On Facebook, Jon E. of Indiana shared a photo and said, “One of the first Stickley Mission pieces we purchased was this chair. It’s so comfortable, especially on a cold winter’s day with a warm fire in the hearth. Solid and substantial. Built for generations of use.” And Scott S. of Maryland added, “Loving ours. A statement piece.”
Image courtesy of Jon E. Images courtesy of Scott S.
As you can see, the Eastwood Chair is one of our most beloved re-issues of a Stickley original, and it also happened to be a personal favorite of Gustav Stickley himself; he made sure to have one in both his Syracuse home (where the green leather chair at the top of this post was photographed!) and Craftsman Farms, his New Jersey retreat. Named for his early workshop located in Eastwood, New York, the chair was created in 1901, just a year after Stickley’s first collection of “New Furniture” appeared, and it was formally introduced at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. L. & J.G. Stickley re-issued the Eastwood Chair as part of the Mission Collection in 1997.
The Eastwood is a fine example of Gus’s early design forms. Its lines are largely straight and square, with the only variation being a subtle V shape in the arm supports. Blind mortise-and-tenon joinery ensures that even typical Arts and Crafts construction details don’t interrupt the chair’s broad solid-oak slabs, with the exception of quadrilinear posts that emerge at the front of each arm. But it is sheer scale that likely makes this chair irresistible. It measures 36 inches in every direction, and a seat this deep and wide can’t help but be inviting.
Thanks to its simplicity and iconic style, the Eastwood Chair has also lent itself to creative re-invention! An extra-wide version of the chair was custom-built in 2006 (and again in 2008 and 2012) for the use of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as he made speaking appearances in Upstate New York; the larger seat allowed him to sit in his customary cross-legged position.
Stickley celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1989 Mission Collection in 2014 with another wider and deeper Eastwood Chair, this time sold as a set with footstool in a limited edition of just 100. And in 2018, a very special edition of the 25th-annivesary chair was built as a gift for Houston dealer Mack McIngvale when he was honored with a Stickley Humanitarian Award. “Mattress Mack” had opened his furniture showrooms to shelter displaced Houston residents in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and as a gesture of appreciation for this act of service, his chair and footstool were covered in red, white, and blue leather to resemble the Texas state flag—complete with a lone star!
Originals of this incomparable chair continue to attract serious collectors; an antique Eastwood Chair sold at auction at Sotheby’s in December 2013 for $245,000! Just as importantly, the re-issued chair finds a place at the heart of countless American homes, destined to be treasured for generations.
Additional sources:
Mrs. Aminy I. Audi, CEO and Chair of the Board
Amanda Clifford, Director, The Stickley Museum
Cathers, David. Furniture of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. New York: The New American Library, 1981.
Tucker, Kevin W., ed. Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011.
The Craftsman, Vol. 1 No. 2, November 1901.
