Pair of Edward Wormley Mahogany and Grey Wool Barrel Back Chairs
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer),Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 22.5 in (57.15 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)Seat Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good vintage condition, some sun fade to upholstery, inconspicuous wood repair to backside of one leg.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU84191217810
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Chicago, IL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Pair of Edward Wormley "Bucket Seat" Leather and Mahogany Club ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Edward Wormley for Dunbar camel leather and mahogany armchairs. Original channeled leather seats and backs with mahogany legs and stretchers. Rare design from Wormley and Dun...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Pair of Edward Wormley Walnut Open-Arm Lounge ChairsBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILTwo architectural open arm lounge chairs in walnut by Dunbar, with green and blue horizontal stripe upholstery.Category
Vintage 1950s American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- Edward Wormley Lounge Chair in Moss Green Wool UpholsteryBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar lounge chair with unique setback front legs, and clad in moss green wool upholstery. Extremely comfortable with deep seat cushion and slight angle of the th...Category
Vintage 1950s American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWood, Wool
- Eight Edward Wormley Mahogany, Leather and Brass Dining ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILSet of eight mahogany wood and apricot leather curved panel back dining chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Set is comprised of two arm chairs and six...Category
Vintage 1950s American Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMahogany, Leather
- Edward Wormley Mahogany and Rosewood Raised Edge CredenzaBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany cabinet with four large drawers and a center shelved cabinet on plinth base. The pair of ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Classic Barrel-Back Club Chairs in Ikat UpholsteryLocated in Chicago, ILClean lined pair of Classic club chairs in the manner of Jens Risom. Aquamarine and lavender Ikat patterned silk blend upholstery. Walnut wood legs with sculptural front apron and ra...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair of Edward Wormley for Dunbar Pull-Up Lounge ChairsBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Edward Wormley for Dunbar pull-up lounge chairs. Model 971 Jansus line collection. Wormley's Boutique line. Original chocolate brown leather with...Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Pair of Edward Wormley Lounge ChairsBy Edward WormleyLocated in Kensington, MDPair of Edward Wormley Lounge Chairs Additional information: Material: Wood Featured at Kensington: Beautiful pair of armless slipper chairs designed by Edward Wormley. Solid...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Pair of Dunbar High Back "Mr." Lounge Chairs by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA “Mr.” chair from one of Edward Wormley designs for Dunbar. The pair is upholstered in a woven fabric. Chair has a high back, sloped sides and arms, and sits on four thick legs that...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- Pair of Janus Lounge Chairs by Edward WormleyBy Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILA chic and playful pair of mid-20th century Janus lounge chairs designed by Edward Wormley for American furniture manufacturer Dunbar, with walnut ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- Pair of Janus High Back Chairs by Edward WormleyBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Sagaponack, NYA pair of 'Janus' high back chairs with the original blue silk faille upholstery, on light walnut legs with cloud lift stretchers.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWalnut, Upholstery
- 1960s Leather Lounge Chair and Ottoman by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Sagaponack, NYWith a nod to the immense popularity of Charles Eames's swivel lounge chair and ottoman, Wormley capitalized on the popularity of his own stationary, winged lounge chair and ottoman ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather