John Dickinson "Victorian House" Dry Bar
View Similar Items
John Dickinson "Victorian House" Dry Bar
About the Item
- Creator:John Dickinson (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Width: 1 in (2.54 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:20th Century
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU927818021451
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.
- Ledge Dry Bar by Simon JohnsBy Simon JohnsLocated in East-Bolton, QuebecLedge dry bar is a floating wall-mounted sculptural dry bar. Made of carved solid ash, it’s surface recalls the textures of crumbling cliffs around the studio. It ’s interior has two solid wood surfaces for a collection of bottles...Category
2010s Canadian Post-Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsLeather, Glass, Ash
$23,285 - Country House Hostess Greeting Station, Reception Dry BarLocated in Chillerton, Isle of WightCountry House Hostess Greeting Station, Reception Bar A superb and stylish piece, the greeter comes from a Country House Hotel, it has fully t...Category
Early 20th Century Country Dry Bars
MaterialsSapele Wood
- Antique English Victorian Bar Dry Bar 19th CenturyLocated in London, GBThis is a fantastic English Victorian flame mahogany bar Circa 1870 in date. The botanical name for the mahogany this bar is made of is Swietenia Macrophylla, and this type of mah...Category
Antique 1870s English Victorian Dry Bars
MaterialsMahogany
- Frank Kyle Dry BarBy Frank KyleLocated in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo LeonFor your consideration, spectacular bar from the early 1950s by sculptor and designer Frank B. Kayle. For more detailed photographs of the piece, just request them, it will be a ple...Category
Vintage 1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsBrass
$17,900 - Aldo Tura Dry BarBy Aldo TuraLocated in Brooklyn, NYMidcentury liquor cabinet by Aldo Turo. Great Renaissance book motif with door that hides glass shelves and lighting. Bottom drawer for stor...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsLacquer
$3,500 Sale Price35% Off - Vintage Bamboo Dry BarLocated in Hellerup, DKVery cool vintage bamboo bar with table top and shelfs in black laminate. Bar stool included.Category
Vintage 1960s French Dry Bars
MaterialsBamboo, Laminate
$1,817