Alvar Aalto (Finnish 1898-1976)

Aalto's high-back lounge chair of 1931 was produced in very small quantities, possibly only 15-25 examples, however of the design featured prominently in many of Aalto's early advertising ventures and exhibitions. The design was first exhibited at the Building Congress for the Nordic Countries held in Helsinki in 1932, and was published in a manufacturer's advert the same year. The chairs exhibited at the Congress were identical to the example offered, featuring ebonised seats, stepped runners, and the rectangular 'upholstery' perforations to the headrest. Versions lacking these specific features exist. The chair's seat, formed from a single sheet of birch plywood, required complex three-dimensional moulding to achieve its characteristic form, and it would appear that manufacturing complications prevented the chair from being manufactured beyond 1933. The scarcity of this model allied to the form's dramatic and imposing presence has established it as one of the most revered of Aalto's early designs.

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