George Nakashima
View Similar Items
George Nakashima
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1969
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. excellent original vintage condition.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U1111278474726
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.
- George Nakashima Studio Conoid BenchBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Chicago, ILGeorge Nakashima Studio Conoid bench, 84" long. Strongly figured American black walnut with hickory spindles. Sold with a certificate of authenticity Measure: seat height 12.50".Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsHickory, Walnut
- George Nakashima Chairs for Widdicomb Origins set of Twelve Dining ChairsBy George Nakashima, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Chicago, ILGeorge Nakashima Chairs for Widdicomb Origins set of Twelve Dining Chairs, consist of Two Arm Chairs model (206-W) Arm and Ten Side Chairs (model 206-W Side) 1959 Widdicomb-Mueller C...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Georges Jouve CrucifixBy Georges JouveLocated in Chicago, ILGeorges Jouve Crucifix in Black glazed earthenware Inscribed to top 'INRI'. Incised signature and artist's cipher to verso ‘Jouve’.Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Mounted Objects
MaterialsEarthenware
$7,500 - Early Charles Eames Dining SetBy Herman Miller, Charles EamesLocated in Chicago, ILEarly Charles Eames Dining Set, This set consists of Four DCW Dining Chairs in Birchwood and Rare DCW-1 Walnut Dining Table. Tables measures; 29¼ h × 54 w × 34 d in Chairs measures: ...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsBirch, Walnut
$9,500 / set - Osvaldo Borsani Set of Eight Unique High Back Dining Chairs for Tecno, 1971By Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Chicago, ILOsvaldo Borsani set of eight unique high back swivel dining chairs for Tecno 1971, Original cotton velvet upholstery, aluminum with bronzed finish. A copy of the blueprint included ...Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsMetal
- Paul McCobb for Calvin Dining SetBy Directional, Paul McCobbLocated in Chicago, ILPaul McCobb for Calvin Dining Set, Features Six Dining Chairs, Two Arm Chairs, and Four Side Chairs, a Rectangular Table in mahogany veneer original medium tone with a solid brass st...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsBrass
$9,500 / set
- George Nakashima TableBy George NakashimaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLSpectacular "Q" Table/Bench Created in 1964 by George Nakashima, Expressive Free edge Walnut and very long table for Nakashima Table Signed with a Roman Numeral iii on the underside...Category
Vintage 1960s American Tables
MaterialsWalnut
$39,500 - George Nakashima Wepman TableBy George NakashimaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLAn oversized example of this design Re-Oiled Surface.Category
Vintage 1960s American Tables
MaterialsWood
- George Nakashima Studio Coffee TableBy George Nakashima Studio, George NakashimaLocated in Los Angeles, CACoffee table from American mid-century craftsman George Nakashima. The table crafted of black walnut, c.1969 features a live edge table top geometric slab base with one tapered leg. ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Slab Coffee TableBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Miami, FLStunning George Nakashima Slab Coffee Table, Walnut. 1960. Table features a single slab top with three free edges, expressive figured grain, sap grain detail, and one exposed knot. S...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Trestle Dining TableBy George NakashimaLocated in SAINT LOUIS, MOA beautiful piece. Table features a six-plank top with sap grain details. Signed with client's name to underside ‘Dr. Chan’. Manufacturer Nakashima Studio, USA Date 1968 Dimensio...Category
Vintage 1960s American Dining Room Tables
MaterialsCherry, Walnut
- George Nakashima Triangular Cherry TableBy George NakashimaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLGeorge Nakashima Cherry Wepman Table Large form with legs posting through the top Expressive Free edgeCategory
Vintage 1950s American Tables
MaterialsCherry