Gerald Summers Armchair
British
1933-4
Made from a Single Sheet of Cut and Bent Birch Ply
In 1932 Summers and his wife Majorie Amy Butcher started "Makers of Simple Furniture" and began to experiment with free-form designs and malleable materials. Summers specialised in airplane plywood which resulted in some of the most innovative designs of the period. This seminal work of 1933-34 took advantage of the wood's flexibility creating this seamless seat which is considered to be a Modernist Masterpiece.
h 78 cm w 60.5 cm l 86.5 cm (30.75 x 24 x 34.25 in)
Provenance: English Private Collection since 1970
Bibliography: 1000 Chairs Charlotte and Peter Fiell, Cologne 2000 p.232.
100 Masterpieces Vitra Design Museum.
Design for Today 1934
Exhibitions: Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Vitra Design Museum
Phoenix Art Museum