George Nakashima Straight Chair for Knoll
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer),Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)Seat Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Mid-20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Excellent vintage condition; professionally cleaned.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1645228407382
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.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Los Angeles, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- George Nakashima Black Walnut Captain ChairBy George NakashimaLocated in Los Angeles, CACaptain chair from American midcentury craftsman George Nakashima. The black walnut chair has a curved, peaked backrest atop carved spindles, inspired by the Windsor chair and Shaker...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Studio Grass Seated ChairBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Los Angeles, CAGrass-seated chair from circa 1950s production in black walnut by George Nakashima for Nakashima Studios with original seagrass seat. Two chairs available; priced individually. Meas...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWalnut, Seagrass
- Early Alvar Aalto 'Hallway' Chair 'Model 403' for FinmarBy Finmar, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAFinmar Model 403 'Hallway' chairs designed by Alvar Aalto and produced from 1930 through 1950 in Finland. The chair features a honey toned birch wood with bent plywood seat and backr...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsBirch, Plywood
- Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen Paper Cord Side Chair for Soborg MobelfabrikBy Peter Hvidt, Orla Mølgaard-NielsenLocated in Los Angeles, CAModel 316 chair by Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard Nielsen for Soborg Mobelfabrik, Denmark. This chair, made in the 1950s, features a teak frame and newly woven ...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Teak
- Mies Van Der Rohe Cantilevered Cane Dining Chair for KnollBy Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der RoheLocated in Los Angeles, CACantilevered dining chair by Mies van der Rohe for Knoll, c.2015. The chair features a tubular chrome plated steel frame with handwoven cane seat and backrest. Five available - each...Category
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Kosuga Woven Side ChairBy KosugaLocated in Los Angeles, CAKosuga woven side chair, made in Japan for Hurricane Imports. This chair, features an oak frame and teak curved seat back. The chair has been newly woven paper cord. Dimensions 19"...Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsTeak, Papercord, Oak
- 1947 Pair of George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chairs in Natural BirchBy George Nakashima, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a gorgeous pair of early George Nakashima for Knoll N19 birch straight chairs, produced by Knoll Associates. This chair appears to be natural birch. It shows some ...Category
Vintage 1940s American Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsBirch
- 1940s Straight Chair by George NakashimaBy George Nakashima, KnollLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn early production straight chair with spindles and a shaped seat on four splayed, tapered dowel legs.Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsHickory
- Pair of Mira Chairs by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George NakashimaBy George Nakashima, Mira NakashimaLocated in Berlin, DEPair of Mira Chairs by Mira Nakashima based on a design by George Nakashima. The chairs are in black walnut and can be signed. Production lead time is ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- Early George Nakashima Straight Chair for Knoll AssociatesBy Knoll, George Nakashima WoodworkersLocated in Philadelphia, PABeautiful early version of the N19 straight back chair in birch. Designed and made by George Nakashima and sold by Knoll associates. this early v...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBirch
- Asian American George Suyeoka Studio Prototype Chair in the Style of NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Cincinnati, OHA studio crafted oiled black American walnut sculptural chair in the manner of George Nakashima designed and made by Japanese American George Suyeoka, f...Category
Mid-20th Century American American Craftsman Chairs
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- 1947 George Nakashima for Knoll N19 Straight Chair in Natural BirchBy George Nakashima, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a gorgeous early George Nakashima for Knoll N19 birch straight chair, produced by Knoll Associates. This chair appears to be natural birch. It shows some wear from...Category
Vintage 1940s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBirch