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See more objects with the tag interior, domestic, home, seating, tubular, irregular, planar.

Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
1927	Work on this object began.
1928	Work on this object ended.
1956	We acquired this object.
1986	We exhibited this object.
2001	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2007	We photographed this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2017	We exhibited this object.
2020	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2024	You found it!

B3 Chair

This is a chair. It was designed by Marcel Breuer and manufactured by Standard-Möbel. It is dated designed 1925, manufactured ca. 1927–28 and we acquired it in 1956. Its medium is chrome-plated tubular steel, canvas. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

A protégé of the Bauhaus director architect Walter Gropius, Breuer was one of the most influential and prolific graduates of the school. One of Breuer’s first projects upon returning to the Bauhaus as a teacher was this tubular steel armchair, which he later named the Wassily, after his Bauhaus colleague, artist Wassily Kandinsky. In 1926, Breuer co-founded Standard Möbel with Kálmán Lengyel and Anton Lorenz in order to manufacture this chair and his other furniture designs made from this industrial material.

This object was donated by Gary Laredo. It is credited Gift of Gary Laredo.

Small Diamond Chair
bent plastic-coated metal wire, woven cotton upholstery, foam rubber.
Gift of the Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material....
2011-22-1

Cantilevered chair with a frame made of bent, chromium-plated tubular steel. Instead of separate legs, the chair is held upright by the L-shaped tube connected by a supporting U-shaped base in one continuous piece. The flat, rectangular back and separate thick, square seat are upholstered with brown leather; the latter appearing to float in between the tubes, save for the thin metal anchors in the back. The matching flat, rectanglar back and armrests wrap around the frame.

Armchair from the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society Building Armchair, 1931
chromium-plated steel, leather upholstery, oak.
Gift of George R. Kravis II.
2015-41-9

Sculptural chair with a wooden frame made out of birch and ash. The frame is angular and forms mirrored c-shapes on each side. It is assembled with steel tacks. Below the straight wooden armrests are thin wooden slats. There are two horizontal components at the bottom of the chair. These horizontal pieces are the only portions that touch the floor. It extends slightly past the backrest, providing support and preventing the chair from toppling over. The chair has a streamlined composition with a frame in a light brown color and a seat in brown. The bottom part of the seat and the middle side portions of the backrest are the only parts attached to the angular frame. The rest is left in the open space, creating the illusion that the seat is floating. The seat is covered in Naugahyde, a plastic-coated composite knit fabric. The seat and backrest are attached at an angle and slightly dips a couple of inches below the armrests.

Airline Chair
birch, ash, naugahyde, steel tacks.
Gift of George R. Kravis II.
2018-22-28

Our curators have highlighted 8 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

This is a cantilevered chair with a curved support made of tubular steel, on which a cane seat and chair are woven tightly in between. Most prominent is the use of curved tubular steel frame. From the chair shape to the the bottom half, the steel frame transitions seamlessly from chair back, to seat, to dramatic, round, half circle shape front 'legs' into a square support on the bottom for feet, in one single piece. This curving to square design is repeated for chair's arms: a singular tube creates two, long rounded supports that seamlessly transitions into flat arms on either side of the chair and is squared off behind the chair's back. Along the chair's arms, seat, and back is a dark brown woven cane.

Model MR534 Lounge Chair
bent nickel-plated tubular steel, cane.
Gift of the David Teiger Trust.
2016-36-7

Modern, metal frame lounge chair on a black base. The concave, arched tubular steel chair has an elongated, tan cushion. The 'I-form' base features four flat tapering legs with small circular feet. The silver tubular frame has curved ends and rests on the base. The top section of the steel frame is covered with a conforming textile. A few of the circular grommets are exposed underneath the textile, with several white tie laces visible and dangling underneath.

Lounge, LC4, 1928
wood, tubular steel, other metals, textile.
Lent by Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Miani Johnson in memory of her mother,....
33.2016.5

Card
Gift of James Fraser.
1997-76-20

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 72.8 x 77 x 68cm (28 11/16 x 30 5/16 x 26 3/4in.)

Cite this object as

B3 Chair; Designed by Marcel Breuer (American, b. Hungary, 1902–1981); Manufactured by Standard-Möbel (Germany); Germany; chrome-plated tubular steel, canvas; H x W x D: 72.8 x 77 x 68cm (28 11/16 x 30 5/16 x 26 3/4in.); Gift of Gary Laredo; 1956-10-1-a,b

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s and Berlin 1900-1933: Architecture and Design.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2CkLa/
Accession Number 1956-10-1-a,b
Object ID 18407005