Edward Wormley
Edward J. Wormley was an American designer of modern furniture. His furniture represented a convergence of historical design and 20th-century innovation that still appeals to contemporary collectors.
Early life
Wormley was born in Oswego, Illinois. He contracted polio as a young child, which impaired his mobility until he was five and resulted in a permanent limp. Wormley moved with his family to Rochelle, Illinois where, at twelve years of age, he met Edward C. Crouse. The two became close friends, and they entered into a sexual relationship as teenagers. They would go on to become lifelong partners.In 1925, when Crouse left for college, he and Wormley maintained frequent and affectionate correspondence. They addressed each other affectionately as “dear heart," discussing "passionate encounters" and planning their future life together. Crouse wrote, "We'll have to wait, though, until we're living together." Around Christmas that year, the young couple revealed their relationship to their families.
Design career
In 1926, Wormley briefly studied at the Art Institute of Chicago but had to leave after three terms due to financial issues. He began work as an interior designer for Marshall Field's. During the Depression, Wormley was introduced to Homer Niederhauser, president of the Dunbar Furniture Company in Berne, Indiana, who hired him as a designer. There, he designed two to four lines with 20 or so distinct pieces per year. He lived in Chicago, where one of Dunbar's exhibition spaces was located. His work over the next ten years made both him and Dunbar well-known and successful.In 1942, Wormley became the head of the furniture unit of the wartime Office of Price Administration. After leaving in 1944, he founded Edward Wormley and Associates, a private design firm with Dunbar as its main client. In 1944, Dunbar decided to focus strictly on modern lines, and Wormley began incorporating European and Scandinavian innovations into his work. His eye for quality and the exacting craftsmanship at Dunbar made furniture that was elegant, understated, and exceptionally well-made. Instead of trying to be at the forefront of modern design, Wormley took the best elements from classical and historical designs and translated them into modern vernacular. The result was furniture that was sophisticated yet mainstream, and successful.
Good Design exhibitions
Wormley's inclusion in the Good Design exhibit series staged by the Museum of Modern Art and the Merchandise Mart between 1950 and 1955 allowed him to gain recognition by including his work alongside designers like Harry Gitlin, George Nelson, and Charles & Ray Eames.In 1950, three of Edward Wormley’s works were on display at the Good Design exhibit: an adjustable upholstered wood armchair, a “Short John” coffee table with laminated wood legs, and a “Repartee” gray carpet. By the end of the Good Design exhibitions in 1955, thirty Wormley pieces had been awarded the Good Design designation.