THE INTERIORS AUCTION - deVeres Art Auctions

105 A PAiR oF wASSiLY cHAiRS, designed by Marcel Breuer with leather straps and
tubular chrome frame. Dated approx 1960s.
Furniture designer and architect Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) was born in Hungary but later
went on to study and teach at the Bauhaus in Dessau. in 1925 while he was an apprentice
at the Bauhaus he designed the wassily chair. inspired by the handlebars of his bicycle he
began to design furniture using tubular steel, the seamless manufacturing of which had only
recently been invented by German steel manufacturer Mannesmann. Although not specifically
designed for wassily Kandinsky, he was always an admirer of the chair and Breuer made one
for his office.
In its first production run in the late 1920s the chair was known as the Model B3 and was
originally designed with fabric. Manufactured by thonet the chair’s simplicity of design was
so different that it failed to find favour with the public. Thonet ceased production of the chair
during world war ii.
in the 1960s Gavina of Bologna, italy began to reproduce the chair but this time it was upholstered with leather and named the wassily chair.
it was hugely successful. Gavina were eventually taken over by Knoll of new York who still produces the chair today.
the wassily chair received an Award of the Museum of Modern Art in 1968 and in 1982, it was recognized as a “Piece of Art,” in Germany. it is
a testament to the power of good design, a chair born of industrial evolution in the 1920s still looks as modern and innovative in the 21st century
as it did at the turn of the last.
est. €600 – 1,000
30
Marcel Breuer