Pair of Eero Saarinen Executive Side Chairs
View Similar Items
Pair of Eero Saarinen Executive Side Chairs
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Eero Saarinen (Designer)
- Design:Executive Armless ChairExecutive Series
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Width: 31.75 in (80.65 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1965
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. Minor pitting to chrome.
- Seller Location:Port Jervis, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU958624449682
Saarinen Executive Armless Chair
With the founding of the Knoll Planning Unit at Knoll Associates in 1946, the modern open-plan office was born. Soon after the launch of the internationally celebrated design firm’s workplace-focused division, the Saarinen Executive Armless chair would emerge as one of its seating staples. A departure from more rigid office seating, the 1950 design by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen (1910–61) offered some of the comfort of his 1948 Womb chair in a more formal shape. Nicknamed “that chair with the hole in the back” for its sculptural seat back, it fit easily into mid-century boardrooms and corporate cafeterias as part of the harmonious interiors designed by Florence Knoll, a legendary figure in mid-century modernism.
Saarinen and Knoll met while they were studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where Saarinen’s father, Eliel, was dean. Their lifelong friendship led to some of the most revered designs of the 20th century. Like his work in architecture, from the Gateway Arch to the TWA Flight Center, Saarinen’s furniture used innovations in postwar materials to create dynamic volumes. The Executive Armless chair expanded on Saarinen’s ergonomic experiments in molded plywood furniture that he had designed in collaboration with fellow Cranbrook alumnus Charles Eames (with assistance from Ray Eames), work which had been honored in the Museum of Modern Art’s Organic Design Competition.
The chairs introduced as the 71 and 72 Series found their initial multipurpose use in the Knoll office interiors but soon were popular in home dining rooms and living spaces. Knoll, Inc. continues to produce the Saarinen Executive Armless chair, with options updating the design’s original fiberglass form including an exposed plastic back or upholstered polyurethane shell joined by a contoured plywood seat and sturdy legs in steel or wood.
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.
- 3 Mid-Century Modern Sculptural Wire Side Chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll IntBy Harry Bertoia, KnollLocated in Port Jervis, NYTimeless and fabulous design by Harry Bertoia for Knoll International. Set of 3 classic beauties with full leather pads for seats and backs. All labeled and in very good condition wi...Category
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Pair of Mid-Century Modern Executive Armchairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll, C1965By Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Port Jervis, NYFabulous pair of Mid-Century Modern executive armchairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll International. Made and sold to IBM during the s...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Mid Century Venetian Hand Painted & Hand Carved Side Chairs C1940Located in Port Jervis, NYFabulous pair of hand crafted and hand painted c1940 Venetian side chairs. Upholstered seats along with the aged painting gives a very warm look. Comfy also. Splat backs and cabriole...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Baroque Revival Side Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Hardwood, Paint
- 10 Mid Century Modern Stacking Chairs by AIR in WhiteLocated in Port Jervis, NYSimple and elegant set of 10 heavy duty stacking chairs in white plastic, not vinyl, by AIR. Lucite feet on all the legs, chairs are in excellent condition with minimal wear. Stacki...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPlastic, Lucite
- Mid Century Modern Set 4 Dining Chairs by John Stuart & Jack Lenor LarsenBy John Stuart Inc.Located in Port Jervis, NYFabulous set of 4 walnut dining chairs with Jack Lenor Larsen fabric. Fabric is worn at the front edge on 3. Otherwise good vintage condi...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
- Pair of Arts & Crafts Mission Oak Side Chairs by Gustav Stickley C1910By Gustav StickleyLocated in Port Jervis, NYFabulous simple and elegant pair of side chairs with rush seats by Gustav Stickley # 370 in the catalog. Ladderback and curved for comfort. Chairs were most likely rewoven with fresh...Category
Vintage 1910s American Arts and Crafts Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsRush, Oak
- Eero Saarinen Executive Side Chair For KnollBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Brooklyn, NYExecutive side chair by Eero Saarinen for Knoll features green print, linen blend upholstery with chrome legs. This iconic chair is extremely comfortable and is the epitome of mid-ce...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Early Production Eero Saarinen Tulip Dining Chairs Knoll, New YorkBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Buffalo, NYauthentic, early production set of Eero Saarinen for Knoll Tulip Chairs, signed . The chairs feature upholstered off white stripped wool blend seat pads, original soft white finish, lightweight yet sturdy construction, original early Knoll "K" 320 Park Ave.paper labels under the cushions, date them to the early 1960s,,One chair has minor chip (paint) to base (see photo)..Hand delivery avail to New York City or anywhere en route from bUFFALO ny Knoll: "With the Pedestal Collection, Eero Saarinen resolved the "ugly, confusing, unrestful world" underneath tables and chairs. The collection is a defining accomplishment of modern design and a timeless addition to your home—a true classic. Pair Tulip Chairs with a Saarinen Table...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Set of Four Rare Early Production Eero Saarinen for H.G. Knoll Dining ChairsBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Ferndale, MIFrom the put me in a museum collection. Out of long long term storage. The Earliest production set of four Eero Saarinen for HG Knoll executive chairs I have ever seen. All four on f...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsAluminum, Steel
- Eero Saarinen Executive ArmchairBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Dallas, TXWe have up to ten available in this upholstery which is a Knoll textile with Bergamo piping. Or you can do in a fabric of your choice.Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$1,950 / item - Pair of Eero Saarinen Knoll Executive Chairs Full Restoration by GreenappleBy Greenapple, Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Lisboa, PTCollectible Vintage Pair of Executive Chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll. Eero Saarinen designed furniture as a means to problem-solve. Each of his works had a distinct vocabulary o...Category
1990s Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Fabric, Bouclé, Velvet, Oak, Walnut
- 2014 Knoll Studio Eero Saarinen Executive Armless Side Chairs WhiteBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a fantastic set of (sold separately) Eero Saarinen Executive Armless chairs with white vinyl upholstery and chrome bases, produced by Knoll. These chairs have the ...Category
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsChrome