Modern Credenza or Chest by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
View Similar Items
Modern Credenza or Chest by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Width: 49 in (124.46 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950's
- Condition:This piece is currently being refinished, and can be finished in your choice of color.
- Seller Location:Atlanta, GA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8718974908
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.
- George Nelson Credenza or ChestBy Herman Miller, George NelsonLocated in Atlanta, GAClean lined Mid-Century Modern credenza or chest, designed by George Nelson for Herman Miller, American. circa 1950s. This piece is a versatile size and can be used as a credenza, ba...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMetal
- Danish Modern Credenza or ChestLocated in Atlanta, GADanish Modern Credenza or Chest, Denmark, circa 1960s. This piece is a versatile size and can be used as a credenza, cabinet, server, or bar in ...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsMetal
- Clean Lined Console Table by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Atlanta, GAClean lined console table, designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, American, circa 1960s. This table is a versatile size and can be used as a console or so...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsMahogany, Walnut
- Pair of Rare Art Deco Credenzas by Russel Wright for Heywood WakefieldBy Russel WrightLocated in Atlanta, GAPair of rare Art Deco Credenzas, designed by Russel Wright for Heywood Wakefield, American, circa 1930s. Each chest measures 36"H x 48"W x 15"D. The extended serving table top measur...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Arne Vodder Danish Modern Credenza with Reversible Black Doors - RefinishedBy Arne Vodder, SibastLocated in Atlanta, GAClean Lined Danish Modern Credenza, designed by Arne Vodder for Sibast, Denmark, circa 1960s. This piece is currently being refinished and will look incredible when completed. The pr...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsMetal
- Clean Lined Tuxedo Sofa in the manner of Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Atlanta, GAClean Lined Tuxedo Sofa, in the manner of Edward Wormley for Dunbar, unsigned, American, circa 1960s. This sofa is being completely restored and can be completed in your choice of wo...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar CredenzaBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Denton, TXClassic Edward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany credenza with solid brass hardware. Nine drawers with center cabinet.Category
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley Credenza Model 5668A for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in San Francisco, CAEdward Wormley design credenza model 5668A for Dunbar. Ebonized walnut case with newly caned front sliding doors and four drawers across the top. Comprising a fitted interior for mas...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsCane, Walnut
- Modular Six-Piece Credenza by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILVery rare and unusual piece by Edward Wormley. This modular credenza in walnut can be put together in a host of different configurations. Detailed with large Moorish style solid bras...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
$6,650 Sale Price30% Off - Edward Wormley for Dunbar CredenzaBy Edward WormleyLocated in Pasadena, TXElegantly crafted credenza made of walnut. Credenza features distinctive half moon drawer and door pulls.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut
$4,560 Sale Price22% Off - 84" Vintage Edward Wormley for Dunbar Executive CredenzaBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Pasadena, TX7' vintage Edward Wormley for Dunbar executive desk and credenza In 1931 Leander Dunbar realized the need to create furniture...Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBronze
$6,320 Sale Price20% Off - Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mahogany Sliding Door Sideboard or Credenza CabinetBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Philadelphia, PAEdward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany sideboard. Item features clean Mid-Century Modern lines, brass accents at the base, two dovetail constructed upper drawers. four sliding cabinet do...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass