Alvar Aalto Model 69 Bentwood Side Chair for Artek

About the Item

Beautiful Alvar Aalto bent wood birch side chair for Artek. Unlike Thonet, Alvar Aalto did not bend the wood with the use of steam, but he made use of the natural humidity of the Finnish Birch. The chair features a patinated bentwood birch body and incorporates Aalto’s “L-leg” design. The 69 chair was designed in 1935 by Aalto and was produced at the Artek factory in Hedemora, Sweden. The simple and functional design of this chair complements a variety of interior styles including Mid Century Modern, Minimalist, Scandinavian, Transitional and more. Would work well as a side chair, desk chair, occasional chair, or accent chair.

Creator:
Alvar Aalto (Designer)
Design:
Chair 69L-Leg Series
Dimensions:
Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 17 in (43.18 cm)Depth: 17 in (43.18 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
Style:
Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bentwood,Birch
Place of Origin:
Finland
Period:
1940-1949
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1940s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Atlanta, GA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU85741240936

Shop All Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto

An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and in his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, 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 in 1930 as part of his overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium. Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the 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 at the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had 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 his wife, Aino Aalto, 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.