MR20 Armchair thumbnail 1
Not on display

MR20 Armchair

Armchair
1927 (Designed), 1932-1940 (Manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Thonet (Manufacturer)
Mies Van Der Rohe, Ludwig (Designer)
Place of origin
Frankenberg (Manufactured)

Cantilevered tubular steel armchair, painted green, with a continuous caned seat and back and cane-wrapped arms.

Object details

Category
Furniture
Object type
Armchair
TitleMR20 Armchair (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Tubular steel, caning
Tubular Steel
Cane (Plant Material)
Caning
Brief description
German 1928 des. Mies van der Rohe
Physical description
Cantilevered tubular steel armchair, painted green, with a continuous caned seat and back and cane-wrapped arms.
Dimensions
  • Height: 75cm
  • Width: 56cm
  • Depth: 89cm
dept. catalogue
Style
Modernist
Gallery label
ARMCHAIR

Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (German, 1886-1969)
Probably manufactured by Thonet, Germany
Chromium-plated tubular steel, painted (later), with woven cane
1927

One of the most startling innovations in modern furniture - or so it seemed to contemporaries - was the development of the modern cantilever chair. Because the seat floated in mid-air without any visible means of support it signalled to many the triumph of the designer over the laws of nature. It is said that people were afraid to sit on this chair when it was first introduced because they feared it would collapse.

Given by Mrs F.W. Bradshaw
Circ.861-1968
Credit line
Given by Mrs F.W. Bradshaw
Object history
The chair was said by the donor to have been salvaged from the St James's Theatre, King Street, St James's, London, which was demolished in 1957 despite a high level protest campaign. The last major refit of the theatre, which was built in 1835, was in 1900 and no record of modernist interiors is yet known.
Production
Thonet began production of this chair in November 1932
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
CIRC.861-1968

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Record createdNovember 17, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O129264/mr20-armchair-armchair-mies-van-der/
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