Eliel Saarinen
Armchair

DesignerAmerican, born Finland, 1873 - 1950
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Armchair
Date1907–1908
MediumOak, birch, ebony, mahogany, pewter, and replaced leather upholstery
Dimensions42 1/2 × 22 3/4 × 21 1/2 in. (108 × 57.8 × 54.6 cm)
Credit LineThe American Institute of Architects, Houston Design Collection, museum purchase funded by the American Institute of Architects, Houston, the Mary Kathryn Lynch Kurtz Charitable Lead Trust, the estate of William F. Stern, by exchange, and Lynn Goode
Object number2014.1113
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 206
On view

Explore Further

Object Type
ProvenanceCommissioned by August Keirkner (1856-1918) for the Keirkner apartment, Luotsikatu 1, Helsinki, 1907-1908; Transferred to Marmoripalatsi (The Marble Palace), Kaivopuisto, Helsinki, 1918; Lydia Keirkner 1918-1937, in The Marble Palace; Rudol Walden 1937-1946, in The Marble Palace; Inherited by Walden Family, 1926-2013, in The Marble Palace until 2012; [Modernity gallery, Stockholm, 2013]; Purchased by mark McDonald, New York, May 2014; purchased by MFAH, 2014.


Other examples from the suite are in the collections of LACMA (armchair); Charles Price (armchair); private collector, London (6 side chairs and 2 armchairs). One armchair is currently on hold for the Cooper-Hewitt Museum.

Exhibition Historyn/a
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[No signature]
[no marks]
Catalogue raisonnén/a
View this object in The AIA Houston Collection

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Pair of Armchairs
c. 1740
Mahogany, beech, ash, birch and needlework upholstery
84.442.1,.2
c. 1740
Mahogany, beech, ash, birch, and needlework upholstery
94.829.2
c. 1740
Mahogany, beech, ash, birch, and needlework upholstery
94.829.1
Settee
c. 1850–1860
Oak, pine, and leather; new cover over original upholstery
90.553
Pair of Card Tables
c. 1795–1810
West Indian satinwood, East Indian satinwood, mahogany, ebony, dyed holly or boxwood; white pine, birch, mahogany
B.2004.1.1,.2
Desk
Herter Brothers
1869–1871
Maple, bird's-eye maple, rosewood, white oak, butternut, cherry, other woods, and brass; textile not original
77.373
Flatware Service for Eight
Eliel Saarinen
Designed 1927–1928, manufactured 1935
Sterling silver
2001.1.1-.49
c. 1920–1930
Mahogany, oak, tulip poplar, chestnut, and Macassar ebony veneer
2016.328
Eero Saarinen
Designed 1948, manufactured 1970–1975
Steel, fiberglass, plastic, wood particle, and upholstery
97.258
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1810–1825
Mahogany, ebony, and rosewood; ash, eastern white pine, and brass
B.69.72.2
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1810–1825
Mahogany, ebony, and rosewood; ash, eastern white pine, and brass
B.69.72.1
"Salonicol" Chair
Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann
c. 1925–1933
Macassar ebony and Macassar ebony veneer; upholstery not original
2016.329