GEORGE NAKASHIMA, woodworker and architectural designer, is a
native of Seattle, Washington. A graduate of MIT in architecture,
he worked briefly in New York, then traveled to Paris, Tokyo, and
India. It was while in Japan that he was sent on an extended
architectural assignment to Pondicherry, India, where he designed
Golconda, the primary disciples' residence at the Sri Aurobindo
Ashram, which was his first major architectural project. Running a
small integrated business near New Hope, Pennsylvania, since 1943,
Mr. Nakashima's major commissions include furnishings for the
country home of the late Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller, Pocantico
Hills, in Tarrytown, New, York, and interiors for Columbia
University, Mt. Holyoke College, the International Paper
Corporation, and the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu,
New Mexico, for which he also provided the architectural design.
Featured in such publications as Smithsonian, Town & Country, House
Beautiful, Life, and Fine Woodworking, Mr. Nakashima has exhibited
at many institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, New York;
the Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.; the Nelson Gallery, Kansas
City; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He was awarded the Gold
Medal for craftsmanship by the American Institute of Architects in
1952, was named a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 1979,
received the 1981 Hazlett Award, and in 1989 will be the first
honoree in a series of major retrospective exhibitions of
"America's Living National Treasures" at the American Craft
Museum.
GEORGE WALD, Higgins Professor of Biology Emeritus at Harvard
University, has been a close friend of George Nakashima for many
years. He was co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine in 1967 for his work on mechanisms of vision. He spends
most of his time now in what he thinks of as "survival
politics"-the sharp struggle to preserve life upon this planet-
human, animal, and plant.
"An impressive book that effectively conveys the textural qualities
and sensitivity of this master craftsman’s use of wood" —The New
York Times
"Today’s increasing reverence for nature, truth, simplicity and the
independent spirit makes the life, work and philosophy of George
Nakashima especially meaningful."—Town & Country
"From [Nakashima’s] tables and chairs flows the unadorned beauty of
the rhythms of nature."—Smithsonian
"George Nakashima, the foremost master of the craft."—Time
"Part woodworking manual, part philosophical journal, this book is
as unique as author and woodworking legend George Nakashima’s
exquisite furniture." —This Old House magazine
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