Name: Early Canvas Model B3 "wassily" Chair, Black Eisengarn Canvas
Brand: FORSYTH
Price: 30000.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Description

This is an early edition Model B3 "Wassily" Chair from Berlin based manufacturer, Standard-Möbel. It exhibits the original black Eisengarn canvas. A truly iconic design, deserving to be in a museum.

The model for this chair is the traditional overstuffed club chair, but all that remains is its mere outline, an elegant composition traced in gleaming steel. The canvas seat, back, and arms seem to float in space; the body of the sitter does not touch the steel framework. Breuer spoke of the chair as his “most extreme work . . . the least artistic, the most logical, the least ‘cozy’ and the most mechanical.” It was also his most influential piece of design, taking furniture in a radical new direction. Breuer had designed an earlier version in 1925, while teaching at the Bauhaus, the influential German school of modern art, architecture, and design in Dessau, and within a year designers everywhere were experimenting with tubular steel. Breuer claimed to have drawn inspiration from the tubular-steel handlebars of his bicycle, which were strong, lightweight, and mass-produced. He reasoned that if the material could be bent into handlebars, it could be bent into forms for furniture.  The chair was dubbed the “Wassily” after the painter Vasily (or Wassily) Kandinsky, Breuer’s friend and fellow Bauhaus instructor, who had praised the design when it was first produced. - from MOMA.

Inspired by the frame of a bicycle and influenced by the constructivist theories of the De Stjil movement, Marcel Breuer was still an apprentice at the Bauhaus when he reduced the classic club chair to its elemental lines and planes, forever changing the course of furniture design. - from Knoll.

Also read this great article about the history of the chair from the Robb Report.

Details

Manufacturer

Standard-Möbel, Germany
Date

1927
Dimensions

30.75 W x 28 D x 28.25 H x 16.5 SH in
Material

Chromium-plated tubular steel and original Eisengarn canvas.
Condition

Overall in good condition. The tubular steel frame with scattered pitting, losses, and oxidation to the plating, consistent with the aging process of the material and with use over time. The fabric upholstery panels shows evidence of over-stretching and sagging consistent with age and use. Chair shows traces of surface dirt throughout consistent with age. With original Eisengarn and replaced canvas, as seen in the catalogue illustration. The original Eisengarn armrests show discoloration and fading, consistent with the natural aging process of the material. The canvas with wear and surface soiling consistent with use. The tubular steel frame with a slight seam separation in the metal construction to the center base rail.
Shipping & Delivery

$425 in the U.S.
This cost is for white glove shipping in the United States. Arrives in 3 to 6 weeks. Cost includes full insurance, item collection and packaging, shipping and handling, and delivery by appointment. You don’t need to lift a finger. Just point to the spot in your home where this beauty will live and our trusted white glove partners will do the heavy lifting.
If you would like a shipping quote for a different method, Inquire Here.
Worldwide shipping available. Inquire here.

Forsyth is a Saint Louis based gallery presenting both design and contemporary art.

FORSYTH

Early Canvas Model B3 "wassily" Chair, Black Eisengarn Canvas

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