ARMCHAIR, MODEL NO. 31
ALVAR AALTO
1930
Steam bent plywood, original green paint.
Armchair model no. 31, designed in 1931/32 by Alvar Aalto.
The chair was first presented in the spring of 1932 when Aalto showed his proposal for the interior design of the Paimio Sanatorium. The common rooms of the sanatorium were furnished with cheerful coloured chairs, among others the armchair no.31. As the story goes, the shape of the chair was designed to assist the patients’ breathing. In 1933, the model no. 31 was shown in London as part of the ‘Wood Only’ exhibition. Here, Aalto introduced new versions of the Paimio chairs, such as an upholstered version. Gaining international attention after the exhibition in London, the armchair was shown in the years to follow at several international exhibitions. One of which the Triennale di Milano, 1936.
Later, this chair has been referred to as model no. 42, or ‘Small Paimio’, referring to the Paimio Sanatorium where it was first used. There is no difference between model 31 and 42. However, the model 42 is still in production today by Artek, and the production of model 31 discontinued. The earliest production models of the no. 31 have sides (armrests) made out of beech, this later changed into birch.
Literature: Tuukkanen, Pirkko, Alvar Aalto: Designer, Vammala (Alvar Aalto Foundation) 2002.
p. 34/35: Detail of ’Cantilever Chair’, 1932.
p. 74-76: Information about Paimio Sanatorium
p. 79: Armchair model no. 31 on show in 1933, ‘Wood Only’ exhibition in London
p. 166: Catalogue Oy. Huonekalu-ja-Rakennustyötehdas
Produced by Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas Oy Turku.
Ref: 2109028
H 58CM/22.8″
W 61CM/24.0″
D 71CM/28.0″
SEAT HEIGHT 38CM/15.0″
‘PALETTE OF THE KING’ SCULPTURE
ALVAR AALTO
1956
Laminated birch, laminated oak, bronze
stamped and engraved Alvar Aalto, Hilmer Brommels, 18.11.1956, Rakennustaiteen Seura-Samfundet för Byggnadskonst Ry
Literature: Richard Weston, Alvar Aalto, Phaidon 1995, pp.101
Ref: 161014
H 42CM/16.5″
W 16CM/6.3″
D 15CM/5.9″
PRICE ON REQUEST
EARLY ‘SAVOY’ VASE, MODEL NO. 9750
ALVAR AALTO
1930
Wood mould-blown green tinted glass. From the “Eskimoerindens skinnbuxa” sketch series, designed 1936.
The vase was shown in the Finnish Pavilion at the Paris World Exposition in 1937. The pavilion itself was also designed by Alvar Aalto.
Literature:
Domus (Milan), no. 125, May 1938, p. 36
Jennifer Hawkins Opie, Scandinavia: Ceramics & Glass in the Twentieth Century, London, 1989, p. 23, fig. 189
Eva B. Ottillinger, Alvar Aalto, Möbel: Die Sammlung Kossdorff, Vienna, 2002, p. 74, fig. 76
Thomas Kellein, ed. alvar & aino aalto. design collection bischofberger, exh. cat., Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Zurich, 2005, pp. 213-14
Produced by Karhula.
Ref: 15457
H 13CM/5.1″
Savoy vase, model no. 9750, Alvar Aalto
#15457
H. 5,2-inch