Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Not currently on display at the V&A
On short term loan out for exhibition

Omega chair

Chair
1913 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This was one of the two standard dining chairs offered for sale by the Omega Workshops, opened by the artist Roger Fry in 1913 with premises in Fitzroy Street, London. Fry was a promoter of decorative arts, and wanted to remove the division in perception between the fine and decorative arts. In the workshop, artists produced pieces that were anonymous, signed only with the Greek letter Omega.

The Omega Workshops either designed furniture to be made by professional furniture makers, or bought second-hand furniture at auction to paint and resell. The dining chairs were carefully designed by Roger Fry with the angle between the top rail and back exaggerated by the square panel of caning in the back.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleOmega chair (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pine, lacquered and painted, the cane gilded
Brief description
Chair, lacquered and painted with gilded caning, designed by Roger Fry for the Omega Workshops, c.1913-1919
Physical description
Dining chair of rectangular form painted red, with gilded cane panels in seat and back
Dimensions
  • Height: 110.2cm
  • Width: 51cm
  • Depth: 56cm
Style
Credit line
Given by Marianne Rodker
Object history
Designed by Roger fry for the Omega Workshops and made by Dryad Ltd, this is one of the two standard Omega dining chairs offered for sale: one was painted red and the other was painted grey and had a gap between seat and back. This type of Omega dining chair was illustrated in the Omega Workshops Descriptive Catalogue.
Summary
This was one of the two standard dining chairs offered for sale by the Omega Workshops, opened by the artist Roger Fry in 1913 with premises in Fitzroy Street, London. Fry was a promoter of decorative arts, and wanted to remove the division in perception between the fine and decorative arts. In the workshop, artists produced pieces that were anonymous, signed only with the Greek letter Omega.

The Omega Workshops either designed furniture to be made by professional furniture makers, or bought second-hand furniture at auction to paint and resell. The dining chairs were carefully designed by Roger Fry with the angle between the top rail and back exaggerated by the square panel of caning in the back.
Bibliographic reference
Gerstein, Alexandra (ed.), Beyond Bloomsbury: Designs of the Omega Workshops 1913-19 London : The Courtauld Gallery, 2009 F17
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.125-1961

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Record createdMay 31, 2006
Record URL
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