Alvar Aalto Model 401 Cantilever Lounge Chair by Finmar circa 1940 No:1

Alvar Aalto Model 401 Cantilever Lounge Chair by Finmar circa 1940  No:1

Stunning early Alvar Aalto Model 401 cantilever chair by Finmar Finland circa 1940,  the cantilevered birch ’S' shaped frame finished in new white Boucle upholstery,  early original version pre added 'ears' to the sides of the backrest. stamped no. 686 or 989 to underside, the chair has been fully restored and offered in mint condition, reserve now.

Biography:
Alvar Aalto (Finnish 1898-1976) In contrast with the functionalism of the International Style (as well the neoclassicism put forward by the Nazi and Soviet regimes), Alvar Aalto brought a refreshing breath of humanism to modern design: "True architecture exists only where man stands in the centre," he wrote. Aalto designed furniture in stack-laminated plywood composed of Finnish birch, which was cost-effective and lent warmth to his interiors. Aalto also revived Finnish glass design with his entries in the various Karhula-Iitala glassworks competitions throughout the 1930s.

In 1936 he won first place for a collection of colourful, wavy vases in various sizes titled Eskimoerindens skinnbuxa (The Eskimo Woman’s Leather Breeches). The vases were an immediate success and the most popular size, now known as the "Savoy" vase, is still in production today. Aalto's freeform designs, in harmony with human needs and nature, anticipated the organic modernism of the 1950s and 1960s; in particular, his innovations in bent plywood had a major impact on designers such as Charles and Ray Eames.