Through his work as an architect and designer, Eero Saarinen was a prime mover in the introduction of modernism into the American mainstream. Particularly affecting were the organic, curvilinear forms seen in Saarinen’s furniture and his best-known structures: the gull-winged TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy airport in New York (opened 1962), Dulles International Airport in Virginia (1962) and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri (1965).
Saarinen had a peerless modernist pedigree. His father, Eliel Saarinen, was an eminent Finnish architect who in 1932 became the first head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Detroit. The school became synonymous with progressive design and decorative arts in the United States, and while studying there the younger Saarinen met and befriended several luminaries of mid-century modernism, among them Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames.
At Cranbrook, Saarinen also met Florence Schust Knoll, who, as director of her husband Hans Knoll's eponymous furniture company, would put Saarinen’s best designs into production. These include the Grasshopper chair, designed in 1946 and so named because its angled bentwood frame resembles the insect; the Tulip chair (1957), a flower-shaped fiberglass shell mounted on a cast-aluminum pedestal; and the lushly contoured Womb lounge chair and ottoman (1948). In his furniture as in his architecture, the keynotes of Eero Saarinen’s designs are simplicity, strength and grace.
Find vintage Eero Saarinen tables, chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
1960s Eero Saarinen for Knoll Executive Dining Chair Arm in Beige Fabric
By Knoll, Eero Saarinen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Saarinen Executive Chair, Model 71 USB, designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in 1950. This particular example dates to the 1960s. Its design features legs of polished tubula...
Steel
Eero Saarinen Knoll 2020 Executive Side Chair w/ Wood Legs & Ivory Leather
By Knoll, Eero Saarinen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a single 2020 production Eero Saarinen for Knoll Executive side chair with ivory leather and ebonized walnut wooden legs. This appears to be Knoll's Volo leather, ...
Wood, Leather
2022 Knoll Saarinen Executive Arm Chair in Oatmeal Tweed Fabric w/ Steel Legs
By Knoll, Eero Saarinen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Saarinen Executive Chair, model 71A, designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in 1950. This particular example hails from 2022. It features chromed-steel tubular legs, and has a...
Steel
2021 Eero Saarinen for Knoll Executive Arm Dining Chair in Tan Leather
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
These are Saarinen Executive Arm Chairs, Model 71A, initially designed in 1948 by Eero Saarinen for Knoll. These particular examples were produced in 2021. The listed price includes ...
Steel
1960s Eero Saarinen for Knoll Full-Back Executive Arm Chair, Model 68
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Saarinen Full-Back Executive Chair, Model 68, originally designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in 1950. This example dates to the 1960s. It has many of the features of the mo...
Steel
1970s Eero Saarinen for Knoll Executive Desk or Dining Chair in Hopsack Fabric
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Saarinen Executive Chair, Model 71 USB, originally designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in 1950. This particular example dates to the 1970s. The listed price includes one ch...
Steel
Mid-Century Modern Eero Saarinen for Knoll Executive Armchair on Chrome Legs
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in St. Louis, MO
Classic Eero Saarinen for Knoll, executive armchair in original but soiled Knoll Fabric, on chrome legs. Needs to be reupholstered, and foam replaced, otherwise solid. Chrome can be ...
Chrome
Eero Saarinen Conference Side Chair for Knoll
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Barcelona, ES
Conference side chair designed by Eero Saarinen in 1957 for Knoll Internatinal, USA. Upholstered with mohair fabric and ebonized oak wooden legs.
Fabric, Oak
Knoll Arm Desk, Conference Chair Designed by Eero Saarinen
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Antwerp, BE
The Knoll international Saarinen conference armchair in license with the De Coene manufacturer Belgium is a design by Eero Saarinen.Featur...
Metal
Model 71 Dining Chair by Eero Saarinen for Knoll, USA 1960s
By Knoll, Eero Saarinen
Located in GORINCHEM, NL
A confident presence, and unmistakably Saarinen, this Model 71 dining chair embodies over seventy years of refined design thinking, where comfort, elegance, and innovation converge i...
Steel, Chrome
Model 72 Dining Chair in Bouclé by Eero Saarinen for Knoll, USA 1960s
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in GORINCHEM, NL
The Saarinen Model 72 Dining Chair by Knoll International is a true design icon. Introduced in 1950 by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, it reflects his signature vision of s...
Steel
Saarinen Executive Arm Chairs in Sand Mohair, Walnut Legs
By Knoll, Eero Saarinen
Located in Stamford, CT
Eero Saarinen is widely regarded as one of the most influential furniture designers of the 20th century, celebrated for his innovative use of materials and sculptural approach to for...
Fabric, Mohair, Wood, Walnut
