Set of Six Vintage Midcentury Swivel "Tulip" Chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll
View Similar Items
Set of Six Vintage Midcentury Swivel "Tulip" Chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll
About the Item
- Creator:Eero Saarinen (Designer)
- Design:Tulip Arm ChairSaarinen Pedestal Series
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)Depth: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)Seat Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Fiberglass,Molded
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1971
- Condition:Refinished.
- Seller Location:San Marcos, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5031222699572
Tulip Armchair
Eero Saarinen (1910–61) absolutely hated clutter. "The undercarriage of chairs and tables in a typical interior makes an ugly, confusing, unrestful world,” the Finnish-American architect and industrial designer once said. “I wanted to clear up the slum of legs.” With the original Tulip armchair, he did just that, streamlining the standard four-legged piece into a graceful shape atop a single pedestal.
The 1957 design — which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York — was one of Saarinen’s last; he died in 1961. Its sculptural shape displays the best of Saarinen, who referred to himself as a “form giver,” whether that form was a flower-shaped seat or the swooping curve of the Gateway Arch, a more than 600-foot-tall stainless-steel-clad concrete monument in St. Louis, Missouri, that he designed in the late 1940s.
The Tulip armchair was part of Saarinen’s Pedestal collection of armless chairs, stools, dining tables and more — a mid-century modernist exercise in simplifying. The series was designed for Knoll, which continues to produce it today. Visitors to the TWA Hotel, the 2019 reinvention of Saarinen’s iconic airport terminal, will find Tulip chairs dotting the structure.
Interestingly, the Tulip armchair’s shape suggests one single plastic form, but despite Saarinen’s many experiments to achieve this, it is actually constructed in two pieces: an aluminum frame obscured in a plastic finish and a fiberglass upper-shell seat. Two parts or one, it achieves Saarinen’s desired streamlined effect.
Eero Saarinen
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.
- 1970s Swivel Tulip Leather Chairs Eero Saarinen for Knoll, Set of 4By Eero SaarinenLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLOn offer on this occasion is one of the most stunning, timeless, tulip swivel chairs you could hope to find. Outstanding design is exhibited throughout. The beautiful set is stateme...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Fiberglass
- Set of Eight (8) Tulip Chairs by Eero Saarinen for KnollBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Sagaponack, NYA rare grouping of eight (8) iconic Tulip swiveling dining chairs by Eero Saarinen featuring the Classic organic sculptural form and orange wool upholstery on white enameled cast iro...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsIron
- Eero Saarinen for Knoll International Tulip ChairsBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Dronten, NLClassic Tulip dining chairs designed in 1956 by Eero Saarinen for Knoll International. A defining accomplishment of modern design and a timeless addition to your home—a true Classic....Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- 1960's Eero Saarinen Tulip dining chairs for Knoll, set of 4 upholsteredBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Chicago, ILEero Saarinen Tulip chairs, armless with off-white upholstery. by Knoll, USA Set of 4 chairs Manufacturer "Park Avenue" labels attached underneath cushions. Please note these do not...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
$3,760 Sale Price / set20% Off - Eero Saarinen for Knoll International Set of Six Dining ChairsBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Waalwijk, NLEero Saarinen for Knoll International, set of six dining chairs, model '72', chrome-plated steel, fiberglass, fabric, United States, design 1948, produced 1970s Dining chairs mode...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Knoll Eero Saarinen for Knoll Set of Six Chairs in Grey VelvetBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Waalwijk, NLEero Saarinen for Knoll International, set of six dining chairs, model 72, chrome-plated steel, velvet, United States, design 1948, later production Set of six organic shaped chairs...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsChrome, Steel
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
A Short History of the World’s Most Iconic Designs
Of the million-plus items on 1stdibs, some seem to have transcended time, looking as fresh today as when they were first produced. The pieces highlighted on our new Iconic Designs page stand out for longevity, functionality and quality of design and manufacture — just the tonic for the present unsettled moment.
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.