Womb Chair, Model No. 70
Decorative Arts and Design
On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Counterparts
MEDIUM
Chrome-plated steel, fiberglass, latex foam, original upholstery
DATES
Designed 1946, Manufactured ca. 1959
DIMENSIONS
36 x 40 x 34 in. (91.4 x 101.6 x 86.4 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
2001.37.1
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Sandra Sheppard Rodgers, Gail Sheppard Moloney, Lynn Sheppard Manger, John W. Sheppard, Jr. from the Estate of their mother, Rose Jackson Sheppard Milbank, by exchange
PROVENANCE
Prior to 2001, provenance not yet documented; by 2001, acquired by Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg, New York, NY; June 21, 2001, purchased from Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg by the Brooklyn Museum.
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CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Armchair made of chrome-plated tubular steel frame and a shell molded of compound of fiberglass, plastic and wood particle; and upholstered in original brown and black tweed textile-covered latex foam. Compound curve cup-shaped shell with continuous back, seat, and flared arms. Seat cushion and small square back cushion upholstered in same fabric with self-welt binding. Chair supported on two-part frame. One continuous section forms canted front legs; second u-shaped section, attached at the mid-point of the front leg support beneath the chair carcass, bends back to support flared arms of fiberglass shell and then angles down at an oblique angle to form rear legs of chair. Four legs rest on screw-in disk feet. En suite with ottoman, 2001.37.2.
CAPTION
Eero Saarinen (American, born Finland, 1910–1961). Womb Chair, Model No. 70, Designed 1946, Manufactured ca. 1959. Chrome-plated steel, fiberglass, latex foam, original upholstery, 36 x 40 x 34 in. (91.4 x 101.6 x 86.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Sandra Sheppard Rodgers, Gail Sheppard Moloney, Lynn Sheppard Manger, John W. Sheppard, Jr. from the Estate of their mother, Rose Jackson Sheppard Milbank, by exchange, 2001.37.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2001.37.1_PS22.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 2001.37.1_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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Please tell me more about this chair.
This chair was designed by Eero Saarinen in 1946 for Knoll. It is called the "Womb Chair (Model No.70)", for the comforting way that it encloses the sitter. Mid-century designers were interested in organic furniture forms that responded the natural curves of the human body. Saarinen said of the chair, “People sit differently today than in the Victorian era. They want to sit lower and they like to slouch.”