Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Chair, Model MR 90

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Designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (German, 1886–1969)German, 1886–1969

ManufacturerManufactured by Berliner Metallgewerbe Josef Müller(German, active 1927–1931)German, active 1927–1931

CultureGerman

Titles

Chair, Model MR 90

Datedesigned 1929, manufactured 1930

PlaceGermany

MediumChromed steel and leather

Dimensions28 3/4 × 29 1/8 × 29 15/16 in. (73 × 74 × 76 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by J. Brian and Varina Eby, by exchange

Object number97.354

Non exposé

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Department

Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Object Type

FURNITURE

DescriptionLudwig Mies van der Rohe designed the German pavilion and its interior furnishings for the Barcelona World Exposition of 1929. For the inaugural ceremony, Mies created two x-frame chairs, for use by the king and queen of Spain, based on ancient Egyptian and Greek folding chairs—a design recognized as a symbol of power in those two cultures. Although only two chairs were made for the pavilion, the design was considered so successful that the chair was immediately put into production. This rare example, from the first year of manufacture, was assembled with hand-secured screws and lap joints. The leather cushions were hand-tufted and stuffed with horsehair. In later production, the individual elements were welded together and the leather cushions had a much thinner profile. Except for a 16-year break, the Barcelona chair has been in continuous production since its original design.
ProvenancePrivate collection, possilby Stuttgart, Germany, c. 1940; [...]; [Christie's, New York], purchased by MFAH, 1997.

Christie's bought from a seller who said he bought the chair from doctor in Stuttgrut from home or sugury - possibly owned for 10 years. Nothing is known beyond this.

Exhibition History"New to Houston, Recent Additions to Houston Collections," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 21–August 31, 1998.

"Modern and Contemporary Art: Spotlight on the Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 7–August 27, 2000.

"Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí," Cleveland Museum of Art, October 15, 2006–January 7, 2007; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, March 4–June 3, 2007.

"The Jazz Age: Art and Decoration in 1920s America," Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, April 7–August 20, 2017; Cleveland Museum of Art, September 30, 2017–January 14, 2018.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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