
Wharton Esherick 1887–1970
Wharton Esherick was an American artist and craftsman whose influence on craft furniture design and architectural forms spanned decades. Esherick pioneered the Postwar American Studio Craft movement applying a technique that bridged the gap between expressionist art and craft. His furniture was non-traditional: both sculptural and functional while focused on organic, asymmetric forms. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Esherick studied wood and metal working at Central Manual Training High School and later drawing and printmaking at the Pennsylvania Museum School of the Industrial Arts. In 1908 he received a painting scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, but did not complete the program, instead he pursued commercial art and book illustration while continuing to paint on the side.
In the early 1920s, he moved to rural Paoli, Pennsylvania in order to live a lifestyle more immersed in nature. At this time his woodworking began to take form combining modern art with hand wood shaping creating frames for his paintings which developed into carved woodcuts. By 1926 his sculpture was exhibited at the Whitney Museum in New York, and he began to hand-build a studio on his land, which in 1993 was named a National Historic Landmark and opened to the public as the Wharton Esherick Museum.
Upcoming Lots Wharton Esherick

440
Wharton Esherick
Goose
estimate: $18,000–22,000
result: $60,000

441
Wharton Esherick
Important Desk for David Solinger's Law Office
estimate: $35,000–55,000
result: $35,000

442
Wharton Esherick
Ash chair
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $7,500

443
Wharton Esherick
Important corner cabinet for Marjorie Content
estimate: $25,000–35,000
result: $25,000

444
Wharton Esherick
Desk
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $27,500

445
Wharton Esherick
Hammer Handle chair
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $17,500

446
Wharton Esherick
Corner cabinet
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $16,250

447
Wharton Esherick
Hammer Handle chairs, set of four
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $27,500

448
Wharton Esherick
Bench
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $13,750

449
Wharton Esherick
Hammer Handle chair
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $12,500

450
Wharton Esherick
Corner shelf
estimate: $15,000–20,000

451
Wharton Esherick
Ash chair
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $7,500
Auction Results Wharton Esherick

Wharton Esherick
three works from Walt Whitman's Song of the Broad Axe
estimate: $1,000–1,500

Wharton Esherick
coffee table
estimate: $18,000–22,000
result: $18,750

Wharton Esherick
breakfast table
estimate: $24,000–28,000
result: $35,000

Wharton Esherick
Captain's chairs, set of two
estimate: $7,500–10,000
result: $20,000

Wharton Esherick
stool
estimate: $4,000–6,000
result: $6,875

Wharton Esherick
Biomorphic coffee table
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $18,750

Wharton Esherick
The Race
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $15,000

Wharton Esherick
Hammer Handle Chair
estimate: $6,000–9,000
result: $6,250

Wharton Esherick
Three-panel room divider
estimate: $15,000–20,000

Wharton Esherick
Rare lectern
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $21,250

Wharton Esherick
September Corn
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $1,500

Wharton Esherick
Hammer Handle chair
estimate: $6,000–8,000
result: $8,750

Wharton Esherick
The Great City; The Headsman (from Walt Whitman's Song of the Broad Axe)
estimate: $500–700
result: $625