Cantilever Lounge Chair Model 31/42 by Alvar Aalto
View Similar Items
Cantilever Lounge Chair Model 31/42 by Alvar Aalto
About the Item
- Creator:Artek (Manufacturer),Alvar Aalto (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 26 in (66.04 cm)Seat Height: 14 in (35.56 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1930s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good condition. Some older touched up scratches and edge chips to black lacquered bentwood. Various surface scratches and wear. Overall a very nice early example retaining a warm patina to the wood.
- Seller Location:Atlanta, GA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU87184300543
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.
- Alvar Aalto Coffee TableBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Atlanta, GAAlvar Aalto Fan Leg Coffee Table, for Artek, Finland, circa 1980s. Retains warm original patina.Category
Vintage 1980s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood, Birch
$2,200 - Early Alvar Aalto for Finmar TableBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Atlanta, GAEarly bentwood side table, designed by Alvar Aalto for Finmar, Finland, circa 1940s. Classic example of Danish modern design.Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBeech
- Alvar Aalto End Tables or NightstandsBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Atlanta, GAPair of clean lined fan leg tables, designed by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Finland, circa 1980s. They are a versatile size and can be used as end or side tab...Category
Vintage 1980s Finnish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBeech, Birch
$2,800 / set - Alvar Aalto End Tables or Night StandsBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Atlanta, GAPair of Alvar Aalto end tables, for Artek, Finland, circa 1980s. They retain their warm original patina. They are a versatile size and can be used as end or side tables, or as night ...Category
Vintage 1980s Finnish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWood, Birch
$2,800 / set - Modern Lounge Chair Designed by Mel SmilowBy Mel SmilowLocated in Atlanta, GADanish modern style walnut lounge chair designed by Mel Smilow for his company Smilow-Thielle, American, circa 1950s. Signed under the seat. It has been refinished and reupholstered ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWalnut, Upholstery
- Pair of Chrome Lounge Chairs by Cy MannBy Cy MannLocated in Atlanta, GAPair of chrome lounge chairs by Cy Mann, American, circa 1960s. For years these chairs were attributed to Milo Baughman. These chairs are ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome, Metal
$2,800 / set
- Alvar Aalto Model 31 Cantilevered Lounge ChairBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Ferndale, MII believe this to be an early production chair in original somewhat worn finish. One of several designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto during time he was building a tuberculos...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto Cantilever Chair, Model 31By Alvar AaltoLocated in San Francisco, CAAlvar Aalto cantilever chair, model 31. A very rare 1st edition model 31 lounge chair by Alvar Aalto in birch plywood with a floating bac...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch
- 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
- Rare, Early Alvar Aalto Model 31/42 Cantilevered Armchairs, Finland, 1930sBy Alvar AaltoLocated in London, GBRare, early Alvar Aalto model 31/42 cantilevered armchairs, Finland, 1930s, designed and produced in the 1930s. Painted birch-veneered bent plywoo...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch, Plywood
- Alvar Aalto, Birch Plywood Cantilever Chair, Model 31, Huonekalu-ja, FinlandBy Huonekalu-Ja Rakennustyötedas Oy, Alvar AaltoLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireAlvar Aalto model 31 chair of moulded birch plywood, cantilevered one-piece seat and back suspended from bent supports painted black. Designed in the 1930s and produced by Huonekalu...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch, Plywood
- Pair of Alvar Aalto Cantilever Chairs Model 406 by Artek in Birch Cane WebbingBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Alvar Aalto, cantilevered chairs model 406. Laminated birch, cane. circa 1960 The model 406 chair was originally designed in 1938-39. 35"H x ...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsCane, Birch
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.