What’s in a Signature?
A guide to authenticating works by George and Mira Nakashima from Freeman’s 20th Century and Contemporary Design department.
George Nakashima created furniture at his New Hope, Pennsylvania studio from 1943 until his death in 1990, when the torch was passed to his daughter Mira (an accomplished furniture maker in her own right), who has run the studio since.
Throughout the 1950s and 60s, Nakashima became increasingly well known, as curious intellectuals and young couples flocked to his studio along Aquetong Road to discover “that New Hope woodworker” for themselves. Nakashima approached his woodworking with a precision informed by his training as an architect, as well as a spirituality that drew on both Eastern and Western religious philosophies.
Key to determining the authenticity of Nakashima works is understanding the different kinds of signatures with which they may be marked. Nakashima called himself the world’s first hippie—and, as such, believed that the simplicity and majesty of the natural materials he used in his work should speak for themselves.
The once-living tree had its own story to tell and needed no signature or evidence of the human hand; therefore, early Nakashima works will be found without his signature. They may, however, bear the name of the original owner signed in black marker underneath a chair seat or tabletop. Miriam Nakashima, George’s wife, kept excellent records of these orders, which today are alphabetized and easily referenced by the studio to establish history of ownership and authenticity.
As Nakashima’s status as a master woodworker developed in the 1960s and 70s, clients frequently asked him to sign the work himself. Fewer than half of the works produced during this period bear his signature in black India ink. By the 1980s, signing works had become a more or less common practice at the studio—a tradition continued by Mira, who signs and dates every piece of furniture.
At the time of Nakashima’s death in 1990, dozens of furniture orders designed by him were left unfulfilled. These works, produced from approximately 1991 to 1993, are sometimes signed “Nakashima” only, attesting to the fact that both George and Mira—along with six artisans at George Nakashima Woodworkers—were involved in its creation.