Alvar Aalto For Artek
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1950s Finnish Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Modern Side Tables
Birch, Paint
Late 20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Side Tables
Birch
Vintage 1960s Finnish Chairs
Upholstery, Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Stools
Laminate, Birch
20th Century European Stools
Wood
Vintage 1970s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Plywood
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Birch
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Glass, Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
Wood, Pine
Mid-20th Century European Art Deco Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Teak
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Birch, Bentwood
Vintage 1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Birch
Vintage 1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Vintage 1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Vintage 1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Stools
Laminate, Birch, Bentwood
Vintage 1970s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Tables
Laminate, Birch, Lacquer
Vintage 1920s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Birch, Plywood
Vintage 1920s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Birch, Plywood
Early 2000s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Birch
Vintage 1970s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Birch
Late 20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Birch, Plywood
Vintage 1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Steel
Vintage 1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Stools
Birch
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Cabinets
Birch
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
Birch, Upholstery
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
Birch
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Birch
Vintage 1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Bentwood
Early 2000s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Birch
Early 2000s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Birch
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Birch
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Center Tables
Teak, Maple
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Card Tables and Tea Tables
Bentwood, Ceramic, Rattan
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Stools
Leather, Birch
1990s Finnish Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Wood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Bentwood
Vintage 1930s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Birch
2010s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Children's Furniture
Laminate, Beech
2010s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Children's Furniture
Laminate, Birch
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Birch
Vintage 1970s Finnish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Birch
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Birch
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Birch, Lacquer
Vintage 1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Plywood, Upholstery, Leather
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Birch, Lacquer
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood, Birch, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Bentwood
20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
Wool, Bentwood
Vintage 1930s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Birch
Vintage 1960s Finnish Modern Side Tables
Laminate, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Birch, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Birch, Plywood
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Side Tables
Leather, Birch
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Alvar Aalto For Artek For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Alvar Aalto For Artek?
Alvar Aalto for sale on 1stDibs
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism and Nordic design to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, stools, tables and lighting to table- and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.
Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.
Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed with his wife, Aino Aalto, in 1930 as part of the overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium.
Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the Paimio chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had an enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.
Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with Aino, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.
Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.
Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Read More
The Very Modern Love Story of Mid-Century Design Duo Alvar and Aino Aalto
A power couple before the term existed, the influential pair made work that still resonates today.
What Makes Scandinavian Modernism and Nordic Design So Irresistible?
Andrew Duncanson, founder of the Stockholm- and London-based gallery Modernity, weighs in on the masters of mid-century furniture and decorative arts.
The Married Collectors behind Stockholm’s Newest Design Museum
Kersti Sandin and Lars Bülow want their new endeavor to educate both students and professionals about furniture design.