Gilbert Rohde Chest of Drawers for Herman Miller

Asymmetrical dresser has the perfect balance of mid century modern simplicity and the fine craftsmanship and rich materials characteristic of the Art Deco era. Lacquered birds eye maple represents luxury, glamour, and exuberance of the Art Deco design movement and its bold geometric lines echo the influence of Cubism and the beginnings of the modernist movement. This piece is significant in design history because it shows the progression from Art Deco to Mid Century Modern Design. Gilbert Rohde is credited for helping define the earliest phase of modernism in the United States, this dresser represents this shift. He is considered one of the most influential figures of 20th-century design and is credited with helping legendary mid century modern furniture manufacturer Herman Miller avert financial disaster during the Great Depression. Gilbert Rohde paved the way for Ray and Charles Eames, Harry Bertoia, George Nelson and many others.

All drawers slide smoothly. This piece has been professionally restored and is in excellent vintage condition. Small dark mark present on top - this is a blemish natural to the wood. Birds maple makes up less than 1% of all maple wood.

Dimensions: 36"h x 43"w x 19"d

More About the Designer:

Gilbert Rohde (1894–1944), whose career as a furniture and industrial designer helped to define American modernism during its first phase from the late 1920s to World War II, and is best known today for inaugurating modern design at Herman Miller Inc. Rohde was a tireless advocate for modern furniture and interiors in American homes, apartments, offices, commercial and institutional settings. He designed many lines of modular furniture, promoted for its flexibility, functionality, and suitability for apartments and small homes. He became known for experimenting with industrial materials in furniture and interiors, including Plexiglas, Lucite, Bakelite, and Fabrikoid (a leather-like fabric made by DuPont). One of his most innovative designs was a molded Plexiglas chair made in 1939, and shown at the Rohm and Haas display at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Of the two prototypes of this chair, one was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in 2000. Rohde's work is included in major museum collections among them: the Brooklyn Museum, the Wolfsonian, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Henry Ford, the Newark Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art. In Europe his work is owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Vitra Design Museum.