Coffee Table by T.H Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb, U.S.A, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)Width: 48 in (121.92 cm)Depth: 36 in (91.44 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Refinished.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
British-born designer, interior decorator and author T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905–76) 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, he had moved to New York and set up a showroom on Madison Avenue for his modern reinterpretations of classic 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 styled he designed, Robsjohn-Gibbings was guided by simplicity and timelessness. He wanted his furniture to be lived with happily.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Los Angeles, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Coffee Table by Paul McCobb for Calvin, USA, 1950sBy Calvin Furniture, Paul McCobbLocated in Los Angeles, CAMahogany coffee table designed by Paul McCobb for Calvin Furniture, 1950s. Features brass trim around the original leather top. Two drawers with brass pulls. Recently refinished. Lea...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Italian Marble Coffee Table, 1970sLocated in Los Angeles, CAItalian marble coffee table on pedestal base, 1970s. The lipped top sits freely on the pedestal base.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Tiered Brass Coffee Table by Maison Jansen, France, 1960sBy Maison JansenLocated in Los Angeles, CAA vintage two tiered brass coffee table by Maison Jansen, France, 1960s. Features original glass shelves with mirror bordered details. In good condition. The brass shows some signs o...Category
Vintage 1960s French Hollywood Regency Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Danish Rosewood and Ceramic Tile Coffee Table by Ole Bjorn Krüger, 1960sBy Ole Bjørn KrügerLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage 1960s solid rosewood coffee table with abstract ceramic tiles designed by Ole Bjorn Krüger. In over all excellent condition.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCeramic, Rosewood
- Pair of Mosaic Steel and Glass Coffee Tables by M. Mellini, Italy, 1974Located in Los Angeles, CAPair of unique mosaic glass steel framed coffee tables or end tables with glass tops. These were most likely custom made with vintage M. Mellini Italian stained glass...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Walnut End Table with Tiffany Tiles by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, 1950sBy Edward WormleyLocated in Los Angeles, CAA solid walnut end table designed by Edward Wormley for the Janus Collection by Dunbar, 1957. Features Tiffany glass inlaid tiles. The table has been recently refinished and is in ex...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Coffee Table T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb in Wood, 1950sBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Milano, ITAmerican designed coffee table by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for the Widdicomb manufacture from the 1950s. The coffee table is made of walnut wood and under the base of the top there is...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Coffee Table by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Brooklyn, NYLow black ebonized coffee table on a X-shaped base by British born designer and interior decorator T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905–1976). Please confirm item location (NY or NJ) with de...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Magazine Table by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb, circa 1950sBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Westport, CTVersatile magazine table by T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb, could serve as a coffee or end table as well. Fully restored.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Coffee TableBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Berlin, DETriangular table by Gibbings for Widdicomb, 1950s, USA in original vintage condition. T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings was a furniture designer who became famous for his modernist designs in ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Mid-Century Modern 1950s Low Coffee TableBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Atlanta, GAA Mid-20th century, circa 1950s coffee table designed by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb. The beautifully grained wood is expressed in a strip design on the top of the table. T...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Rare T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Coffee TableBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in East Hampton, NYA rare midcentury design by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings coffee table with center magazine holder box which is removable. A rich dark finish and black matte magazine box...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood