"Aluminum Group" Lounge Chair
The "Aluminum Group" chair and ottoman were originally created for a private house designed by Alexander Girard and Eero Saarinen in 1958. This chair, with its durable and lightweight aluminum structure and weather-resistant, newly developed SARAN™ or Naugahyde upholstery, was created for use either indoors or out, and in the first years of production, the Herman Miller Furniture Company marketed the line as the "Indoor-Outdoor" Group. The flexible metal skeleton of the "Aluminum Group" provided a new model for seating furniture, serving as the basis for a number of the Eames' future designs. Charles and Ray modified the design a decade later by adding padded seats and backs; these new models were known as the "Soft Pad" chairs. Like all Eames furniture, comfort was a key consideration in the design. The suspension mechanism in the seat back marked an important innovation in modern chair design, allowing great movement and flexibility to the user.
Artwork Details
- Title: "Aluminum Group" Lounge Chair
- Artist: Charles Eames (American, St. Louis, Missouri 1907–1978 St. Louis, Missouri)
- Designer: Ray Eames (American, Sacramento, California 1912–1988 Los Angeles, California)
- Manufacturer: The Herman Miller Furniture Company, Zeeland, Michigan
- Date: 1958
- Medium: Aluminum and "Saran" upholstery
- Dimensions: H 39 x W 25-1/2, D. 30 inches (99.1 x 64.8 x 76.2 cm.)
- Classification: Furniture
- Credit Line: Gift of Ronald S. Kane, 1992
- Object Number: 1992.216.3
- Rights and Reproduction: © Herman Miller Inc.
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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Charles Eames
Eero Saarinen
ca. 1940
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