Collections: Decorative Arts: "Beta" Chair

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"Beta" Chair

• Designer: Nathan George Horwitt, American, 1898-1990
• Manufacturer: Howell Manufacturing Company
• Medium: Tubular steel, wood, upholstery
• Place Manufactured: Geneva, Illinois, USA
• Dates: 1930
• Dimensions: 26 x 22 7/8 x 27 1/2 in. (66 x 58.1 x 69.9 cm)
• Markings: no marks
• Signature: no signature
• Inscriptions: no inscriptions
• Collections: Decorative Arts
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Luce Visible Storage and Study Center, 5th floor
• Accession Number: 85.155
• Credit Line: Gift of the artist
• Image: Overall, 85.155_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Nathan George Horwitt (American, 1898-1990). "Beta" Chair, 1930. Tubular steel, wood, upholstery, 26 x 22 7/8 x 27 1/2 in. (66 x 58.1 x 69.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, 85.155 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 85.155_bw.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: "Beta" chair (prototype), a cantilevered armchair made from a tubular steel frame and dark green upholstered seat. The frame consists of two identical sections: each section is a continuous tube of two parallel "C" shapes (in elevation) that are connected by a rounded curve. These framing sections are stacked on top of each other so that the rounded curve of the top forms the seat back / armrests and the corresponding part on the bottom forms the base. The bar of the seat back / armrests is covered with a tubular upholstered cushion. A wood framed and upholstered seat is carried by flange extending from section where two frame pieces are joined. CONDITION: Chair recently restored; frame is rechromed, reupholstered by Delta. Three drilled holes at top of rear of base. Minor scuffs to frame, with one very noticeable scratch at proper right center of base. Upholstery bunched under middle of back.