Large Scale Walnut Chest by George Nakashima
View Similar Items
Large Scale Walnut Chest by George Nakashima
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.75 in (80.65 cm)Width: 105.75 in (268.61 cm)Depth: 22.25 in (56.52 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good original condition, retaining it's warm original patina. Minor surface scratches and wear.
- Seller Location:Atlanta, GA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU87181336244
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.
- Selection of Danish Modern Walnut Chests or DressersLocated in Atlanta, GASelection of Danish Modern Walnut Chests or Dressers, Denmark, circa 1960s. Imported by John Stuart of NYC. John Stuart imported Danish designs by Finn Juhl. Arne Vodder, Hans Wegner...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWood, Walnut
$3,800 / item - Mid-Century Chest by Salvatore BevelacquaBy Salvatore BevelacquaLocated in Atlanta, GAMid-Century chest by Salvatore Bevelacqua, American, circa 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBrass
$3,500 Sale Price22% Off - Elegant Modern Chest Designed by T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Atlanta, GAElegant Modern Chest designed by T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb, American, circa 1950's. It has been refinished in a deep brown lacquer and the silver plated metal handles have...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMetal
$2,800 Sale Price26% Off - Six-Drawer Chest with Sculptural Hardware by Edmund SpenceBy Edmond J. SpenceLocated in Atlanta, GASix-drawer chest with sculptural hardware by Edmond Spence, Sweden, circa 1950s. Beautifully grained walnut and sculptural nickel-plated hardware. Stamped "Made In Sweden" on back si...Category
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMetal
$5,800 Sale Price31% Off - Paul McCobb ChestBy Paul McCobbLocated in Atlanta, GAClean lined Mid-Century Modern chest or dresser, designed by Paul McCobb for Calvin, American, circa 1950s. This piece is currently being refinished and can be completed in your choi...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMetal, Brass
$5,500 - Danish Modern Style Chest or Dresser by G Plan, circa 1960sBy G Plan FurnitureLocated in Atlanta, GADanish Modern style chest or dresser, made by G Plan Furniture, England, circa 1960s. While located in England, G Plan's designs were clearly influenced by Danish Modern design of th...Category
Vintage 1960s English Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Pair of Widdicomb Bedroom Dressers in the Style of George NakashimaBy George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYThis stunning pair of Mid-Century bedroom dressers features the rich natural finish and sculpted drawer pulls in the style of the George Nakashima "Origins" line, utilized so beautifully. Sculpted triangular legs and uniquely concave drawer...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
$8,750 Sale Price / set37% Off - 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 III Walnut Chest of DrawersLocated in Woodbury, CTA beautifully proportioned small scale English, walnut five-drawer chest with inset self-band on top and crossbanded drawer fronts; supported on bracket feet. Brass teardrop pulls wi...Category
Antique 18th Century and Earlier British George III Commodes and Chests ...
MaterialsWalnut
- George III Walnut Chest of DrawersLocated in Woodbury, CTEnglish, walnut five-drawer chest with quartered, crossbanded top, waterfall veneered front with boxwood stringing on drawer fronts. The replaced Chippendale style brasses do not det...Category
Antique 19th Century British George III Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima, Large Chest of Drawers, Walnut, for Widdicomb, America 1960sBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., George NakashimaLocated in High Point, NCA large walnut chest of drawers or dresser designed by George Nakashima. Produced by Widdicomb Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, A...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBouclé, Walnut
- George Nakashima Sculpted Walnut Gentleman's Chest for Widdicomb, Newly RestoredBy George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in South Bend, INA very rare and exceptional mid-century Organic Modern gentleman's chest or highboy dresser By George Nakashima for Widdicomb Furniture, "Origins" Collection USA, 1960 Gorgeous sc...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass