Side Chair
Design Date c. 1903
Designer Henry van de Velde (1863-1957, Belgian)
Media oak wood and upholstery
Dimensions 38 1/8 x 18 3/8 x 18 5/8 inches
The design for this chair was originally devised as part of the interior scheme for a home in Kiel, Germany. A chair without the colorful upholstery but of the same design appears in period photographs of the Hohe Pappeln in Weimar, Germany, a house that Van de Velde designed for his family (He previously designed Bloemenwerf, a house for his family in Brussels). Although this is an Art Nouveau chair, influences from the Arts & Crafts style peek through with the upholstery in a similar vein of the work of Arts & Crafts movement founder William Morris. Van de Velde was influenced by the writings and work of Morris in the late 1890s. Such blending of the two styles is an example of Van de Velde’s design focus combining innovation and tradition.
ON VIEW in Art Nouveau Gallery 4
Markings unmarked
Credit Line Collection Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
Accession Number 2011.0675
