"39" Chaise Longue

Alvar Aalto|Artek Oy

1936–37 · Molded birch plywood and cotton webbing · Modern and Contemporary Art

Initially, Aalto worked as an exhibition designer, turning to architecture and furniture design in the 1920s. In 1929 he and a partner established an experimental plywood workshop in Turku, Finland and by 1935 founded Artek, a furniture design and manufacturing company. The form of this chaise is based on Aalto's breakthrough design of the mid-1930s, the "spring leaf support" (a compression spring of birch veneers welded together). This inventive cantilevered frame with the springing characteristics of its material also provides comfortable seating.

Artist

Alvar Aalto|Artek Oy

Date

1936–37

Medium

Molded birch plywood and cotton webbing

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Purchase, Theodore R. Gamble Jr. Gift, in honor of his mother, Mrs. Theodore Robert Gamble, 1985