Wharton Esherick Three-Legged Stool in Cottonwood

Wharton Esherick, stool, cottonwood, hickory, United States, 1954

This beautiful three-legged stool is a striking example of American designer Wharton Esherick’s oeuvre. The resurgent interest in handmade furniture during the mid-century period inspired Esherick to expand his oeuvre and to produce small, readily pieces beside his commissions. He used leftover wood scraps with an interesting grain figure to create three-legged high and low stools. He let the wood’s grain determine the final shape of the seating, which were all made by hand. The legs of the stools were executed in a slender manner to assure a lightweight and elegant appearance. On the bottom of the seating the stool has the year “1954” engraved as well as the designer’s initials. One of its essential details is the carved deepening of the seat, exemplifying Esherick’s keen eye for detail and expert craftsmanship. Due to the sleek and tapered features of the legs and the organic seating, the chair has an airy and dynamic allure.

American artist, furniture designer and pioneer of the Studio Craft Movement Wharton Esherick (1887-1970) studied printmaking and drawing at Philadelphia School of Industrial Arts (now the University of Arts) and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In the late 1920s Esherick guided his focus towards the design of wooden furniture. His attention to wood was evoked by the creation of illustration woodcuts. Esherick then discovered his passion for wooden sculptures and finally also furniture which he usually just made once. With the acquisition of his works by the Whitney Museum in New York, Esherick found confirmation of his talent with wooden objects. His oeuvre ranges from Arts & Crafts to Cubism and Expressionism. In 1912 he and his wife moved to rural Paoli in Pennsylvania where they settled down for the rest of their lives in order to live a lifestyle more immersed in nature. The old farmhouse got dedicatedly extended by Esherick himself. Today, it hosts the Museum of Wharton Esherick, which allows you to admire his designs in the original setting.

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