Leather-Embossed Ash Lounge Chair by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
About the Item
- Creator:Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer),Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.25 in (76.84 cm)Width: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)Depth: 32 in (81.28 cm)Seat Height: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1968
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Dorchester, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU83785025333
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: Dorchester, MA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Sofa by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dorchester, MAThis elegant sofa is a classic 1950s design by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. It features a tufted back and a long bench seat resting on tapered walnut fee...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Mahogany Armchair by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dorchester, MAEdward Wormley designed this handsome mahogany armchair for Dunbar, juxtaposing modern linearity with curvaceous classic form. It has been expertly reupholstered in Knoll's Rivington...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMahogany
- Mahogany Armchair by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dorchester, MAThis stylish mid-century modern armchair, designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, has strong, clean lines and a comfortable seat. It has been expertly reupholstered in Knoll's Sequin ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTextile, Upholstery, Mahogany
- Pair of Leather and Walnut Armchairs by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dorchester, MADesigned by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, this handsome pair of armchairs features solid walnut frames whose curvaceous armrests contrast well with the strong lines of the legs. The sea...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Walnut & Japanese Fir Sideboard by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dorchester, MAEdward Wormley designed this handsome sideboard, model 671A, for Dunbar in 1953. The case features Japanese fir panels that contrast with the walnut frame. Two top drawers, one of w...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsFir, Leather, Maple, Walnut
- Small Mid-Century Cabinet by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Dorchester, MADesigned by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, this trim mid-century cabinet in walnut-stained mahogany features recessed door pulls and a matching leather...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- 1960s Leather Lounge Chair by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Sagaponack, NYDunbar leather lounge chair its frame having slightly raised sides as well a slight 'wing' effect to the back together forming channels which the button tufted seat and back cushions...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Lounge ChairBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Boynton Beach, FLTall back lounge chair designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar furniture. Beautiful crisp lines frame the chair with grace and style. Edward Wormley’s designs are still often mimicked ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLinen, Upholstery, Wood
- Edward Wormley Lounge Chair for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Chicago, ILA nice simple and dramatic armchair lounge chair form by Edward Wormley. Should be purchased with the intent to reupholster. Needs to be softer on inside back.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Edward Wormley Lounge Chairs for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis pair of 1950s high back lounge chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar features iconic Mid-Century design and comfortably sculpted seat backs. Spacious seats with plush vintage fabr...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Janus Lounge Chairs by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Chicago, ILThe Edward Wormley 5701 chair for Dunbar's Janus Collection is a true masterpiece of mid-century modern design. This stunning chair is upholstered in a Holly Hunt's Great Plains heav...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Leather Swivel Lounge Chairs Designed by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXAdd some playful elegance to your space with these swiveling Dunbar chairs designed by Edward Wormley, circa 1960's. His signature style, defined by clean lines and architectural sim...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood