Pair of Classic T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Lounge Chairs
About the Item
- Creator:T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.25 in (79.38 cm)Width: 26.5 in (67.31 cm)Depth: 28 in (71.12 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Frames to be restored, original upholstery should be updated.
- Seller Location:St. Louis, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU820210710731
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
British-born designer, interior decorator and author T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings was one of the great American tastemakers in the middle decades of the 20th century. Much like Edward Wormley, Robsjohn-Gibbings was a design classicist by education and inclination, but he would come to create some of the most gracious and livable modern furnishings of the era.
Robsjohn-Gibbings studied architecture at the University of London, then held various jobs that included designing décors for passenger liners and working as the art director of a film studio. In the early 1930s, while employed by the upper-crust interior designer Charles J. Duveen, Robsjohn-Gibbings experienced an epiphany during a visit to the British Museum.
Examining the furniture depicted on ancient Greek ceramics — lithe stools and klismos chairs — he realized that he had found a design touchstone. By 1936, Robsjohn-Gibbings had moved to New York and set up a showroom on Madison Avenue for his modern reinterpretations of Classical Greek designs. Aided by contacts he’d developed while working with Duveen, he quickly established a clientele that included Elizabeth Arden, Doris Duke and Thelma Chrysler Foy.
Through his writings for magazines and books, Robsjohn-Gibbings earned a public following and was established as an urbane arbiter of taste. From 1943 to 1956, he produced an understated line of modernist furnishings for Widdicomb, which included one of the icons of the period: the tiered, biomorphic Mesa coffee table (1951). Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece, in 1966, and created a new line of antiquity-inspired pieces for the firm Saridis. The series turned out to be his swan song.
Collectors’ interest in Robsjohn-Gibbings was reignited in the 1980s when the 200-plus pieces from his 1936–38 commission for the Bel-Air estate of Los Angeles socialite Hilda Boldt Weber — pared-down neoclassical pieces rendered in blond wood (with the occasional flourish) — came on the market. (Up until then, the collection had remained in the house, despite its having changed hands several times.)
But his work for Widdicomb remains his most widely known, appreciated for its elegance and generous proportions. Robsjohn-Gibbings despised the stern aesthetic associated with his Bauhaus contemporaries, and a keynote of his modernist pieces is that they have no sharp angles. His chair and sofa frames, table legs and even many cabinets feature softly contoured edges. In whatever style he designed, Robsjohn-Gibbings was guided by simplicity and timelessness. He wanted his furniture to be lived with happily.
Find antique T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings coffee tables, dining tables, credenzas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: St. Louis, MO
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Pair of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb High Back Club Chairs Ebonized BaseBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in St. Louis, MOPair of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb highback club chairs with dark walnut base, tapered conical, angled legs. Only one chair has been upholstered.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb ChestsBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in St. Louis, MOPair of T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb four drawer chests with dowel handles. Shown in original finish, price includes refinishing as shown, or custom color options available. ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb NightstandBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in St. Louis, MOT.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb nightstand or end table with horizontal dowel handle and single drawer on bottom. Original restored finish, can be refinished in a dark espresso ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Sideboard for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in St. Louis, MOThree-drawer sideboard with wood dowel handles, cabinet on the right side, designed by Gibbing for Widdicomb, walnut, currently being refinished.Category
Vintage 1950s American Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Style ChestBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in St. Louis, MOWiddicomb chest with Parsons base, original Widdicomb piece refurbished / restored with some new components. Lacquered in a white snowflake finish with dark brown base. Interior shel...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsWood
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb Side TableBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in St. Louis, MOT.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb side table with splayed legs and cross stretchers. Walnut in dark brown finish. Model number 3335.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, 1954 for Widdicomb lounge chairsBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Camden, MEA pair of Classic and comfortable, deep seated club chairs by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb originally purchased in 1954. Elegant midcentury lounge chairs with espresso lacquered...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair of Vintage Robsjohn Gibbings Lounge Chairs for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Vintage Robsjohn Gibbings lounge chair for Widdicomb. Beautiful proportions. A more uncommon deep lounge form. Tapered front and back legs. Elegant and Modern. Recently acqu...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings Lounge ChairsBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in New York, NYCollectible pair of Mid-Century Modern lounge chairs featuring sinuous Maple frames, brass drumstick legs and upholstery by Romo. T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb Modern. Mint Re...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of `T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Lounge Chairs for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Chicago, ILPair of `T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Lounge Chairs for Widdicomb, model 1651 Black lacquer frames, reupholstered with Great Plains boucle. We decided not to add buttons for a clean minima...Category
Vintage 1950s British Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings Leather Lounge Chairs for WiddicombBy T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Widdicomb Furniture Co.Located in Los Angeles, CAElegant modern lounge chairs designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings in collaboration with the famous Widdicomb Furniture company in the United States during the 1950s. These midcentury ergonomic lounge chairs...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Foam, Wood, Walnut
- Pair of T-H Robsjohn Gibbings Club Chairs/ Lounge ChairsBy T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Westport, CTPair of T-H Robsjohn Gibbings club chairs dark walnut base, with a light off white Ultra suede velvet look fabric, custom size per clients 1950s.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsMetal
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
1970s Corporate America Has Never Looked So Chic
Photographer Susan Ressler revisits the office life of decades past, whose style still resonates.
Jackie Kennedy and Sister Parish Placed This Tea Table in the White House
The former First Lady kept the Victorian antique, with an elegant chinoiserie design, for the rest of her life.