Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Walnut and Rosewood Executive Desk
About the Item
- Creator:Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 84 in (213.36 cm)Depth: 40 in (101.6 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Unknown
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Countryside, IL
- Reference Number:
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 vintage seating, storage cabinets, bar carts and other 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: Countryside, IL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar MCM Model 452 Rosewood Tambour Door Executive DeskBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mid century Model 452 Rosewood Tambour door executive desk This desk measures: 74.5 wide x 28 deep x 35 high, with a chair clearance of 24 inches All ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Rosewood and Walnut Lowboy DresserBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Rosewood and Walnut Lowboy Dresser This lowboy measures: 65.25 wide x 18.25 deep x 36.25 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in wha...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsRosewood, Walnut
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century Walnut Rosewood and Brass HeadboardBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar mid century walnut rosewood and brass headboard This headboard is 55 wide x 2.5 deep x 37...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsBrass
- Roger Sprunger for Dunbar Mid Century Executive Oak DeskBy Dunbar Furniture, Roger SprungerLocated in Countryside, ILRoger Sprunger for Dunbar Mid Century Executive Oak Desk This desk measures: 84.25 wide x 33 deep x 29.25 inches high, with a ch...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsOak
- Dunbar Contract Division Mid Century Executive DeskBy Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Countryside, ILDunbar contract division Mid Century executive desk Desk measures: 72 wide x 36 deep x 28.5 inches high All pieces of furniture ca...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsPlexiglass, Wood
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century NightstandBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Countryside, ILEdward Wormley for Dunbar Mid Century nightstand This nightstand measures: 23 wide x 18 deep x 23.75 inches high All pieces of furniture can b...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- 1950s Mid-Century Modern Walnut Executive Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Lafayette, INGrand style and grand scale combine in this wonderful executive desk by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Desk features walnut construction, brass and mahogany pulls, and the renowned Dunba...Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Desk and ReturnBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in St. Louis, MO1960s Edward Wormley desk and ensuite return, label, currently being refinished, desk. Measures: 72 W x 36.5 D x 29 H. Return 60 W x 30.5 D x 29 H.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWood
- Partners Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXA mahogany partners desk with original leather top and base and brass hardware. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Desks
MaterialsMahogany
- Rosewood and Oak Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA large rosewood desk with oak drawers designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. Matching credenza available separately.Category
Vintage 1970s Desks
MaterialsOak, Rosewood
- Rosewood Roll Top Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dallas, TXA rosewood tambour roll top desk with brass feet and leather trim. Designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1950s Desks
- Rosewood and Mahogany Roll-Top Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dorchester, MADesigned in 1957 by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, this handsome mahogany desk features a generous writing surface bookended by two rosewood roll-top doors. Three shallow drawers are tucked below, the center one with small divisions at front. A hinged panel...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsBrass