Six-Drawer Sculptura Dresser by Heywood Wakefield, Original Blonde Finish
View Similar Items
Six-Drawer Sculptura Dresser by Heywood Wakefield, Original Blonde Finish
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32.75 in (83.19 cm)Width: 55.5 in (140.97 cm)Length: 32.75 in (83.19 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Minor signs of wear.
- Seller Location:Kansas City, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1057013183401
Heywood-Wakefield Co.
Created by the 19th-century merger of two venerable Massachusetts furniture makers, Heywood-Wakefield was one of the largest and most successful companies of its kind in the United States. In its early decades, the firm thrived by crafting affordable and hugely popular wicker pieces in traditional and historical styles. In the midst of the Great Depression, however, Heywood-Wakefield reinvented itself, creating instead the first modernist furnishings to be widely embraced in American households.
The Heywoods were five brothers from Gardner, Massachusetts, who in 1826 started a business making wooden chairs and tables in their family shed. As their company grew, they moved into the manufacture of furniture with steam-bent wood frames and cane or wicker seats, backs and sides. In 1897, they joined forces with a local rival, the Wakefield Rattan Company, whose founder, Cyrus Wakefield, got his start on the Boston docks buying up lots of discarded rattan, which was used as cushioning material in the holds of cargo ships, and transforming it into furnishings. The conglomerate initially did well with both early American style and woven pieces, but taste began to change at the turn of the 20th century and wicker furniture fell out of fashion. In 1930, the company brought in designer Gilbert Rohde, a champion of the Art Deco style. Before departing in 1932 to lead the Michigan furniture maker Herman Miller, Rohde created well-received sleek, bentwood chairs for Heywood-Wakefield and gave its colonial pieces a touch of Art Deco flair.
Committed to the new style, Heywood-Wakefield commissioned work from an assortment of like-minded designers, including Alfons Bach, W. Joseph Carr, Leo Jiranek and Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, a Russian nobleman who had made his name in Europe creating elegant automotive body designs.
In 1936, the company introduced its “Streamline Modern” group of furnishings, presenting a look that would define the company’s wares for another 30 years. The buoyantly bright, blond wood — maple initially, later birch — came in finishes such as amber “wheat” and pink-tinted “champagne.” The forms of the pieces, at once light and substantial, with softly contoured edges and little adornment beyond artful drawer pulls and knobs, were featured in lines with names such as “Sculptura,” “Crescendo” and “Coronet.” It was forward-looking, optimistic and built to last — a draw for middle-class buyers in the Baby Boom years.
By the 1960s, Heywood-Wakefield began to be seen as “your parents’ furniture.” The last of the Modern line came out in 1966; the company went bankrupt in 1981. The truly sturdy pieces have weathered the intervening years well, having found a new audience for their blithe and happy sophistication.
Find a collection of vintage Heywood-Wakefield desks, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- George Nelson Dresser/Storage Cabinet on Modular Group Platform, Rare VersionBy George Nelson, Herman MillerLocated in Kansas City, MOGeorge Nelson for Herman Miller cabinet with attached table. Rare T pulls. Four drawers and one door with adjustable shelf. The teak cabinet and white laminate table attache to the s...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsSteel
- Eight Drawer Dresser by Red Lion in Bleached MahoganyLocated in Kansas City, MOEight drawer dresser in medium blonde bleach mahogany by Red Lion. High quality solid construction. The original finish is in very good condition. Light scratches to the top and ligh...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMahogany
- Four Drawer Thin Edge Dresser / Chest of Drawers in Rosewood by George NelsonBy Herman Miller, George NelsonLocated in Kansas City, MOGeorge Nelson Thin Edge cabinet in Brazilian Rosewood, manufactured by Herman Miller. Signed with the early round Herman Miller medallion. Very good original condition. Very few sign...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsPorcelain, Rosewood
- Samba Cabinet by Wendell Castle, Late 20th Century, Signed with Impressed WC.By Wendell CastleLocated in Kansas City, MOSamba cabinet from the Wendell Castle Collection for Icon Design, late 20th century. Finished on all sides. Hand carved and stained ash with leather pulls. Signed with WC. The drawe...Category
1990s American Modern Cabinets
MaterialsLeather, Ash
- Monterey Four Drawer Dresser, Hand Painted Western Motif, Hand Crafted OakBy Monterey FurnitureLocated in Kansas City, MORancho Monterey four drawer dresser / chest of drawers. Hand crafted and hand hammered pulls. Good condition with a significant blemish on the top as seen in the photos. It is made o...Category
Vintage 1940s American Rancho Monterey Dressers
MaterialsMetal
- Pair Sliding Door Dressers Chests Cabinets by T H Robsjohn-Gibbings & WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Kansas City, MORare and fine pair of dressers / chests / storage cabinets designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for the John Widdicomb Company, 1950s. The mahogany cases have been expertly refinished ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Modern Blonde Solid Maple 8 Drawer Dresser by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in BROOKLYN, NYMid-Century Modern Blonde solid Maple 8 Drawer dresser by HEYWOOD WAKEFIELD. Good Vintage Condition clean inside and out. Drawers slide smooth. Very unique mid century and deco desig...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMaple
- Mid-Century Modern Blonde Solid Maple 6 Drawer Dresser by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in BROOKLYN, NYMid-Century Modern Blonde solid Maple 6 Drawer dresser by Heywood Wakefield. Good Vintage Condition clean inside and out. Drawers slide smooth. Very unique mid century and deco desig...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMaple
- Heywood-Wakefield "Kohinoor" Sculpted Extra-Wide 6-Drawer DresserBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Van Nuys, CAHeywood-Wakefield "Kohinoor" 6 -drawer dresser with extra-wide drawers, sculpted front, and tapered legs all finished in the "Encore Yellow" Birch.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBirch
- Heywood Wakefield Sculptra Mid Century Wheat 6 Drawer DresserBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield Sculptra Mid Century Wheat 6 Drawer Dresser This lowboy measures: 56 wide x 19.25 deep x 31.25 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call rest...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWood
- Burled Maple and Brass HiBoy Dresser after Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYExceptional highboy dresser in the unmistakable style of Massachusetts' Heywood Wakefield furniture. A beautiful burled maple veneer elevates the piece to a higher tier of luxury des...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWood, Hardwood, Maple, Burl
- Burled Maple and Brass Long Dresser after Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYExceptional lowboy dresser in the unmistakable style of Massachusetts' Heywood Wakefield furniture. A beautiful burled maple veneer elevates the piece to a higher tier of luxury desi...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsMetal, Brass