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.
2010s Eero Saarinen for Knoll Medium Size Womb Lounge Chair in Grey Leather
By Knoll, Eero Saarinen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a medium-size Womb Lounge Chair, originally designed by Eero Saarinen for Florence Knoll and Knoll Associates in 1948. These particular examples were manufactured by Knoll in...
Steel
1960s Eero Saarinen for Knoll Womb Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Model 70L
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an original Womb lounge chair and its accompanying ottoman, models 70L and 74y, designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in 1948. This set was man...
Steel
2018 CH468 Oculus Lounge Chair by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen in Grey Fabric
By Hans J. Wegner, Carl Hansen & Søn
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a Oculus Lounge Chair designed by Hans Wegner, produced by Carl Hansen & Son in Denmark. The chair is made with a stainless steel frame and grey fabric. This chair...
Stainless Steel
1960s Eero Saarinen for Knoll Womb Chair and Ottoman in New Leather
By Knoll, Eero Saarinen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an original Womb lounge chair and its accompanying ottoman, models 70L and 74Y, designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in 1948. This example was manufactured in the USA in the 1...
Steel
2022 Eero Saarinen for Knoll Child Size Womb Chair in White Leather, Model 70LS
By Knoll, Eero Saarinen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an original Children’s Womb lounge chair, Model 70LS, initially designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in 1948. This particular example was manufactured by Knoll in the USA ci...
Steel
1960s Eero Saarinen for Knoll Womb Chair with Original White Vinyl Upholstery
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is an original 1960s womb chair, designed by renowned architect and furniture designer Eero Saarinen. This is one of Saarinen's most iconic works, which was introduce...
Metal
Eero Saarinen for Knoll Large Womb Chair in Salt and Pepper Boucle
By Eero Saarinen
Located in Seattle, WA
One of the most iconic chair designs of the 20th century, Eero Saarinen designed this lounge chair for Florence Knoll at the request of “a chair that was like a basket full of pillow...
Bouclé
Womb Chair & Ottoman in Performance Gray Chenille by Eero Saarinen for Knoll
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Stamford, CT
Good design is often born from a desire to challenge the norm. In the late 1940s, friends and collaborators Florence Knoll and Eero Saarinen found themselves disillusioned by the rig...
Metal, Chrome
Restored Eero Saarinen Womb Lounge Chair for Knoll, Fiberglass, 1950s
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Detroit, MI
Note: We have a collection of vintage Eero Saarinen Womb chairs and loveseat settees undergoing restoration and can offer the pieces in multiples and with custom upholstery options. ...
Steel, Chrome
1960, Pierre Paulin, Original 1st Fabric Silver Grey Leather Slice Chair
By Pierre Paulin, Artifort
Located in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NL
This item is part of the private collection of Casey Godrie and is situated in his private house. Ask him for competitive shipping quotes. His incredible Dune Villa, Amsterdam Beach,...
Metal, Chrome
2st Series of the Womb Chair by Ero Saarinen, Knoll, circa 1970
By Eero Saarinen
Located in VILLEURBANNE, FR
The Womb Chair is the first result of the collaboration between Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, and Florence Knoll. Designed in 1940 at Florence Knoll's request, she famously asked fo...
Metal
Midcentury Grey Wool Upholstered Eero Saarinen Knoll Armchair, One Chair
By Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Located in Basel, BS
One chair left, sold as an individual chair here. Excellent condition throughout. A Saarinen Executive Armchair with a wooden base, upholstered in a spl...
Wool, Wood
