George Nakashima
Special Order Cabinet, 1953

Material: American Black Walnut, Bitterbrush

Signed: “‘George Nakashima 1953-” inside top drawer

An early George Nakashima Special Order Cabinet from 1953 – the work is a particularly interesting and rare example as it features a Bitterbrush pull.

The use of Bitterbrush, also known as “grease wood” and “antelope bitterbrush” is a deciduous bush in the rose family native to western North America, alludes to a defining period in Nakashima’s life in which he and his family were interned at Minidoka Relocation Center, a concentration camp in Hunt, Idaho, during WWII in 1942-43.

While interned, Nakashima crossed paths with Gentaro Hikogawa, a traditional Japanese carpenter who taught Nakashima traditional joinery methods and the use of Japanese hand tools.

In the camp, “Nakashima worked alongside Hikogawa on almost a daily basis. There were practical projects that allowed for the fabrication of flower boxes, tools boxes, and practical items like sawhorses, to be made for the general benefit of the community. One of the activities that Hikogawa and Nakashima engaged in was the collection of the wood from native scrub brush trees, locally known as greasewood or “Bitterbrush,” for use in making improvements to barrack interiors (“Historic Structure Report | George Nakashima Family House”, The Center for Architectural Conservation Department of Historic Preservation, University of Pennsylvania Graduate Department in Historic Preservation, 2024, p. 32).

Upon Nakashima’s petitioned release from the internment camp in 1943 and subsequent arrival to New Hope, Pennsylvania, Bitterbrush would continue to inform Nakashima’s practice.

In 1948, “Nakashima’s father sent a special shipment of Bitterbrush (that had been collected by George and [Gentaro] Hikogawa in the Idaho desert) with the suggestion that, ‘…I think you could use them for your works.’ At first, Nakashima simply staged pieces in important locations within the [Nakashima Family House] (like the mantle above the fireplace or on top of the Milk House table), and later, used the wood for handles throughout the house, the most prominent of which is the cabinet adjacent to the fireplace.” (“Historic Structure Report | George Nakashima Family House”, The Center for Architectural Conservation Department of Historic Preservation, University of Pennsylvania Graduate Department in Historic Preservation, 2024, p. 51)

This early Special Order Cabinet is an exceptional work with an interwoven biography depicting Nakashima’s profound ability to express and articulate his journey and philosophy through form and wood selection.

The work itself features expressive American Black Walnut boards, exposed, hand-worked dovetail joinery on the top of the casework, open shelving behind the Bitterbrush adorned cabinet doors, and four drawers (the bottom drawer incorporates an atypical visible recessed pull area).