Why You Should Buy a George Nakashima Chair

Buying a George Nakashima chair is an act of love and appreciation for the father of the American Craft Movement. It’s also a wise investment in an exquisitely designed piece of art.

To understand the many reasons why people purchase Nakashima chairs, start by looking at his background and techniques. Nakashima himself was as one-of-a-kind as his chairs.

The Iconic George Nakashima Chair

Nakashima was born to Japanese-American parents in 1905 in Spokane, Washington and spent his young adulthood traveling to France, Japan, India, and other global design centers. He had a formal education in architecture but developed a deep connection to woodworking while living in India and advancing his spiritual outlook.

He learned traditional Japanese carpentry techniques from Gentaro Hikogawa at an internment camp during World War II. After release from his imprisonment, Nakashima moved to Pennsylvania to begin a prolific period of producing his signature chairs and other furniture.

For Nakashima, each creation was an individual experience where form and function arose from the client’s desires, Nakashima’s perspectives, and the innate spirit of the wood itself. He used discarded logs and offcuts, often with wild burls and knots, to celebrate the imperfections of natural wood.

In describing his artistic viewpoint, Nakashima explained, “Each tree not only has a different size and shape, but color and character, and each board from each tree has a distinctly different personality.”

Hallmarks of genuine Nakashima chairs include:

• Balanced and cantilevered designs
• Clear, low-sheen finishes
• Contrasting spindles
• Free-form arms of live-edge wood
• Hand tool marks
• His signature or client’s name, sometimes with a date, on an underside board
• Solid wood construction, often in American black walnut or hickory
• Unusual wood textures and patterns within sleek, minimalistic forms

Why Own a Nakashima Chair?

To own a George Nakashima chair is to become part of history. There’s never been anyone quite like Nakashima, although his daughter Mira Nakashima continues his heritage to this day by producing exceptional chairs and other pieces at the Nakashima Studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Fine craftsmanship is one of the top reasons why people purchase these pieces. The name Nakashima is synonymous with quality and sits at the pinnacle of the American Studio Craft Movement. 

Those who choose to buy Nakashima chairs honor the artist’s design style and help keep his legacy alive. For many, the investment goes beyond financial and is a spiritual journey akin to Nakashima’s spiritual journey of selecting and handcrafting his natural wood creations.

A Nakashima chair builds your connection with nature and honors the artist by respecting the inherent perfection of imperfection. From a distance, his chairs are well-designed pieces of furniture. Up close, they are even more staggeringly beautiful, with fine woodworking techniques and unique, almost magical touches only Nakashima himself could conjure.

As the son of Moderne Gallery founder Robert Aibel, gallery co-director Joshua Aibel was lucky enough to spend his childhood surrounded by Nakashima’s inspiring work. He told Effect Magazine, “I always found these objects powerful. I noticed there was this presence behind them – that they could elevate your thought, your interior, and in my view, your life.” 

Types of George Nakashima Chairs

Nakashima chairs come in many forms, so there is almost no way of describing a “typical” example. Each piece is an absolute original. Below is an overview of some of his most well-known and recognizable types of chairs.

Armchairs

Nakashima armchairs typically have slim legs, gracefully-shaped seats, and hickory spindles which are hand-shaved and custom-fitted to steam-bent backs. The low-backed Captain’s Chair won a craftsmanship and design prize at the 1954 World’s Fair in Belgium.

Dining Chairs

Nakashima dining chairs come in many forms, mostly as armless four and three-legged designs that seem to perch effortlessly in the air. The Conoid Chair is among Nakashima’s most iconic designs and has a recognizable curved, cantilevered form with only two legs.

Lounges and Chaises

Nakashima also designed lounges and chaises in a variety of sizes and silhouettes. For example, the Early Long Chair With Free-Form Arm features a single live-edge arm and a cotton webbing or twisted seagrass seat.

The Prototype Lounge Chair is a recently rediscovered example of Nakashima’s early work and shows his progression as an artist toward his designs in later works. The New Lounge Chair With Free-Form Arm is an outstanding example of Nakashima’s blend of sleek spindle and leg design contrasting with a whimsical free-form arm. 

Rocking Chairs

You might be surprised to learn that the collection also includes rockers. Nakashima rocking chairs hold a unique appeal all their own. In the 1970s, Nakashima refined several of his classic chair designs into traditional-meets-unconventional rocker designs. These chairs also feature some of his most beloved design elements, like the single live-edge arm.

George Nakashima Chairs

Some of George Nakashima’s best work are his chairs. Here are a few of his finest chairs recently held by Moderne Gallery.

George Nakashima Chairs at Moderne Gallery

Are you interested in purchasing a Nakashima chair? If so, you’re welcome to view one of the world’s largest Nakashima inventories at Philadelphia’s Moderne Gallery. The gallery is a global leader in the Studio Craft Movement with extensive expertise in collecting and selling exemplary Nakashima furniture.

George Nakashima Chair Gallery