Ward Bennett created everything from interiors and furniture to textiles and flatware. The unsung New York City-born modernist designer drew on the work of Le Corbusier and Auguste Rodin, studied art with the likes of Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann and counted legendary American luxury house Tiffany & Co. among his clients. For decades, Bennett created and filled spaces that were elegant, minimalist and deeply appealed to everyone who laid eyes on them.
Bennett left home and school at the young age of 13. He found work in Manhattan’s Garment District, and within a few years, Bennett traveled to Europe on behalf of a clothing manufacturer to gather ideas for modern garments. He lived abroad as a young man, and when he returned to New York, during the early 1940s, he assisted fashion entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie as a window dresser.
Bennett would also go on to share a sculpture studio with artist Louise Nevelson. He ventured into the world of jewelry design, creating necklaces, bracelets and other pieces with Richard Pousette-Dart. The Whitney Museum of American Art exhibited his sculptures, and it wouldn’t be long before the Museum of Modern Art included Bennett’s personal adornments with accessories by the likes of Alexander Calder, Harry Bertoia and Anni Albers in its 1946 “Modern Handmade Jewelry” show.
Bennett didn’t take the plunge into interior design work until he was 30 years old — his inaugural project was an apartment in Manhattan and his clients were family members. He had no formal training in architecture or decorating — and would ultimately design a mere handful of houses in his life — so for his inviting leather office chairs, marble-topped tables and sleek storage cabinets, Bennett relied only on what he learned in the fashion world. Soon, every time he redecorated his own home — an elaborate apartment comprising former maids’ quarters in New York City’s magnificent Dakota building — it earned splashy coverage in the newspapers.
Bennett’s client list eventually included David Rockefeller and Chase Manhattan Bank, Tiffany & Co., Sasaki, Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli, and others, and during the 1970s he became in-house designer for Brickel Associates, a role that would endure for more than two decades. His work is on permanent view at the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Ward Bennett seating, decorative objects and more.
1983 Pair of Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Dining Bankers Chairs in Oak
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a pair of Bankers Armchairs, initially designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates in 1965. The listed price includes the pair as shown. T...
Steel
1960s Pair of Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Bumper Arm Chairs
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a pair of Bumper Swivel Lounge Chairs, initially designed by Ward Bennett and produced by Brickel Associates in 1964. These chairs date to the 1960s and are all original. The...
Bronze, Steel
1984 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Desk Chair in Fabric with Oak Frame
By Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Executive Office Chair, initially designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates in 1970. These particular examples were produced in 1984 in the United States. Their desi...
Metal
1980s Pair of Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Yoke Chairs in Oak and Suede
By Ward Bennett, Brickel Associates
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a pair of ‘Yoke’ side chairs, designed by Ward Bennett in 1984 for Brickel Associates. The listed price includes the pair. Their design features a frame of bent stained Oak, and these particular examples retain their original brown suede upholstery. It is rare to find a Yoke chair...
Foam, Oak, Leather, Lacquer
1990 Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Cherry Finished Ash Side/Dining Chair
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Ward Bennett Dining Chair, originally designed in the 1970s for Brickel Associates. This particular example dates to the 1990s. The chair is comprised of an ash frame with ...
Ash, Fabric, Foam
1970s Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates Bronze and Mohair Bucket Desk Chair
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a 1970s production bucket desk / office chair, designed by Ward Bennett and produced by Brickel Associates. The chair was acquired from an estate in Philadelphia a...
Bronze
Armchair by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates, 1970s
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Sagaponack, NY
An elegant and comfortable armchair having a fluid and bold ash frame seamlessly encasing a seat upholstered in vintage green wool fabric. Upholstery recommended.
Ash
Ward Bennett For Brickel Associates Ebonized Ash & Cane "Landmark" Lounge Chair
By Brickel Associates, Ward Bennett
Located in Dayton, OH
This vintage lounge chair is a variation of Bennett's famous Landmark design, originally designed in 1964 to emulate classic English forms. Structured with a fluid bentwood ash frame...
Cane, Ash
Ward Bennett Cane Armchair for Brickel Associates, c. 1960s
By Ward Bennett
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ward Bennett Cane armchair for Brickel Associates, c.1960s, USA. This chair features a rounded oak frame with cane backrest and seat. Additional information Material: Oak, Cane ...
Cane, Oak
Mid-Century Armchair by Michel Arnoult, Imbuia & Mohair, 1960s
By Michel Arnoult
Located in New York, NY
A disciplined expression of Brazilian modernism, this armchair by Michel Arnoult distills the decade’s ethos into a composition of clarity, proportion, and material intelligence. The...
Leather, Hardwood
One Midcentury Ward Bennett Landmark Cane Armchair for Brickel and Associates
By Ward Bennett
Located in Pasadena, TX
Best known for his interiors, Mr. Bennett's projects include residence in New York, London, Venice and Rome, as well as his own quarter, a Manhattan apartment atop the Dakota, a country house in Long Island and a flat in Paris. In the commercial category, works encompass a national network of showrooms for Brickel, projects for Chase Manhattan Bank and consultant plans for the Solow Building Corporation. In 1963, he began a collaboration with Brickel Associates, designing first furniture and later textiles. He is considered a prodigious designer of objects: china, glassware and silver for Tiffany & Co., flatware for Supreme; porcelain for Sasaki; and, leather goods for Hermes. Bennett designs are well represented in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection and in the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. One midcentury Ward Bennett cane armchair One Ward Bennett cane chair...
Cane, Oak
Armchair by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates, 1970s
Located in Sagaponack, NY
An elegant and comfortable arm chair having a fluid and bold ash frame seamlessly encasing a seat upholstered in vintage green wool fabric. Upholstery required, inquire for options.
Upholstery
