Chest for Widdicomb
View Similar Items
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Dresser or Six Drawer Chest for Widdicomb
About the Item
- Creator:T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32.25 in (81.92 cm)Width: 68 in (172.72 cm)Depth: 21.5 in (54.61 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very fine vintage condition, some patina to legs and brass capped draw pulls.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU83563426092
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
British-born designer, interior decorator and author T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings was one of the great American tastemakers in the middle decades of the 20th century. Much like Edward Wormley, Robsjohn-Gibbings was a design classicist by education and inclination, but he would come to create some of the most gracious and livable modern furnishings of the era.
Robsjohn-Gibbings studied architecture at the University of London, then held various jobs that included designing décors for passenger liners and working as the art director of a film studio. In the early 1930s, while employed by the upper-crust interior designer Charles J. Duveen, Robsjohn-Gibbings experienced an epiphany during a visit to the British Museum.
Examining the furniture depicted on ancient Greek ceramics — lithe stools and klismos chairs — he realized that he had found a design touchstone. By 1936, Robsjohn-Gibbings had moved to New York and set up a showroom on Madison Avenue for his modern reinterpretations of Classical Greek designs. Aided by contacts he’d developed while working with Duveen, he quickly established a clientele that included Elizabeth Arden, Doris Duke and Thelma Chrysler Foy.
Through his writings for magazines and books, Robsjohn-Gibbings earned a public following and was established as an urbane arbiter of taste. From 1943 to 1956, he produced an understated line of modernist furnishings for Widdicomb, which included one of the icons of the period: the tiered, biomorphic Mesa coffee table (1951). Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece, in 1966, and created a new line of antiquity-inspired pieces for the firm Saridis. The series turned out to be his swan song.
Collectors’ interest in Robsjohn-Gibbings was reignited in the 1980s when the 200-plus pieces from his 1936–38 commission for the Bel-Air estate of Los Angeles socialite Hilda Boldt Weber — pared-down neoclassical pieces rendered in blond wood (with the occasional flourish) — came on the market. (Up until then, the collection had remained in the house, despite its having changed hands several times.)
But his work for Widdicomb remains his most widely known, appreciated for its elegance and generous proportions. Robsjohn-Gibbings despised the stern aesthetic associated with his Bauhaus contemporaries, and a keynote of his modernist pieces is that they have no sharp angles. His chair and sofa frames, table legs and even many cabinets feature softly contoured edges. In whatever style he designed, Robsjohn-Gibbings was guided by simplicity and timelessness. He wanted his furniture to be lived with happily.
Find antique T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings coffee tables, dining tables, credenzas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Pair of Finn Juhl Lounge or Armchairs for France & Son in Greige FabricBy Finn JuhlLocated in New York, NYA pair of midcentury lounge or armchairs by Finn Juhl for France & Son, featuring tight backs and seats supported by a wood frame with flat armrests, the manufacturer's label on the ...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Vintage Glass and Brass Pietro Chiesa Style Lantern or ChandelierLocated in New York, NYA Mid-Century lantern or chandelier in the style of Pietro Chiesa featuring a brass columnar pole with four newly wired chandelier light sockets attached to two shaped pieces of beve...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Large African Antique Mounted Dogon Toguna Post or SculptureLocated in New York, NYA substantial and large hand-carved wood antique Dogon Y-shaped post, from Mali, Africa featuring large voluptuous breasts above a geometric Kanaga mask sy...Category
Early 20th Century Ghanaian Tribal Architectural Elements
MaterialsWood
- 19th Century Anglo-Indian Carved Rosewood Desk or Sofa TableLocated in New York, NYA late 19th century Anglo-Indian rosewood desk or sofa table, the flat top bordered with three pull brass knob drawers bordered by a gadrooned edg...Category
Antique 19th Century Indian Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Monumental Sculptural Brown and White Hand Carved Onyx Bowl or CenterpieceLocated in New York, NYA monumental sculptural hand-carved onyx bowl with an undulating scalloped live edge in shades of deep chocolate brown, cream, white and beige. The coloration and proportion of this ...Category
2010s Mexican Post-Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsOnyx
- Pair of John of Finn Juhl Stools For John Stuart in White AlpacaBy John StuartLocated in New York, NYA pair of Finn Juhl stools for John Stuart, the concave seats resting on ruddy colored wood newly upholstered in white alpaca with manufacturer's label on the underside.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
- Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb Dresser Bachelors ChestBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in New York, NYSophisticated tailored design three drawer chest designed by T. H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb circa 1950/1960’s. The dresser features three deep drawers, each having a dowel form pull, and a picture frame molding cabinet...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWood
- T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings Chest or Dresser Pair AvailableBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Atlanta, GAElegant Modern chest or dresser, designed by T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb, American, circa 1950s. This chest is currently being refinished and can be completed in your choice...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMetal
$2,800 / item - Six Drawer High Boy Gentleman's Chest by Robsjohn, Gibbings for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in New York, NYImpressive six drawer high boy chest designed by T H Robsjohn- Gibbings for Widdicomb Furniture, ca 1950's. The drawers each feature a dowel form pull which runs across it's front. T...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWood
- Six Drawer Teak Chest/Dresser by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in San Francisco, CAGreat six drawer double dresser/credenza designed by T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb Furniture in teak. The chest features two banks of three drawers, including dividers in a co...Category
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsTeak
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Refinished Dresser / Credenza 1950s, SignedBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Los Angeles, CAThis elegant refinished dresser by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb (USA) features gorgeous walnut grain with three drawers and one cabinet door, all with integrated pulls. Signe...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
$3,700 Sale Price22% Off - 8 Drawer Double Dresser Designed by Robsjohn Gibbings for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in New York, NYImpressive eight drawer double dresser designed by Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb. The chest features two banks of four drawers, creating ample storage space. It is in very good, or...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWood