The Art of Furniture

When I was 20, I got a job as a dancer in Michigan with a touring company of Showboat. I loved the Grand Rapids area. On a particular day off, I toured the Widdicomb Furniture Company’s Museum of Historic American Furniture (this was in the late 1970s). Modern furniture was included in the display, as in their later years (they closed in 2002) Widdicomb was affiliated with two of the world’s greatest Modernist designers, George Nakashima (1905-1990) and T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905-1976). I remember studying the catalogue at the little museum that defined “modernism in furniture,” which was defined thusly:

A post WWII use of industrial materials for elements in design, the influence of Classical architecture, furniture no longer an “ornament” but “usable,” a focus on “functionality” in the manufacture in use and in total design aesthetic. 

Modernism was – at that time – closer to a devotedly held elitist religion and philosophy than in any previous design epoch, although its philosophy centered around (non-elite) affordable machine-made furniture. As a testament to this new philosophy of design aspiring to Art, the Museum of Modern Art in the 1930s dedicated a department (Architecture and Design) to furniture and industrial design, as well as architecture. This MoMA effort was headed by the great architect who designed in the geometric style, Philip Johnson (1906-2005) – for 75 years a force in the history of the built environment. Amongst his many achievements, Johnson designed the sparely beautiful Glass House, built between 1949 and 1995, a National Trust Historic Site today located in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Widdicomb was founded in 1858 by woodworker George Widdicomb. When George’s four sons enlisted in the Civil War, the little cabinetmaker’s shop dissolved. But one son, (a rare thing: he lived through the Civil war) upon returning from war, opened a furniture shop at a new location in Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids quickly developed into a prominent furniture-making hub; surrounded by timber forests of pine, walnut and oak, and the Grand River was a prime source for hydroelectric power. Grand Rapids became the U.S. woodworking hub. Soon after the 1890s, the city’s nickname was “Furniture City,” thanks in part to Widdicomb furniture’s growing popularity, and in 1891 the company shipped bed frames, chiffoniers, and bedroom furniture (mirrors, nightstands, dressers) to far off U.S. cities in various “Revival” styles (very far from their modernist look to come!). Revival designs at Widdicomb featured their very popular spindle beds – American colonial with ornately turned wood posts, when the style for bedroom furniture included two single beds. These are seen today at every garage sale.

America from the 1890-1920s-favored furniture that harkened back to previous historic periods, Widdicomb designed in the “Louis XV” French Revival style, the “American Colonial” style, the “English Georgian” style, and the “Italian Renaissance” style (think Hearst Castle). John Widdicomb was the main “Revivalist” designer well into the late 1930s. As happens with the swing of the design pendulum, this era that harkened back to the past changed on a dime to the modernism of the future. 

Until the 1940s Widdicomb manufactured traditional styles. At a given moment the company hired one of the most sought-after modern designers of his day, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings. Before he came to Widdicomb, Robsjohn-Gibbings designed houses and furniture for Elizabeth Arden, Neiman Marcus, billionaire tobacco heiress Doris Duke, publisher Alfred A. Knopf, and Hilda Boldt Weber, for whom he designed Casa Encantada in Bel Air (1934-38). From 1943-56 he worked as lead designer, bringing his signature (severe) Grecian Art Deco classicism to mix with Scandinavian design, emphasizing clean craftsmanship and austerity. Incompatible, you might think, but reader CM sends me a great example of J.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings’ work, a dining suite in walnut, which artfully blends Grecian lines with Scandinavian craftsmanship.

The set includes a China cabinet – the flat, unadorned wood surface featuring classical tapered feet and drop-brass hardware, more Grecian than Danish. The sideboard is similarly designed, as is the table with its classical tapered legs. The dining table includes six chairs, straight-backed, no decoration; the geometry of the furniture speaks for itself in Minimalist design.

CM asks about value. A walnut “X” base dining table from 1943-56, designed by Robsjohn-Gibbings, with similar chairs sold for $5,400 at Rago Auctions, as did a 1949 dining suite in walnut (with label) for $5,600. A pair of dressers from the 1950s, also in light walnut, sold for $2,900.

CM’s suite is in great condition, and lovers of late 40s/early-50s Modernism would likely pay $6,000 for the suite, as it has its original label crediting Robsjohn-Gibbings. CM may sell. If interested get in touch at [email protected].