Lot Essay
In 1929, Aalto turned to laminated wood and plywood as his materials of choice and began investigating veneer bonding and the limits of moulding plywood with Otto Korhoen, the technical director of a furniture factory near Turku. These experiments resulted in the creation of the No. 41 armchair of 1931-32 and the No. 31 cantilevered armchair of 1932 (see following lot). These influential and technically innovative chairs were designed at the same time as, and, in the case of the present design, included in, Aalto's scheme for the tuberculosis sanitorium at Paimio. They immediately signalled to the international avant-garde a new direction toward plywood as a material for furniture manufacture, and established Aalto as one of the pre-eminent furniture designers of this century.
From the early 1930s, the No. 41 and No. 31 chairs were distributed in Europe by companies such as Finmar Ltd. in the UK (see lot 84), and Wohnbedarf in Switzerland (see lot 80 and 81). Their sales success, and indeed that of his entire range led Aalto to set up his own company, Artek, to manufacture his designs.
The fact that the frame of the present chair is made of beech is highly significant; Heikki Hyvövnen from the Museum of Applied Arts in Helsinki has confirmed that only the very first production of the No. 41 chair had frames which were made of beech. From 1934, presumably as demand and hence production increased, birch was used exclusively in the frames.
See: Ostergard (ed.), exh. cat. no. 99, p. 309/10.
Vitra Design Museum, exh. cat. no. 54, p. 138.
Fiell, (Modern Chairs), p. 56.
See also: Alvar Aalto Furniture, Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, 1984, pp. 86 and 105.
From the early 1930s, the No. 41 and No. 31 chairs were distributed in Europe by companies such as Finmar Ltd. in the UK (see lot 84), and Wohnbedarf in Switzerland (see lot 80 and 81). Their sales success, and indeed that of his entire range led Aalto to set up his own company, Artek, to manufacture his designs.
The fact that the frame of the present chair is made of beech is highly significant; Heikki Hyvövnen from the Museum of Applied Arts in Helsinki has confirmed that only the very first production of the No. 41 chair had frames which were made of beech. From 1934, presumably as demand and hence production increased, birch was used exclusively in the frames.
See: Ostergard (ed.), exh. cat. no. 99, p. 309/10.
Vitra Design Museum, exh. cat. no. 54, p. 138.
Fiell, (Modern Chairs), p. 56.
See also: Alvar Aalto Furniture, Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, 1984, pp. 86 and 105.