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Armchair, Model DAF

Decorative Arts and Design

On View: Luce Visible Storage and Study Center, 5th Floor
In this chair, George Nelson experimented with the same materials and forms as did his contemporaries, but with a different result. The fiberglass shell of his chair is two-toned, with a sweeping void between the two sections, deliberately denying the unity to which other designers aspired. Nelson ran a large design firm, and many of the works attributed to his office were actually designed by employees. This chair was probably created by Charles Pollack.
MANUFACTURER Henry Miller
MEDIUM Fiberglass, steel, rubber
  • Place Manufactured: Zeeland, Michigan, United States
  • DATES ca. 1956
    DIMENSIONS 31 1/2 x 28 1/2 x 21 3/4 in. (80 x 72.4 x 55.2 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS Unmarked
    ACCESSION NUMBER 84.275.5
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Barry Friedman
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Back and seat of two separate pieces of molded fiberglass: the chair back and armrests are gray and the seat and sides are white. The back is open. The two pieces are joined under armrests with epoxy. Seat center mounted over pedestal base of four tapered and curved steel tube legs bundled together into center column and fitted into quatrefoil plate of black steel that "re-branches" into four arms, quatrefoil plate supports chair and is attached to underside with epoxy. Legs are black and fitted with small black rubber shoes. CONDITION: Generally very good; a few scratches on arm, crest rail and seat. Along the curve of the front of the seat there is some pitting, which has accumulated dirt and/or become discolored to black. At the two front points on the seat where the seat rests on its legs, a fine network of cracks is developing, which are slightly discolored.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Luce Visible Storage and Study Center, 5th Floor
    CAPTION Charles Pollock (American, 1930-2013). Armchair, Model DAF, ca. 1956. Fiberglass, steel, rubber, 31 1/2 x 28 1/2 x 21 3/4 in. (80 x 72.4 x 55.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Barry Friedman, 84.275.5. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.275.5_bw.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 84.275.5_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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