Armchair, des. Ambrose Heal, man. Aeromet & Co. for Heal and Son Ltd, 1933

Armchair with frame of chrome-plated metal and white leather seat, back and arms.

Given by Messrs Heal & Son

Ambrose Heal did not like the vogue for metal furniture, preferring the Arts and Craft tradition. This chair, however, is typical of his response to Modernism which does not yield to pure functionalism: at over £8 it cost as much as six conventional wooden dining chairs.

The X-frame structure is inspired by Roman furniture though the suspended bands of leather recall Bauhas designs, including Breuer's so-called Wassily chair of 1925. The oval section tube helps to distance the design from Modernist furniture, as do the Art Deco wave shapes in the frame. Rather than a utopian statement, Heal's chair is part of an early 1930s fashion for all white interiors, inspired by cinema and stage sets and made modish amongst the wealthy by decorators like Syrie Maugham. The chair was first shown in the Heal's White and Off-White exhibition in 1933.
[Gareth Williams, 'British Design at Home', p.121]

See Curators Note

Reason For Production: Retail

The London firm of Heal's advertised this chair as part of a metal dining-room suite. The X-frame structure is inspired by Roman and Italian Renaissance furniture. The use of metal and the suspended bands of leather also recall German Bauhaus designs of the 1920s. The chair combines Modernist and Art Deco styles in its form and materials. It also reflects the early 1930s fashion for all-white interiors, which was inspired by cinema and stage sets. The chair was first shown in the Heal's White and Off-White exhibition in 1933. It then cost £8 17s 6d. This was about as much as six conventional wooden dining chairs.

W.25-1935