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"Grasshopper" Highback Armchair

Decorative Arts and Design

On View: Luce Visible Storage and Study Center, 5th Floor
MEDIUM Bentwood, wool
  • Place Manufactured: New York, New York, United States
  • DATES Designed ca. 1947, Manufactured ca. 1948
    DIMENSIONS 35 1/2 x 25 3/8 in. (90.2 x 64.5 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS no marks
    SIGNATURE no signature
    INSCRIPTIONS no inscriptions
    ACCESSION NUMBER 78.2
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Dr. Aaron H. Esman
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION High-backed chair consisting of bentwood frame and body upholstered in wool with a black warp and blue weft. The contoured body (continuous seat / back) is supported on either side by a single strip of wood bent in three places to look like the top part of an angular, backwards "?" and forming the arms and legs of the chair. Head support section of back is angled forward. Three upholstered buttons on back, four on seat. CONDITION - Frame is loose. Wood legs/arms show wear with many small scratches in varnish and stains. Much wear on arm rests. Bad tear in upholstery on left side of base of seat. Several stains on upholstery.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Luce Visible Storage and Study Center, 5th Floor
    CAPTION Eero Saarinen (American, born Finland, 1910-1961). "Grasshopper" Highback Armchair, Designed ca. 1947, Manufactured ca. 1948. Bentwood, wool, 35 1/2 x 25 3/8 in. (90.2 x 64.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. Aaron H. Esman, 78.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 78.2_bw_IMLS.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 78.2_bw_IMLS.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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