Walnut Dresser by George Nakashima
View Similar Items
Walnut Dresser by George Nakashima
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Costa Mesa, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU92201240626
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.
- Daniel Loomis Valenza Handcrafted Walnut Covered Bowl, c.1960By Daniel Loomis ValenzaLocated in Costa Mesa, CADaniel Loomis Valenza Handcrafted Walnut Covered Bowl, c.1960.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsWalnut
- Fred & Marilyn Buss Maple Burl & Walnut Trinket Box, c.1975Located in Costa Mesa, CAFred & Marilyn Buss Maple Burl & Walnut Trinket Box, c.1975. Beautiful original condition. Signed to the bottom.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
MaterialsMaple, Walnut, Burl
- John Van Koert Walnut Leather Top Desk for Drexel, c.1965By John Van Koert, DrexelLocated in Costa Mesa, CAJohn Van Koert Walnut Leather Top Desk for Drexel, c.1965. This piece has been professionally restored.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Aldo Tura Carved Walnut Wood & Brass Bowl for Macabo, Italy, c.1970By Aldo Tura, MacaboLocated in Costa Mesa, CAAldo Tura Carved Walnut Wood & Brass Bowl for Macabo, Italy, c.1970. This piece is signed with the makers mark to the bottom.Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsBrass
- Richard Barr Sculptural Table Lamp for the STUDIO Collection by Laurel, c.1965By Richard Barr, Laurel Lamp Company, Harry BalmerLocated in Costa Mesa, CARichard Barr Sculptural Table Lamp for the STUDIO Collection by Laurel, United States, c.1965. Beautiful torch cut and welded brutalist form. Measures: - 13" Deep - 14" Wide -...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBronze, Steel, Copper
- 'Disneyland Destruction' by Jeff GilleteBy Jeff GilleteLocated in Costa Mesa, CA'Disneyland Destruction' by Jeff Gillete circa 2015. Acrylic and collage on canvas.Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic, Wood
- 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 Monumental Sculpted Walnut Dresser for Widdicomb, RestoredBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., George NakashimaLocated 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
- George Nakashima "Origins" Widdicomb Walnut Tall Chest Dresser 1962By Widdicomb Furniture Co., George NakashimaLocated 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 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
- George Nakashima Sliding Doors Dresser CredenzaBy George NakashimaLocated in Rockaway, NJGeorge Nakashima Sliding Doors Dresser CredenzaCategory
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsWalnut