Incollect Magazine - Issue 11

Incollect Magazine 65 ’Saridis” Tripod Table in walnut with cast and polished bronze base, produced by Saridis of Athens, circa 1960. From Lance Thompson Inc. on Incollect.com. Brass Tripod Table Lamp, Model 170 for Hansen Lighting, United States, circa 1960s. From Lobel Modern on Incollect.com Robsjohn-Gibbings. “I was always drawn to him,” he says, “he was masterful in his proportions and such an elegant designer.” Pieces by Robsjohn-Gibbings adorn Dozella’s expansive showrooms at the New York Design Center alongside a roster of other major 20th- century designers. “I have favorite pieces by him,” he says, “things like the “Mesa” coffee table, the “Strap” sofa, or the “Siesta” chaise lounge and I buy them whenever I can.” Donzella says he just sold an armless sofa, a version of the classic chaise lounge introduced in 1954, to a private client in New York. “It was to a couple who came to the store and they instantly loved it. They are serious collectors, and appreciate its importance as a piece of design history,” he said. Donzella believes Robsjohn-Gibbings is deserving of more market attention and recognition but notes that prices for his designs have increased substantially since he first started dealing in this material. The “Mesa” coffee table, inspired by the terraced, wind-and-water-eroded high desert mountain plains of the Southwest, designed for Widdecomb in 1951, is one of his most famous pieces of furniture. “The first ‘Mesa’ coffee table I ever had, in 1995, I sold for $10,000 and that was a pretty big number back then for a piece of 20th-century American design,” Donzella recalls. Today, original “Mesa” walnut coffee tables, from the early 1950s regularly sell for over $300,000 at auction, and one or two have sold for over $400,000. From 1943 to 1956, Robsjohn-Gibbings worked as a designer for the commercial furniture manufacturer Widdicomb Furniture Co. based in Grand Rapids, Mich. He designed many of his most popular furniture pieces for them including the “1759 Cocktail Table,” first introduced in 1948 and known as the Freeform coffee table because of its free-form, organic design reminiscent of a cloud. “It is a sculptural piece with a distinctive curvilinear shape and seemingly floating top,” says Lisa Staub, from Original in Berlin. “It is made from solid walnut wood and features a thick oval-shaped top that is supported by a series of brass legs that taper down to pointed feet. The legs are arranged in a triangular pattern, giving an overall sense of movement and fluidity. The effect is one of lightness and grace.”