Terms and conditions of use
Armchair 41
designed (1930); manufactured (early 1970s)
- Medium
- laminated Birch, painted plywood
- Measurements
- 63.7 × 61.1 × 86.6 cm
- Place/s of Execution
- Finland
- Accession Number
- D136-1975
- Department
- International Decorative Arts
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1975
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
Throughout the 1920s Aalto conducted experiments into the bending of wood and wood lamination. He is credited with adapting the lamination process for mass production and his experiments led to his revolutionary chair designs of the 1930s, including Armchair 41, designed to furnish the Paimio Sanatorium. Its design is closely allied to the cantilevered chairs of Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe, although Armchair 41 is made entirely out of wood. The chair heralded a new direction in materials, plywood and laminated woods being firmly embraced by other Scandinavian designers, not to mention Charles and Ray Eames in America.
- Physical description
- Seat - back panels united in single sheet plywood, each end attached to supporting framework.