Panton Chair, Vitra / Herman Miller Collection
About the Item
- Creator:Verner Panton (Designer),Vitra (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.89 in (81 cm)Width: 19.3 in (49 cm)Depth: 21.26 in (54 cm)Seat Height: 17.33 in (44 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1968-1971
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Stripes, scratches and small quirks exist. Coating with Patina.
- Seller Location:Neuss, DE
- Reference Number:
Verner Panton
Verner Panton introduced the word “groovy” — or at least its Danish equivalent — into the Scandinavian modern design lexicon. He developed fantastical, futuristic forms and embraced bright colors and new materials such as plastic, fabric-covered polyurethane foam and steel-wire framing. And Panton’s ebullient Pop art sensibility made him an international design star of the 1960s and ’70s. This radical departure from classic Danish modernism, however, actually stemmed from his training under the greats of that design style.
Born on the largely rural Danish island of Funen, Panton studied architecture and engineering at Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where the lighting designer Poul Henningsen was one of his teachers. After graduating, in 1951, Panton worked in the architectural office of Arne Jacobsen, and he became a close friend of Hans Wegner's.
Henningsen taught a scientific approach to design; Jacobsen was forever researching new materials; and Wegner, the leader in modern furniture design using traditional woodworking and joinery, encouraged experimental form. Panton opened his own design office in 1955, issuing tubular steel chairs with woven seating. His iconoclastic aesthetic was announced with his 1958 Cone chair, modified a year later as the Heart Cone chair. Made of upholstered sheet metal and with a conical base in place of legs, the design shocked visitors to a Copenhagen furniture fair.
Panton went on to successive bravura technical feats. His curving, stackable 1960 Panton chair, his most popular design, was the first chair to be made from a single piece of molded plastic. Three years later, he introduced the S model, the first legless chair crafted from a single piece of plywood, cantilevered on a round metal base. Panton would spend the latter 1960s and early ’70s developing all-encompassing room environments composed of sinuous and fluid-formed modular seating made of foam and metal wire. He also created a series of remarkable lighting designs, most notably his Fun chandeliers — introduced in 1964 and composed of scores of shimmering capiz-shell disks — and the Space Age VP Globe pendant light of 1969.
As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, Verner Panton’s designs are made to stand out and put an eye-catching exclamation point on even the most modern decor.
Vitra
Design house Vitra has garnered international recognition for more than 70 years — the Swiss family-owned furniture company has outfitted public spaces as well as residential properties and offices worldwide. It has been a proponent of modernist design since the 1950s. While the brand is heralded for its collaborations with mid-century modern icons such as Verner Panton, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard and others, Vitra’s German campus is also home to buildings designed by legendary architects Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. Among them is the Vitra Design Museum, an independent cultural institution that displays two centuries of design today.
Vitra was established in Weil Am Rhein, Germany, in 1950 by husband and wife team Willi and Erika Fehlbaum. On a trip to New York several years later, Willi Fehlbaum encountered the work of design polymaths Ray and Charles Eames in a furniture store and immediately knew that he had found his bliss.
In 1957, Vitra entered into a licensing agreement with Herman Miller, which saw the company producing designs by George Nelson, the Eameses and others. Later, Vitra partnered with Verner Panton and created the Panton chair, which was the first chair ever crafted from a single piece of molded plastic (it was also the first piece to be independently developed by Vitra). After 27 years of establishing the Vitra brand, the Fehlbaums passed control to their two sons, Rolf and Raymond Fehlbaum.
When a fire destroyed the factory in 1981, the brothers developed the Vitra Factory Campus, subsequently taking the opportunity to redirect the architectural landscape of the company. They created a masterplan with Nicholas Grimshaw, and together they erected four buildings in just a few short years.
In 1988, with the passing of Ray Eames and the disbandment of the Los Angeles Eames office, Rolf and Raymond acquired the furniture design portion of her estate, including the Eames prototypes and experimental models, housed today in the Vitra Design Museum.
Rolf and Roy opened the Vitra Design Museum in 1989. This began a period rich with design relationships, including collaborations with Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison, Maarten van Severen, Philippe Starck, Alberto Meda and others.
In 2012, leadership passed to Nora, the third generation of the Fehlbaums. Nora Fehlbaum has, like her grandparents, expanded the company and brought it into the 21st century with the acquisition of Finnish furniture manufacturer Artek. Nora has turned the company’s focus to sustainability yet still maintains its international and cultural relevance legacy.
Find a collection of Vitra lounge chairs, tables, side chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Neuss, Germany
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Panton Chair, Vitra / Herman Miller CollectionBy Verner Panton, VitraLocated in Neuss, NWTimeless cantilever Panton chair of the second generation (1968-71) designed by Verner Panton in 1959. High-quality corpus in black made of polyurethane hard foam. Unique, almost unt...Category
Vintage 1960s Swiss Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Panton Chair, Vitra / Herman Miller CollectionBy Verner Panton, VitraLocated in Neuss, NWTimeless cantilever Panton chair of the second generation (1968-71) designed by Verner Panton in 1959. High-quality corpus in creamy white made of polyurethane hard foam. Unique, alm...Category
Vintage 1960s Swiss Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Panton Chair, Vitra / Herman Miller CollectionBy Verner Panton, VitraLocated in Neuss, NWTimeless cantilever panton chair of the second generation (1968-71) designed by Verner Panton in 1959. High-quality corpus in red made of polyurethane hard foam. Unique, almost untou...Category
Vintage 1960s Swiss Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Panton Chair by Verner Panton for Vitra, 1959By Verner Panton, VitraLocated in Neuss, NWTimeless cantilever Panton Chair by Vitra made of high-quality polypropylene in white. Draft by Verner Panton in 1959. Quality Features: accomplished design: perfect proportions...Category
Vintage 1950s Swiss Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Cone Chair Seating Group Cone Table Verner Panton Red Blue Petrol MustardBy Verner PantonLocated in Neuss, NWUnique Verner Panton “Cone Chair” seating group for Gebrüder Nehl. The seating group consists of six chairs and a stool each with rare original fabrics in red, blue, petrol and musta...Category
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Plywood Group Lounge Chair, Charles & Ray EamesBy Charles and Ray Eames, VitraLocated in Neuss, NWPlywood Group Lounge Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Vitra, designed in the 1945/1946s. Stainless steel frame with seat and backrest shell made of bent ash plywood. Quality Features...Category
Antique Late 19th Century German Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsAsh
- Verner Panton Two Cantilevered Chairs by Vitra Herman Miller EditionBy Verner Panton, VitraLocated in Miami, FLTimeless cantilevered side chairs designed by Verner Panton in 1959. High-quality design made of fiberglass. Unique, retouched condition. Our pair of Panton cantilevered chairs are a stunning golden yellow, original color was blue, see detailed photographs. We have paired them with a stylish Postmodern Circular James Turco Designed Milano Memphis painted and lacquered side table, sold separately. This Pair of Verner Panton Cantilevered Chairs Quality Features: Accomplished design: perfect proportions and visible attention to detail high-quality workmanship using high quality materials. Made in Denmark, Bears the makers mark. Design: Verner Panton, manufacturer: Vitra / Herman Miller Collection Measures: 24 3/4" Deep x 19 1/2" Wide x 32 1/4" High About the Designer and Chair Model: From the early 1950s, Panton had dreamt of making a stackable, cantilevered chair all in one piece. In 1956, he designed the S chair which can be considered a forerunner of the Panton chair. He saw it as an item of furniture in which the back, seat and legs were made of the same material and in one continuous piece. It was first produced in 1965. Panton made a series of sketches and design drawings for the Panton chair in the 1950s. In 1960, he created his first model, a plaster-cast, in collaboration with Dansk Akrylteknik. In the mid-1960s, he met Willi Fehlbaum, who, unlike many other producers, was fascinated with the drawings of his legless chair in plastic rather than wood, the favoured material of the times. Working closely with Fehlbaum, Panton produced a cold-pressed model using polyester strengthened with fibreglass. For the first time, an entire chair had been designed in one piece, without any legs. It became known as a free-swinger. The first rather heavy model, which required substantial finishing work, was subsequently improved and adapted to industrial production using thermoplastic polystyrene which led to a marked reduction in cost. In 1968, Fehlbaum, from Vitra, initiated serial production of the final version which was sold by the Herman Miller Furniture Company. It was varnished in seven colors. In 1979, however, production was halted as it became apparent that the material polystyrene was not sufficiently durable. Four years later, the model was again produced as the Panton chair Classic, this time in the rather more expensive material. Finally, in 1999, Vitra used...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Verner Panton "Panton Chair" 6 Original Chairs Edition Herman Miller circa 1960By Herman Miller, Verner PantonLocated in Saint-Ouen, FRVerner Panton "Panton chair" 6 original chairs edition Herman Miller in enamelled fiberglass circa 1960 repainted a few years ago. original color: white wear and minor losses.Category
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Verner Panton "Panton Chair" Original Edition Herman Miller circa 1960By Herman Miller, Verner PantonLocated in Saint-Ouen, FRVerner Panton "Panton chair" original edition Herman Miller in enamelled fiberglass circa 1960 wear and minor losses.Category
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Mid-century Modern Green Panton Chairs by Verner Panton for VitraBy Verner Panton, VitraLocated in London, GBThe Panton chair was designed by Verner Panton in 1960 and developed for production with Vitra in 1967, making history as the first chair to be manufactured in a single piece from plastic. The most recent iteration was created in 1999 and the design has maintained its cult design...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Design Classic Verner Panton Cone Chairs, Vitra, 2000sBy Vitra, Verner PantonLocated in Renens, CHOriginally designed by Verner Panton in the late 1950s for use in a restaurant, the Cone Chair soon became one of his most recognizable designs; Whether it is the simplicity of the...Category
Early 2000s German Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Gloss White Panton S-Chair by Verner Panton / Herman Miller Fehlbaum ProductionBy Herman Miller, Verner PantonLocated in Doornspijk, NLThe S-chair by Verner Panton is one of the absolute stars of furniture pop art. This is the original version of the Herman Miller Fehlbaum Production ...Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
113 Chairs That Prove Danish Design Isn’t Limited to Denmark
In an innovative display, the Designmuseum Danmark is permanently exhibiting the 20th century's most iconic seats.
Verner Panton’s Bold Designs From the 1960s and ’70s Are Showing Up Everywhere
From high-fashion runways to a brand-new book, the groovy, futurist work of this groundbreaking Danish creative is receiving newfound — and much deserved — attention.