T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Saridis of Athens, 1950s
View Similar Items
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Saridis of Athens, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1060417586442
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.
- Pair of "Spear Tip" Brass BenchesLocated in New York, NYA pair of decorative benches constructed of solid brass "spear tip" legs and brown faux lizard leather. Diamond top design and button. Custom sizes available.Category
Early 2000s American Benches
MaterialsBrass
$5,200 / set - Edward Wormley Coffee Table for "Dunbar", 1950sBy Edward WormleyLocated in New York, NYLarge scale, round coffee table by Edward Wormley for "Dunbar", produced in 1950s in Burne, Indiana. Newly refinished mahogany base with original cork top. Label underneath. Great ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMahogany, Cork
- Set of Ten Jean Prouvé "Standard" Chairs, 1950sBy Jean ProuvéLocated in New York, NYGreat early set of ten black "Standard" chairs, style 305 manufactured by Atelier Prouve in the 1950s. Offered as a complete set. Molded plywood seats and backs, bent steel enamele...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$25,000 / item - Vintage Original Pierre Chapo Stool in French Elm S31By Pierre ChapoLocated in New York, NYVintage Pierre Chapo Stool in, now extinct, French Elm S31 with excellent patina. Excellent form and quality of craftsmanship.Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsElm
- Wharton Esherick, Freeform Stool, 1958By Wharton EsherickLocated in New York, NYDesigned in 1958, Esherick’s three-legged stool is one of his most recognizable pieces. Since the seat's shape was informed by the grain of each piece of walnut, no two are alike. Ca...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsHickory, Walnut
- Tom Dixon, Solid Oak Slab BenchBy Tom DixonLocated in New York, NYOrganic form slab bench designed by Tom Dixon, circa 2000 and made of solid cerused oak. Stamped underneath. No longer in production.Category
Early 2000s American Benches
MaterialsOak
$3,150 Sale Price30% Off
- Early T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Klismos Stool for Saridis of AthensBy Saridis, T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Dronten, NLThis rare Klismos stool/table was designed by T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings and produced by Saridis of Athens. This stool can function as a stool or table base by adding a glass top. This i...Category
Vintage 1960s Greek Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Robsjohn-Gibbings Pair of Curved Leg Benches, 1950sBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in New York, NYPair of elegant benches No. 2033 with iconic curved leg, lacquered white with upholstered seats, by T.H. Robjsohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb, Ameri...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Stool by WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Highland, INTypical of Robsjohn-Gibbings' refined aesthetic, this stool is elegant and sexy, with graceful lines. The base is finished in black lacquer and topped with a seat upholstered in a ch...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsMahogany, Upholstery
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Stool M. 1730, Walnut, Brass, Canvas, Widdicomb, C. 1950By Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in High Point, NCA walnut, brass and canvas stool, model 1730, designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings and produced by Widdicomb Furniture Company, United Kingdom/USA, c. 1950.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsBrass
- Early T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings 'Klini' Chaise for Saridis of AthensBy Saridis, T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Dronten, NLRare early T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Saridis of Athens, ‘Klini’ chaise lounge model nr. 11, in Greek walnut with leather thong, designed 1961. An ancient Greek inspired daybed by the British designer T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings. This chaise lounge was part of the 1961 collection he designed for Saridis of Athens, inspired by the drawings he saw on ancient Greek vases. The chaise lounge features a graceful curving back and sable curved legs. The woven seat is made of leather straps which are tight around the walnut frame. The design beholds Robsjohn-Gibbings’ philosophy of furniture design that is independent of time. The stone red wool cushion was added by the owner to protect this precious piece. This is the only Klini chaise on the market labeled with the early steel manufacturer’s plaque underneath and a documented history. Provenance: the Royal Dutch Shell building designed by architect Charles Pfister. Excellent all original condition! Excerpt from pg 115 of "Furniture of Classical Greece" By T.H. Robsjohn- Gibbings and Carlton W. Pullin on the Klini chaise: "Walnut couch with leather thongs seat, a re-creation of the Greek couch...Category
Vintage 1960s Greek Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Klismos Chairs by Saridis, AthensBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Riverdale, NYClassically elegant and beautifully proportioned T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Klismos chairs with original woven leather strap seats, 1960s, produced...Category
Vintage 1960s Greek Greek Revival Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
$12,500 / item