John Dickinson Table
View Similar Items
John Dickinson Table
About the Item
- Creator:John Dickinson (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)Width: 32 in (81.28 cm)Depth: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1980s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: F18-791stDibs: LU794817577201
John Dickinson
Playful, sculptural, unexpected: Illustrious designer and decorator John Dickinson created interiors, lighting fixtures, seating and other furnishings that were wholly peculiar and unlike anything seen before. The Berkeley, California, native mined design movements of bygone eras for elements he would later integrate into what would become his signature anthropomorphic work.
Dickinson was inspired by Art Deco designers such as Jean-Michel Frank, who similarly drew on the past for his extravagant pieces, and found appeal in the claw-foot tables and seating that Georgian-era furniture makers produced.
Although Dickinson attended the Parsons School of Design in New York, he returned to the West Coast following graduation. He worked for decorating firms and furniture stores, and, in 1956, he set up his own practice in San Francisco, where he reinterpreted heritage in his sculptural lamps, stools and chairs with legs that terminate in hooves or resemble bones and tree branches.
Dickinson’s spare but sophisticated furniture is often associated with a “golden age” of San Francisco decorating that includes the work of designers Charles Pfister and Michael Taylor. Wider recognition over the years owes to collectors’ interest and exhibits such as “Fantasy and Function: The Furniture of John Dickinson,” which opened at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2003.
Despite his irreverent approach, Dickinson’s pieces were luxury items. He crafted lamps of unpolished brass and tables in chalky white plaster with a resin coating. His most iconic works are his Etruscan tables with legs resembling hooved animal feet and his Three-Legged African table, which was inspired by an artifact he discovered in an import shop. Dickinson took on only handpicked, young, well-to-do clients who were willing to give him free rein to experiment with these unusual forms and industrial materials. Leading department stores like Lord & Taylor, however, were also among his clientele. In 1977, Dickinson was commissioned to design a furniture collection for Macy’s. It featured white lacquered bookcases that drew on urban architecture and table lamps with bodies that mimicked animal bones.
Owing to his untimely death, and the fact that he worked in plaster, a highly breakable material, few of Dickinson’s original pieces exist to this day. Their scarcity renders every remaining Dickinson design a valuable heirloom guaranteed to make a statement in any room.
Find vintage John Dickinson furniture on 1stDibs.
- Walter Lamb Side TableBy Walter LambLocated in Los Angeles, CAWalter Lamb side table with glass inset top, mid-20th century.Category
Early 20th Century American Side Tables
MaterialsBronze
Price Upon Request - Table by Anton RosenBy Anton RosenLocated in Los Angeles, CABirch, marble and ebonized wood side table by Danish Architect Anton Rosen.Category
Antique 19th Century Danish Side Tables
MaterialsMarble
Price Upon Request - Van Keppel Green Side TableLocated in Los Angeles, CAVan Keppel Green side table with rattan shelf. 1950sCategory
Vintage 1950s American Side Tables
MaterialsMetal
Price Upon Request - Pair of French Cinnebar Side TablesLocated in Los Angeles, CAPair of cinnebar top French square two tired side tables. 19th Century.Category
Antique 19th Century French Side Tables
Price Upon Request - John Nyquist ArmchairBy John NyquistLocated in Los Angeles, CAJohn Nyquist low armchair, prototype from 1959.Category
Mid-20th Century American Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
Price Upon Request - Low Round Coffee TableLocated in Los Angeles, CACategory
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
$5,250
- Signed John Dickinson TableBy John DickinsonLocated in Nashville, TNGalvanized metal table in the stye of a draped table with brass trim.Category
Vintage 1960s American Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
$21,900 - John Dickinson Style Side TableBy John DickinsonLocated in Chicago, ILVintage John Dickinson style "Africa" table crafted in plaster with the iconic claw sculpted feet.Category
Vintage 1980s Organic Modern Side Tables
MaterialsPlaster
- Set of 2 John DIckinson Style Plaster TablesBy John DickinsonLocated in Saint Louis, USA set of “African Primitive” side tables attributed to John Dickinson. Bone white plaster with wood frames. Pairs well with Mid-Century Modern or Boho designs.Category
Vintage 1980s American Hollywood Regency Side Tables
MaterialsPlaster, Wood
$6,000 / set - Midcentury Gesso Finish Table, Manner of John DickinsonBy John DickinsonLocated in Miami, FLmidcentury Gesso Finish Table Manner of John Dickinson. Offered for sale is a Mid-Century Modern round side table with a gesso/plaster finish and a cut...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsGesso, Plaster
$895 Sale Price30% Off - John Dickinson style Tri-Pod Plaster African Side TableBy John DickinsonLocated in Las Vegas, NVFunctional 3 legged art table styled after John Dickinson "African" table. Formed of plaster over a rather stout interior frame. Heavy and well crafted piece, almost identical to an ...Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsPlaster
- John Dickinson, Sutherland, Modern Drape End Table, Galvanized Steel, 2000sBy Sutherland, John DickinsonLocated in Stamford, CTJohn Dickinson Mid-Century Modern Style Drape End Table, Galvanized Steel Signed Priced well below site as well as market value is this fine work of this San Francisco-based designe...Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBrass, Steel
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
JF Chen Moves Stools Out of the Corner and into the Spotlight
In Los Angeles, dealer Joel Chen gives the often clever and always versatile seats some long-overdue attention.
In L.A., Gallerist JF Chen Has Long Championed Eclectic Blue-Chip Design
Now working alongside his daughter Bianca, dealer Joel Chen has presented a most covetable array of antiques, art and contemporary creations for more than 40 years.