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Fauteuil Transatlantic

Design
1927 (made)
Artist/Maker

This is a prime example of Eileen Gray's distinctive sharp and linear drawing style. It emphasises the straight lines of the chair frame, which forms a contrast with the curve of the seat. The rigid lacquer frame, with chromed-steel fittings and padded leather seat, were distinctively Modern. Influenced by Mies van der Rohe's chrome-plated metal of chair of 1927, which was something of a revelation with its cantilevered floating seat, Gray was one of the first designers to use chrome-plated metal.

As a practising architect, Gray was interested in developing the ideal Minimal Dwelling and was concerned that furniture should be flexible and convenient for the small urban home. As such, the 'Transat' could easily be folded and stored out of the way when not in use.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Fauteuil Transatlantic (assigned by artist)
  • Transat chair (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pencil on paper
Brief description
Design for armchair 'Fauteuil Transatlantic' or 'Transat Chair' by Eileen Gray, pencil on paper, France, 1927
Physical description
Design, in pencil on paper, side elevation and plan, for an armchair with a curved seat suspended on a frame. Scale 1:5.
Dimensions
  • Height: 26.8cm
  • Width: 21.1cm
Credit line
Given by Prunella Clough
Object history
The transat chair was designed for the Villa E 1027 in Roquebrune on the Cote d'Azur. First drawings of the chair date back to 1924; it was patended in 1927. Eileen Gray was inspired to this design by the desk chairs used on the transatlantic passenger ships.
Subject depicted
Summary
This is a prime example of Eileen Gray's distinctive sharp and linear drawing style. It emphasises the straight lines of the chair frame, which forms a contrast with the curve of the seat. The rigid lacquer frame, with chromed-steel fittings and padded leather seat, were distinctively Modern. Influenced by Mies van der Rohe's chrome-plated metal of chair of 1927, which was something of a revelation with its cantilevered floating seat, Gray was one of the first designers to use chrome-plated metal.

As a practising architect, Gray was interested in developing the ideal Minimal Dwelling and was concerned that furniture should be flexible and convenient for the small urban home. As such, the 'Transat' could easily be folded and stored out of the way when not in use.
Associated object
CIRC.578-1971 (Object)
Bibliographic references
  • Wilk, Christopher (ed.) Modernism : designing a new world 1914-1939. London: V&A Publications, 2006 Number: 1851774777 (pbk.) p.234
  • 'Object of Inspiration'. Eva Jiřiĉna RA on the Transat chair'. Royal Academy Magazine, Summer 2020, pp. 22-23.
Collection
Accession number
E.1130-1983

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Record createdSeptember 8, 2008
Record URL
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