Alvar Aalto Armchair 41 "Paimio" Produced by Artek, 1963
About the Item
- Creator:Alvar Aalto (Designer),Artek (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 25.2 in (64 cm)Width: 23.63 in (60 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1963
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1206216068832
Paimio Armchair
Created in 1932, the Paimio armchair, or Armchair 41, was intended to help people breathe easier. Finnish architect and furniture maker Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) — in collaboration with his first wife, Aino — designed a tuberculosis sanatorium and all of the facility’s furnishings, including the armchair, in the Finnish city of Paimio, after winning the commission in an architecture competition.
During the mid-to-late 1920s, Aalto was working with bentwood processes and producing resilient, easily storable furniture that could be tucked away when not in use. His pioneering efforts yielded malleable wood for shaping the material into sculptural furniture — stackable seating defined by sleek curved contours, such as the Stool 60 or the Paimio armchair, a masterpiece for which the Aaltos are widely known.
Paimio Sanatorium was constructed with functionalism in mind. The building and its furnishings were designed to house patients suffering from tuberculosis, a bacterial infection that primarily attacks the lungs. At the time (this was prior to the use of antibiotics), sanatorium staffers were focused on getting the afflicted outside in the sunshine and fresh air. As tuberculosis was considerably contagious and is spread from coughing and sneezing, the surfaces in the Aaltos' building had to be easily disinfected and aired-out. These concerns extended to the design of the Paimio armchair.
For the chair’s frame, the couple opted to use Finland’s native birchwood, which is strong and inexpensive and felt warmer and more organic than the tubular steel found in similarly shaped pieces, like the Wassily chair designed by Marcel Breuer.
The laminated wood loops to form the arms, legs and a pair of flat skids while its sculptural seat and back, built from a single piece of thin plywood, look as if they are suspended and are angled to support ailing sitters in their efforts to breathe.
An integral part of the revolutionary building, the Aaltos' Paimio armchair earned the couple acclaim as furniture makers. Branded “the first soft wooden chair,” the project inspired countless other designers, among them Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames, in its simplicity and striking form.
Artek, which the Aaltos helped cofound, currently manufactures and distributes Alvar and Aino's wood furniture designs, including many light fixtures and furniture from the Paimio Sanatorium.
Alvar Aalto
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism and Nordic design to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, stools, tables and lighting to table- and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.
Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.
Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed with his wife, Aino Aalto, in 1930 as part of the overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium.
Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the Paimio chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had an enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.
Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with Aino, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.
Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.
Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Stockholm, Sweden
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Alvar Aalto Armchair 41 "Paimio" by Artek, 1970sBy ArtekLocated in Stockholm, SEProduced late 1970s by Artek. Excellent condition, no signs of usage. Designed by Alvar Aalto in 1932, Armchair 41 was created for the interior of a tuberc...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch
- Pair of Alvar Aalto Armchair 45, Produced by Artek, 1970sBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Stockholm, SEProduced during the 1970s by Artek, Finland. Good vintage condition with signs of patina and usage.Category
Vintage 1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch, Cane
- Rare Alvar Aalto Armchair No. 31, Early Example, circa 1934By Alvar AaltoLocated in Stockholm, SEAlvar Aalto armchair No. 31. Produced by Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas Oy Turku, circa 1934-1935. Bent laminated birch frame, seat in laminated birch root veneer.Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto Room / Screen Divider, Finland, 1960sBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Stockholm, SEExcellent vintage condition with signs of usage and patina. Pinewood. Produced by Artek, Finland, late 1960s. Measures: Height 150 cm W 200 cm.Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsPine
- Arnold Madsen 'Clam Chair' produced by Madsen & Schubell, 1950sBy Philip ArctanderLocated in Stockholm, SEArnold Madsen 'Clam Chair' produced by Madsen & Schubell 1950s. Completely restored. Excellent condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSheepskin
- Armchair "Mondo" by Karl-Erik Ekselius, Sweden, 1970sBy Karl-Erik EkseliusLocated in Stockholm, SEProduced by JOC, Vetlanda, Sweden, 1970s.Category
Vintage 1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather
- Alvar Aalto Paimio Chair 41By Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAStunning Paimio armchair 41 by Alvar Alto for Artek, Finland, in natural birch wood with black bentwood seat with venting slots. The laminated birch...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto, Paimio 41 Lounge chair, ArtekBy Artek, Huonekalu-Ja Rakennustyötedas Oy, Alvar AaltoLocated in Helsinki, FIThe famous Paimio lounge chair model 41, designed by Alvar Aalto for the Paimion Parantola. Manufactured by Artek in the 1960s, stamped "Artek, Aal...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch, Plywood
- Alvar Aalto Armchair Model 401, ArtekBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Helsinki, FIA beautiful original Alvar Aalto armchair model 401, which was first designed in 1933. The 401 chair was part of the iconic Paimio Sanatorium that basically launched the Aalto name t...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Birch
- Armchair by Alvar AaltoBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Sagaponack, NYA laminated birch armchair with a black linen webbed seat and cane wrapped arms.Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto set of Armchairs for Artek, circa 1960By Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Esbjerg, DKLounge chairs designed by Alvar Aalto manufactured, circa 1960. Curved birch plywood and braided vegetable fiber.Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch
- Rare Alvar Aalto Cantilever Armchair Model 26, Artek, FinlandBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Espoo, FIVery hard to find Model 26 armchair is designed by Alvar Aalto for Artek with frame in steel tube, painted matt black and with seat form pressed birch plywood, lacquered in black. Aalto designed Lounge Chair 26...Category
Late 20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Very Modern Love Story of Mid-Century Design Duo Alvar and Aino Aalto
A power couple before the term existed, the influential pair made work that still resonates today.
What Makes Scandinavian Modernism and Nordic Design So Irresistible?
Andrew Duncanson, founder of the Stockholm- and London-based gallery Modernity, weighs in on the masters of mid-century furniture and decorative arts.