Architect and designer Le Corbusier defined the house as “a machine for living in” and furniture as “machines for sitting.” This armchair is considered Le Corbusier’s masterpiece and is an icon of 20th-century furniture design. In 1929, he and the architect and designer Charlotte Perriand created seating for a house in Ville d’Avary in France, which included an armchair with a tilting back; VMFA’s example is based on that model. An example of this chair was initially displayed at the Autumn Salon in Paris in 1929. The rare tilt-back chair, composed of eight individual sections of tubular steel, was costly to produce and of limited production. Unlike the nearby Wassily Chair by Breuer, the back of this chair adapts to the sitter’s posture.
Sydney and Frances Lewis Endowment Fund
A similar piece was displayed at the Salon d'Autumne, Paris, 1929
©artist or artist’s estate
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
