Lot Essay
The design for the present chair was first created by Breuer in 1922, and subsequently several versions were made at the Bauhaus woodworking workshop. A former student of the Bauhaus recalls that each new arrivals was set the demanding task of recreating the design under Breuer's stern tutelage. The number of craftsmen involved in the output of the chairs was consequently quite large, and this could well account for the slight variation in dimensions between surviving examples.
The present chair is approximately 2cm. taller, 1cm. wider and 3cm. deeper than the cherry wood example in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and differs by a similar degree to the example of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
See: Bauhaus Archiv, Museum für Gestaltung, Berlin, 1981, pp. 90/91, No. 153.
Magdalene Dröste and Manfred Ludwig. Marcel Breuer Design, 1994, p.46/47, fig.3
Christopher Wilk. Marcel Breuer Furniture and Interiors, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1981, p.25/26, fig.7 (chair in oak from the Museum of Modern Art collection illustrated)
See also: Christie's New York, Oct 1 1983, lot 199; Christie's London, 30 April 1985, lot 159; Christie's London, 13 July 1988, lot 178.
The present chair is approximately 2cm. taller, 1cm. wider and 3cm. deeper than the cherry wood example in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and differs by a similar degree to the example of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
See: Bauhaus Archiv, Museum für Gestaltung, Berlin, 1981, pp. 90/91, No. 153.
Magdalene Dröste and Manfred Ludwig. Marcel Breuer Design, 1994, p.46/47, fig.3
Christopher Wilk. Marcel Breuer Furniture and Interiors, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1981, p.25/26, fig.7 (chair in oak from the Museum of Modern Art collection illustrated)
See also: Christie's New York, Oct 1 1983, lot 199; Christie's London, 30 April 1985, lot 159; Christie's London, 13 July 1988, lot 178.