Skip to main content

Eero Saarinen Art

Finnish, 1910-1961

Through his work as an architect and designer, Eero Saarinen was a prime mover in the introduction of modernism into the American mainstream. Particularly affecting were the organic, curvilinear forms seen in Saarinen’s furniture and his best-known structures: the gull-winged TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy airport in New York (opened 1962), Dulles International Airport in Virginia (1962) and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri (1965).

Saarinen had a peerless modernist pedigree. His father, Eliel Saarinen, was an eminent Finnish architect who in 1932 became the first head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Detroit. The school became synonymous with progressive design and decorative arts in the United States, and while studying there the younger Saarinen met and befriended several luminaries of mid-century modernism, among them Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames.

At Cranbrook, Saarinen also met Florence Schust Knoll, who, as director of her husband Hans Knoll's eponymous furniture company, would put Saarinen’s best designs into production. These include the Grasshopper chair, designed in 1946 and so named because its angled bentwood frame resembles the insect; the Tulip chair (1957), a flower-shaped fiberglass shell mounted on a cast-aluminum pedestal; and the lushly contoured Womb lounge chair and ottoman (1948). In his furniture as in his architecture, the keynotes of Eero Saarinen’s designs are simplicity, strength and grace.

Find vintage Eero Saarinen tables, chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.

to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
405
10,340
2,808
2,500
1,408
1
Artist: Eero Saarinen
Elliot Eames Saarinen Life Size Cast Aluminum Modern Sculpture titled 'Susie'
Elliot Eames Saarinen Life Size Cast Aluminum Modern Sculpture titled 'Susie'

Elliot Eames Saarinen Life Size Cast Aluminum Modern Sculpture titled 'Susie'

By Eero Saarinen

Located in Dallas, TX

The artist, Elliot Eames Saarinen, son of Eero Saarinen, inspired by his grandmother Lilly's tender homage to her mother, Grandma Susie, created this sculpture to honor the timeless ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Metal

Related Items
Mid Century Sgraffito, Saltimbanque and the Card Player, Circle of Picasso.
Mid Century Sgraffito, Saltimbanque and the Card Player, Circle of Picasso.

Mid Century Sgraffito, Saltimbanque and the Card Player, Circle of Picasso.

Located in Cotignac, FR

Mid 20th Century sgraffito work on plaster by Jean Pierre de Cayeux. The work is signed and dated on the skirt of the card player, bottom right, and on the stretcher of the chair, bo...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Enamel

Morris Brose "Bronze Bull" Figurative Sculptural Abstract
Morris Brose "Bronze Bull" Figurative Sculptural Abstract

Morris Brose "Bronze Bull" Figurative Sculptural Abstract

Located in Detroit, MI

"Bronze Bull" is an exquisite example of Morris Brose's abstract/figurative sculpture. No soft edges on this piece and no invitation to caress, the power, strength and beauty of the bronze are front and center and create awe. "Bronze Bull" is a free-standing piece signed on the base. Morris Brose, Polish/American was born in Wyszkow, Poland. He became a sculptor and instructor of sculpture at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Wayne State University and Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Cranbrook was designed by architect and faculty member, Eliel Saarinen who collaborated with Charles and Ray Eames on chair and furniture design. Numerous creative artists who are alumni of Cranbrook include: Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Jack Lenor Larsen, Donald Lipski...

Category

Late 20th Century Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Bronze

"Owl" Bronze Sculpture, Caricature, Rich Dark Brown Surface
"Owl" Bronze Sculpture, Caricature, Rich Dark Brown Surface

"Owl" Bronze Sculpture, Caricature, Rich Dark Brown Surface

Located in Detroit, MI

The bronze sculpture "Owl" is an exaggerated rendition of an owl that emphasizes the bird's most prominant characteristics - a big fluffy round body and large unblinking eyes making it a charicature of the bird. It is very touchable and calls for one to pet its rounded back. Tom Brun, the sculptor and zookeeper, is well-known for his wood, stone, marble, ceramics and ivory sculptures. One of them, a large hippopotamus, carved from walnut wood travelled the world in the State Department collection. It is said that Tom would often go into a house and pick up one of his sculptures and say that it was unfriendly – meaning that it had not been handled enough. Morley Driver has said of Brun in a newspaper article from the 1950’s “In Any Animal He Sees Beauty”: No one who has ever seen a Tom Brun hippopotamus will ever again think of it as ugly or ungainly, meaning that the artist not only gives you beauty but teaches you to see it. Tom has said: “Small pieces are like a proverb – a gem of meaning that one can dissect.” They are meant to be picked up, caressed and held. This owl, too, seems destined to be caressed. Brun was born in England in 1913. A few years after the end of World War I his father moved the family in 1919 to Detroit, Michigan. In 1935 at age 23, he officially became a U.S. citizen. He served in the army during World War II for five years and upon discharge and at the age of 36 took advantage of the GI Bill and applied for admission to Society of Arts and Crafts (now known as the College for Creative Studies) where he was gladly accepted. While at Arts and Crafts his instructors and established artists such as Sarkis Sarkisian, John P. Foster, Morris Brose, Richard Koslow, Patricia Burnett, Lloyd and Renee Radell...

Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Bronze

Martyre (petit modèle)

Auguste RodinMartyre (petit modèle), 1899

$69,865

H 4.34 in W 22.05 in D 13.78 in

Martyre (petit modèle)

By Auguste Rodin

Located in London, GB

Auguste Rodin Martyre (petit modèle), ca. 1899 Incised with artist's signature & numbered 'A. Rodin N. 8' on the head Inscribed & dated Georges Rudier Fondeur Paris. © By musée Rodin...

Category

1890s Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Bronze

Birthday
Birthday

Jim Lewk Birthday

$11,700

H 78 in W 9 in D 9 in

Birthday

Located in Atlanta, GA

Born in Troyes, France and raised in New York, his interest in art dates from pre-grammar school. After moving to Miami, he studied art at the University of Miami, Florida State University, and in several European countries. By 1970, he was working full-time as a metal sculptor. Even though he is familiar with current trends and techniques in art, he prefers to be an outsider artist, and has developed a style that is very much his own. Publications that have featured his work include: Holiday...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Bronze

Check with L, 2006
Check with L, 2006

Roberto SANTOCheck with L, 2006, 2006

$110,500

H 83.01 in W 38.01 in D 28.01 in

Check with L, 2006

Located in Atlanta, GA

For sculptor/ painter/ photographer Roberto Santo, art became a way of life when, at age16, he embarked upon an apprenticeship with Bob Peak, the celebra...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Bronze

Ouvrir les Frontières pour Mr. Olingou
Ouvrir les Frontières pour Mr. Olingou

Ouvrir les Frontières pour Mr. Olingou

Located in Atlanta, GA

The universal theme of travel has always inspired Bruno Catalano. Since he started to knead clay, hundreds of “Travellers” went out of his feverish hand...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Bronze

Bilancia

Hugo RivasBilancia,

$70,200

H 66.93 in W 47.24 in D 15.75 in

Bilancia

By Hugo Rivas

Located in Atlanta, GA

“Making sculpture is a very complex matter. A word added to a form, ultimately helping to better define it. And ultimately helping to understand the whole.” Ugo Riva...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Bronze, Iron

Tête Lion-Buffle, 2016

Mauro CordaTête Lion-Buffle, 2016, 2016

$65,520

H 36.61 in W 28.74 in D 28.74 in

Tête Lion-Buffle, 2016

By Mauro Corda

Located in Atlanta, GA

Mauro Corda’s figurative sculptures maintain a reverence for classical and modernist traditions, while also expressing the artist’s voice. Though born in France, the artist hails fro...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Iron

"Draped Figure" Sassafras & Bronze, Figurative Sculpture, 1982
"Draped Figure" Sassafras & Bronze, Figurative Sculpture, 1982

"Draped Figure" Sassafras & Bronze, Figurative Sculpture, 1982

Located in Detroit, MI

"Draped Figure" is a beautiful example of Tazian's ability to meld the smooth texture of wood and the hard texture of bronze into an exquisite object to view, hold or caress. The piece balances perfectly on its stone base and can be easily turned to enjoy from all angles. Like architects Eliel Saarinan and Albert Kahn and sculptor Corrado Parducci, Tazian is an immigrant creative who has found a home in the city, nurtured by its energy and sheltered by its community. He developed an early ambition to become an artist, even though he had very little exposure to the arts. ““The only person [who encouraged me] was my 5th grade English teacher, Olivia Balian,” he says. “She really opened the doors of art for me. She said, ‘Those students who are interested in art can stay behind after school and I will show you how to paint and draw.’ Somehow [that] changed my life– she gave me that spark.” Tazian came to the U.S. to study at St. Francis College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He earned a bachelor’s degree in art and a Master’s in Art Education, and then earned and MFA in sculpture from Wayne State University in Detroit. Kegham Tazian is an award-winning sculptor and painter. The Armenian-born artist has gained notoriety for the diversity of his work and the variety of media exemplified in his pieces. A blend of modernism, realism and abstraction are commonly depicted in his paintings and sculptures. His artwork has been represented in more than 40 solo exhibitions and more than 75 group exhibitions throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. His work adorns the entrances and halls of major corporations, universities and municipalities, including Siemens Corporation, Huntington Bank, Wayne State University and the city halls of Farmington and Farmington Hills...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Stone, Bronze

Leslie Hawk Sculptural Human Figure & Horse "Person on a Horse"
Leslie Hawk Sculptural Human Figure & Horse "Person on a Horse"

Leslie Hawk Sculptural Human Figure & Horse "Person on a Horse"

Located in Detroit, MI

"Person on a Horse" is a concrete, glass and steel structure with horse in mid-stride looking up and forward. The person astride leans forward as in encouragement to the stead or in weariness of the journey, perhaps both. Leslie Hawk...

Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Eero Saarinen Art

Materials

Concrete, Steel

Eero Saarinen art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Eero Saarinen art available for sale on 1stDibs. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Ola Kolehmainen, Jukka Vanttinen, and Christoffer Relander.
Questions About Eero Saarinen Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Eero Saarinen was originally from Finland. He was born in Kirkkonummi in 1910. In 1923, his family moved to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The architect and designer lived in the U.S. for much of the remainder of his life. He died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1991. Shop a selection of Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 29, 2024
    Eero Saarinen was a Finnish-American architect and designer and a prime mover in the introduction of modernism into the American mainstream. Particularly affecting were the organic, curvilinear forms seen in Saarinen’s furniture and his best-known structures: the gull-winged TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy airport in New York, Dulles International Airport in Virginia and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

    Saarinen’s designs for Knoll, such as the Womb chair, Tulip chair and Pedestal table, are acclaimed all over the world.

    Find a selection of vintage Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 16, 2024
    Eero Saarinen is famous for his work as a designer and architect. He was a prime mover in the introduction of modernism into the American mainstream. Saarinen designed the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Dulles International Airport in Virginia, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and many other structures. As a furniture designer, he is best known for his Grasshopper chair, Tulip chair and Womb lounge chair and ottoman. Find a collection of Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 29, 2024
    Eero Saarinen designed many pieces of furniture as well as acclaimed buildings and monuments during his lifetime. Saarinen created the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy airport, the Gateway Arch in Missouri, and Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Some of Saarinen’s most famous furniture designs include the Pedestal table, the Womb chair and the Tulip chair.

    Shop a collection of vintage Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 29, 2024
    To pronounce Eero Saarinen, say "EH-row SAH-ruh-nuhn." The architect and designer was born in Kirkkonummi, Finland, in 1910 but was raised in Michigan in the United States. Saarinen is known for his sculptural architecture projects as well as the innovative modernist furniture he designed for Knoll.

    Find vintage Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 29, 2024
    Eero Saarinen's father was Eliel Saarinen, a well-known Finnish-American architect. In 1923, he moved Eero and the rest of his family from their native Finland to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he and his wife Loja taught at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Eliel was named president at Cranbook in 1932.

    Find a selection of Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 29, 2024
    No, Eero Saarinen was not a postmodernist. The work of the Finnish-American architect and furniture designer is primarily associated with modernism. His best known designs for seating and tables, created during the 1940s and 1950s, were manufactured by Knoll, a furniture brand and a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States.

    Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s (Saarinen died in 1961).

    Find vintage Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Eero Saarinen moved the design firm started by his father from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, to Hamden, Connecticut, in1961, but no authoritative sources state why. Most likely, he had a desire to be closer to the campus of Yale University. Saarinen graduated from the post-secondary institution in 1934 and designed buildings on the campus. Find a range of Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 31, 2024
    Eero Saarinen is considered a modern architect for a number of reasons. An innovative merging of the International Style and the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright can be found in his acclaimed building projects and monuments. He worked with steel and concrete, just as his modernist peers had, and the neo-futuristic forms that characterize his architecture are those commonly associated with modernism.

    Through his work as an architect and designer, Saarinen was a prime mover in the introduction of modernism into the American mainstream. Particularly affecting were the organic, curvilinear forms seen in Saarinen’s furniture and his best known structures: the gull-winged TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Dulles International Airport in Virginia and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

    Saarinen had a peerless modernist pedigree. His father, Eliel Saarinen, was an eminent Finnish architect who in 1932 became the first head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Detroit. The school became synonymous with progressive design and decorative arts in the United States, and while studying there the younger Saarinen met and befriended several luminaries of mid-century modernism, among them Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames.

    Like all modernist designers of the mid-century era, Saarinen was interested in the new technology and new and venturesome applications for materials that became widely available for the production of domestic goods in the postwar era. Thanks to Florence Knoll, a pioneering designer in her own right, his famous designs for seating and tables, created during the 1940s and 1950s, were manufactured by Knoll, which was a prominent influence in the rise of modern design in the United States.

    Find vintage Eero Saarinen furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2024
    The concept of Eero Saarinen's work was to convey expressive statements through buildings and furniture. The keynotes of his modern designs were simplicity, strength and grace. The organic, curvilinear forms seen in Saarinen's furniture and his best-known structures, like the gull-winged TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Dulles International Airport in Virginia and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, went on to influence generations of architects and designers. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of Eero Saarinen furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    An Eero Saarinen table is 28.25” high. It comes in a variety of widths, with a 42” round table seating 4 to 5 people. You can shop a selection of Eero Saarinen designs from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Eero Saarinen is a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer that worked with a variety of mediums, including steel, glass and concrete. Eero Saarinen is also credited with the creation of some notable styles of furniture, including the Tulip chair. Browse a variety of Eero Saarinen designed furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Eero Saarinen used a variety of materials in his furniture designs. Some of his designs feature hardwood frames, but he didn't work in wood exclusively. His Tulip chair consists of a fiberglass seat mounted on a cast aluminum base. You'll find a range of Eero Saarinen furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
    The history of Eero Saarinen's Womb Chair dates back to the late 1940s. It was then that designer and entrepreneur Florence Knoll challenged her friend, Eero Saarinen, to create the most comfortable chair ever made. To succeed at the task, Saarinen sought to evoke what he imagined was the comfortable, secure feeling of being in the womb and set out to design the now iconic chair. Production of the Womb chair began in 1948, and it didn't take long for the seat to become a cultural phenomenon. In the decade following its release, it appeared in a Coca-Cola commercial, a New Yorker magazine cartoon and a Norman Rockwell painting on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. Today, Knoll offers the seat in 15 upholstery options, and when Saarinen's famous TWA terminal reopened as a hotel in 2019, Womb chairs were featured prominently in the guest rooms. Explore a collection of Eero Saarinen Womb chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Whether you can replace Eero Saarinen chair legs depends on the chair. You can most easily swap out the legs on pieces that feature wooden dowels like the Lilac Organic. You will likely find it more difficult to replace legs on chairs that include metal bases like the Executive arm chair or pedestals like the Tulip. You'll find a collection of Eero Saarinen chairs on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 7, 2024
    Eero Saarinen believed that the architect's role was to create structures that enhance daily life and inspire people to consider new possibilities. He thought that buildings should suit their intended purpose well and provide comfortable accommodations while at the same time being aesthetically appealing. Some of his best-known structures include the gull-winged TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Dulles International Airport in Virginia and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. On 1stDibs, explore a variety of Eero Saarinen furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Eero Saarinen’s famed pedestal chairs, although streamlined in appearance, are crafted with a variety of materials from aluminum and molded fiberglass to the plastic-bonded finish. You can shop a selection of Eero Saarinen pieces from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Historians classify Eero Saarinen's St. Louis Gateway Arch as modern architecture. This is due largely to the simple curving shape of the arch and its perfect symmetry. In addition, the arch reflects Neo-futurism, a forward-looking movement that frequently incorporated steel, concrete and glass. On 1stDibs, find a variety of Eero Saarinen furniture designs.