The Straight Chair is George Nakashima's modern interpretation of the traditional Windsor chair. Featuring low-sheen finishes that amplify the natural grain patterns, the Straight Chair showcases Nakashima's sensitivity to nature and his legendary craftsmanship.
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Featuring natural, low-sheen finishes and live wood grain patters - in American Walnut and Hickory - the Nakashima pieces epitomise the designer and his artistry and craft.
The frame is constructed from solid American Walnut, turned American Walnut legs and stretches, and constrasting Hickory spindles, clear low- sheen finish and nylon glides. Each Chair features George Nakashima's signature under the seat.
The chair is available in American Walnut only. This exhibits a high degree of natural colour characteristics, ranging from chocolate, grey and purplish-browns to deep honey. Colour variations will soften and become more uniform over time.
57cm W x 51cm D, 75.5cm H with a seat height of 42cm.
Mixing Eastern and Western aesthetics, traditional and modern vocabularies, George Nakashima’s work defies typical categorisation. He is one of the most recognised and celebrated craftsmen of the 20th century, known primarily for his handmade furniture and sensitivity to material.
In the early 1940s, Hans and Florence Knoll met Nakashima and, impressed by the simple elegance of his aesthetic, added a chair and three tables of his design to the Knoll catalog. The early orders were made in Nakashima’s own studio, before production was moved to East Greenville. The line was discontinued in 1955 when Nakashima opted to produce and market all of his designs himself. In collaboration with George Nakashima’s daughter, Mira, and George Nakashima Studios, KnollSudio reintroduced the Straight Chair in 2008. Using three-dimensional scanning software, the Knoll Development Group created an exact replica of the handmade original.
George Nakashima, wood craftsman and poet, studied architecture at the University of Washington, Seattle, the Ecole Americaine des Beaux-Arts Fontainebleau in France and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He worked for Antonin Raymond. Nakashima received the gold medal for craftsmanship from the American Institute of Architects and the Hazlett Award. The subject of several one-man exhibitions, Nakashima also authored The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker's Reflections.