"39" Chaise Longue

Manufacturer Artek Oy Finnish

1936–37

Not on view

Initially, Aalto worked as an exhibition designer, turning to architecture and furniture design in the 1920s. In 1929 he and a partner established an experimental plywood workshop in Turku, Finland and by 1935 founded Artek, a furniture design and manufacturing company. The form of this chaise is based on Aalto's breakthrough design of the mid-1930s, the "spring leaf support" (a compression spring of birch veneers welded together). This inventive cantilevered frame with the springing characteristics of its material also provides comfortable seating.

Artwork Details

Title: "39" Chaise Longue
Artist: Alvar Aalto (Finnish, Kuortane 1898–1976 Helsinki)
Manufacturer: Artek Oy
Date: 1936–37
Medium: Molded birch plywood and cotton webbing
Dimensions: 28 7/8 × 24 1/4 × 62 in., 26 lb. (73.3 × 61.6 × 157.5 cm, 11.8 kg)
Other (seat): 10 5/8 in. (27 cm)
Classification: Furniture-Wood
Credit Line: Purchase, Theodore R. Gamble Jr. Gift, in honor of his mother, Mrs. Theodore Robert Gamble, 1985
Object Number: 1985.211
Rights and Reproduction: © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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"Model No. 41" Lounge Chair, Alvar Aalto Finnish, Laminated Birch — "Model No. 41" Lounge Chair
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1931–32

Kantele, Wood, metal, Finnish — Kantele
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19th century

Side chair, Solid beech wood (front and side rails), solid pine wood (supporting middle seat rail), solid walnut (legs), walnut and burr walnut veneer. Upholstery materials: drop-in seat frame of plywood, webbing, modern black enameled springs, cotton wadding, jute spring cover cloth, filling, a cover cloth and the show-cover, blued metal tacks. (The seat is a recent fabrication.), Austrian — Side chair
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ca. 1820–30

"#400" Armchair, Alvar Aalto Finnish, Bent and laminated wood, cotton upholstery (replaced) — "#400" Armchair
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Manufacturer Artek Oy
1935–36

Paimentorvea (herder's horn), Teppo Repo Finnish, wood, horn, Finnish — Paimentorvea (herder's horn)
Teppo Repo
ca. 1946

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