Alvar Aalto 401 Wingback Lounge Chair for Artek, Finland
View Similar Items
Alvar Aalto 401 Wingback Lounge Chair for Artek, Finland
About the Item
- Creator:Alvar Aalto (Designer),Artek (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 40.16 in (102 cm)Width: 25.2 in (64 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s-1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading.
- Seller Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:Seller: 17181stDibs: LU3992124872322
Alvar Aalto
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.
- Finnish Designer Aimo Tukiainens Large Melted Copper Table Lamp, 1960sLocated in Stockholm, SEA larger version of the copper table lamp ”Moonlight”, designed by Finnish sculptor Aimo Tukiainen in the late 60´s. The cylinder shape body of the lamp...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCopper
- Teak Serving Tray by Sigvard Nilsson for Söwe-Konst, 1960sBy Sigvard NIlssonLocated in Stockholm, SESwedish Mid-Century Modern solid teak serving tray by Sigvard Nilsson for Söwe-Konst in Sövestad. Burn-stamped “SIN Söwe-Konst Sövestad” on the backside. Great scandinavian modern pi...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Serving Bowls
MaterialsTeak
$225 Sale Price55% Off - Rare Gunnar Ander Candleholder for Ystad Metall in BrassBy Ystad-Metall, Gunnar AnderLocated in Stockholm, SEA rare Gunnar Ander candleholder in brass for three candles. Manufactured by Ystad Metall.Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsBrass
$210 Sale Price30% Off - Pair of Gunnar Ander Candelabras for Ystad Metall, 1970sBy Ystad-Metall, Gunnar AnderLocated in Stockholm, SEA pair of Gunnar Ander seven-armed candelabras in metal with bronze tops. Manufactured by Ystad Metall in the 1970s.Category
Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Candelabras
MaterialsMetal, Bronze
$490 Sale Price / set30% Off - Pair of Gunnar Ander Candelabras for Ystad Metall, 1970sBy Ystad-Metall, Gunnar AnderLocated in Stockholm, SEA pair of Gunnar Ander candelabras in metal with bronze tops. Manufactured by Ystad Metall. 1970s.Category
Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Candelabras
MaterialsMetal, Bronze
$280 Sale Price / set60% Off - Brass Candleholder No. 69 by Pierre Forssell for SkultunaBy Skultuna, Pierre ForssellLocated in Stockholm, SEThis model no. 69 candleholder was designed by Pierre Forssell for Skultuna Sweden in the 1950s. It is made from solid brass.Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsBrass
$300 Sale Price50% Off
- Birch Wingback Lounge Chair by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Sagaponack, NYA rare and sculptural wingback lounge chair having a cantilevered laminated birch frame and retaining its original handstitched textured linen upholstery.Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch, Upholstery
- Alvar Aalto Cantilevered Leather Lounge Chair for ArtekBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAArtek’s Model 406 lounge chair designed by Alvar Aalto. The cantilevered frame is a bent birch wood that gives the seat a floating effect. The chair's seat and seatback is finished i...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Birch
- Wingback 36/401 cantilever lounge chair by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Kleinburg, ONThe 36/401 Wingback Lounge Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek is a classic example of Scandinavian modernism. Designed in 1933, this chair features a cantilevered frame made of laminated...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Birch, Bentwood
- Alvar Aalto, Paimio 41 Lounge chair, ArtekBy Artek, Huonekalu-Ja Rakennustyötedas Oy, Alvar AaltoLocated in Helsinki, FIThe famous Paimio lounge chair model 41, designed by Alvar Aalto for the Paimion Parantola. Manufactured by Artek in the 1960s, stamped "Artek, Aal...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch, Plywood
- Alvar Aalto 401 Wingback Chair by Artek Finland, 1970sBy Alvar AaltoLocated in London, GBAlvar Aalto 401 wingback chair by Artek Finland, 1970s. Bent birch and plywood frame, recently reupholstered in a high quality cream boucle. About the de...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBouclé
- Alvar Aalto Wingback Lounge Chair, circa 1950By Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Amsterdam, NLWingback lounge chair, model 36/401 designed by Alvar Aalto in 1933. Produced by Artek (Finland) in, circa 1950. Bent laminated birch base and armrests, deep foam rubber seat and bac...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Beech, Plywood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead 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.