Terms and Conditions
The artist, title and date of the work must be listed anywhere the image is reproduced:
Artek, Helsinki (manufacturer)
Alvar Aalto (designer)
Armchair 41 designed (1930); manufactured (early 1970s)
laminated Birch, painted plywood
63.7 × 61.1 × 86.6 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1975
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
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Armchair 41
designed (1930); manufactured (early 1970s)
Medium
laminated Birch, painted plywood
Measurements
63.7 × 61.1 × 86.6 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1975
Gallery location
Mid 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Throughout the 1920s Aalto conducted experiments into the bending of wood and wood lamination. He is credited with adapting the lamination process for mass production, and his experiments led to his revolutionary chair designs of the 1930s, including Armchair 41, designed to furnish the Paimio Sanatorium. Its design is closely allied to the cantilevered chairs of Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe, although Aalto’s is made entirely out of wood. The chair heralded a new direction in materials, plywood and laminated woods being firmly embraced by other Scandinavian designers, as well as Charles and Ray Eames in the United States.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Finland
Accession Number
D136-1975
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited