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"Wassily" Armchair

Designer Marcel Breuer American, born Hungary
1925
Not on view
Marcel Breuer attended the Bauhaus from 1920 to 1924 and became head of its carpentry workshop in 1925. Also in 1925, Breuer bought his first bicycle. He was so impressed by its lightness and strength that he decided to make furniture from tubular steel. His first experimental tubular steel piece was the club style armchair about which he said, "It is my most extreme work both in its outward appearance and in the use of materials; it is the least artistic, the most logical, the least 'cosy' and the most mechanical." It became known as the "Wassily" chair because of Kandinsky's admiration for it.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Wassily" Armchair
  • Designer: Marcel Breuer (American (born Hungary), Pécs 1902–1981 New York)
  • Date: 1925
  • Medium: Chrome-plated steel, canvas upholstery
  • Dimensions: 30 3/4 × 30 1/4 × 26 3/4 in., 15 lb. (78.1 × 76.8 × 67.9 cm, 6.8 kg)
  • Classification: Furniture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lita Annenberg Hazen Charitable Trust Gift, 1988
  • Object Number: 1988.256
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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