Eero Saarinen at the Museum of the City of New York

By Marni Elyse Katz
November 27, 2009

Eero Saarinen with project model, created for Architectural Forum magazine, circa 1937. (Courtesy Eero Saarinen Collection. Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University); Miller House, designed by Eero Saarinen, Columbus, Indiana, circa 1957. (Photographer Ezra Stoller. © Ezra Stoller / ESTOarch photo)

It willl be hard for fans of midcentury modern design to believe, but iconic architect and designer Eero Saarinen has never had a retrospective. Until now. The show, “Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future” was mounted in 2006 in conjunction with the Museum of Finnish Architecture, and is currently on view at the Museum of the City of New York, through January 31, 2010.

Even the unitiated will certainly be familiar with Saarien’s sculptural furniture designs, particularly the Tulip chair, Pedestal table and Womb chair, all three of which he designed for furniture manufacturer Knoll in the 1940s and 50s. But they may not known that Saarinen, a Finnish architect trained at Yale, also played a pivotal role in the building a new, post-war America in the ‘50s and ‘60s—though they'll certainly be familiar with his work. Saarinen designed the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the TWA Terminal, and the CBS building (dubbed Black Rock) among other important structures, though none were completed before his untimely death in 1961. According to Donald Albrecht, Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of the City of New York, the themes Saarinen develops in both his furniture and architecture are similar, primarily his abundant use of curvilinear forms and his interest in new materials. “The chairs are like buildings in miniature, in a sense,” he says.

Eero Saarinen grew up in a household devoted to the arts. His father, Eliel Saarinen, was an architect and designer and his mother, Loja Saarinen, a textile designer. (Later, Saarien married an art critic for the New York Times, Aline B. Louchheim.) The family immigrated to the United States in 1923 so Eliiel could design and head the Cranbrook Institute of Architecture and Design in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where Eero Saarinen himself later taught. Cranbrook, described by Albrecht as “a magnet for modern design in America," was also the alma mater of Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia and Florence Knoll, all of whom Saarinen subsequently collaborated on his most famous pieces of furniture in the mid-1950s.

Saarinen was greatly influenced by his parents' approach to design. Albrecht tells us, “The family designed holistically. They thought about everything one scale up and one scale down.” So, in designing a piece of furniture, Saarinen would think about “the room it was in, and the decorative objects on it.”

Saarinen's Patent drawing for pedestal chairs, June 7, 1960. (Courtesy Eero Saarinen Collection. Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University); Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, designed by Eero Saarinen, St. Louis, Missouri. (Courtesy Eero Saarinen Collection. Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University)

TWA Terminal, New York International (now John F. Kennedy International) Airport, New York, circa 1962. (Photographer Balthazar Korab. © Balthazar Korab Ltd); Sketch of David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, circa 1953. (Courtesy Eero Saarinen Collection. Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University)

Want to own a piece of history? Have a look at the some interesting originals designed by and featuring the work of Eero Saarinen and his father, all currently available on eBay.

1950s Eero Saarinen Womb Lounge Chair, Manufactured by Knoll (buy it now price, $2,995): Saarinen designed the immensely comfortable Womb chair in 1948 in response to Florence Knoll’s request for “a chair that was like a basket full of pillows…something I could curl up in.” The upholstery on this vintage model is new red leather.

Eero Saarinen Tulip Dining table with Walnut Top, Manufactured by Knoll (buy it now price, $3,750): This is an authentic Saarinen 54-inch pedestal table with walnut top, manufactured by Knoll, in excellent original condition.

Vintage Eero Saarinen Pedestal Stool, Manufactured by Knoll (buy it now price, $495): This vintage white aluminum pedestal stool with a swivel base is upholstered in the original wool. The piece is in very good condition and has the Knoll International label.

Furniture By Architects: International Masterpieces of Twentieth-Century Design and Where to Buy Them (buy it now price, $95): This hardcover book features more than 600 examples of furniture and home furnishings by more than 100 architects, including Eero Saarinen, Eliel Saarienen, Charles and Ray Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, and Michael Graves. In addition, you’ll find Alvar Aalto's chairs, tables, lamps, and vases; Le Corbusier's sofa, chaise lounge, and stool; Josef Hoffmann's china and fabrics; and more.

Saarinen House and Garden: A Total Work of Art (buy it now price, $69.99): This book offers a detailed look inside Saarinen House, the home of Eero Saarinen’s parents, located a the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Photos document the home’s restoration, including original layout and colour schemes, Loja's textiles, furnishings and the garden.

Vintage Eero Saarinen Executive Arm Chair, Manufactured by Knoll (buy it now price, $259): Eero Saarinen designed the Executive Arm Chair in 1957. It won the Museum of Modern Art Federal Award for Industrial Design in1969. This is a vintage original, with metal tubular legs, upholstered in royal blue houndstooth.

Vintage Eero Saarinen Tulip Dining Set, Manufactured by Knoll (buy it now price $2,650): This is a 48-inch Saarinen tulip dining table with four swivel Tulip chairs, all produced by Knoll, labels included. Designed in the mid ‘50s, the manufacture date of this set is believed to be December 1976. The fabric for the seat cushions are the original wool, in cocoa color. The table is white with no discoloration (which surprised the people at Knoll).

Pair of Nightstands by Eliel Saarinen for Johnson Furniture (buy it now price $3,840): These nightstands, which have one drawer and four shelves were designed by Eero’s father, Eliel Saarinen for Johnson Furniture. The pieces have been professionally refinished in the original color and are in excellent condition both structurally and cosmetically.

1962 Eero Saarinen Print Ad by Yale University Press (buy it now price, $9.99): This is an original print ad for Saarinen's book, Eero Saarinen on His Work, published by Yale University Press and edited by Saarinen’s wife, acclaimed art critic Aline B. Saarienen.

1950s Bark Cloth Panels with Illustrations of Modern Furniture (buy it now price, $435): This rare pair of vintage panels, in mint condition, features charming screen printed drawings in primary colors of furniture and accessories by Saarinen, Eames, Bertoia, Nelson and Miro.

Set of Six Vintage Eero Saarinen Tulip chairs Manufactured by Knoll (buy it now price, $2,900): The Tulip chair and pedestal table collection, designed in the mid 1950s, were Saarinen’s response to the “ugly, confusing, unrestful world” he believed resulted from “the slum of legs” underneath “typical chairs and tables.” This set includes six authentic vintage Tulip chairs by Knoll: 3 armchairs, 2 side chairs, and 1 office chair, all in original red Knoll fabric.

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