The Morris Bow Arm Recliner

The Morris Bow Arm Recliner

William Morris, 1834 - 1896, was one of the leading influences of the English Arts and Crafts Movement and creator of the Morris Bow Arm Recliner, which inserted pegs into the seat to allow the back to recline.  His recliner was adapted by Gustav Stickley, 1858 -1942, and became one of the many featured items of the Gustav Stickley's Mission Furniture Collection.

Stickley's new furniture reflected his ideals of simplicity in construction, and return to native materials. Plain wood surfaces were enlivened by the cut of the wood to show the flaking pattern of quarter-sawn oak. Varnish and laquer was applied so as not to obscure the grain of the wood and mortise and tenon joinery was exposed to demonstrate the structural qualities of the works..

In 1900, Gustav Stickley and his brothers Leopold, Albert, and John George began making the finest in American Arts and Crafts furniture. Today, that tradition continues in the company still called Stickley Furniture, located in upstate New York.

Tsuba Chair

Over the years, Stickley Furniture has continued to innovate and refine both its style and method of production to improve on quality and design. One innovation has been the adaption of the Bow Arm Recliner to the style of Stickley's Pasadena Bungalow Collection.

Let's talk value.

Here is one of Gustav Stickley’s most famous designs - the Bow Arm Morris Chair,  made by Gustav Stickley from 1901 to 1916 and still made today by the L. & J.G. STICKLEY of Manlius , New, York. The arched arms, pluralized by the arch along the seat apron gave this chair a little more sensitivity than Stickley’s straight lined recliners. How do you put a price on comfort and styling?

Discover what Sotheby's sold an original Bow Arm Morris Recliner for in 2010 by visiting Stickley's Antique of the Week Archive.