Bruno Mathsson, a confession and the funny thing about radar screens

A confession: Ten days ago the Swedish designer Bruno Mathsson wasn’t on my radar screen. Sure, I must have read about him in Fay Sweet’s book, Vintage Furniture (if not additional sources), but his name and designs were lost in the plethora of other names, other designs. That changed on a recent tour of the ROM, where I spotted the Eva Chair. I was presenting Modernism to my students the following week, so I photographed this piece to include in my lecture.

Mathsson’s Eva chair from 1934. The chair was produced in an upholstered version as shown here, but was more commonly produced using woven cotton webbing. The frame combines solid birch and bent plywood.

Flash-forward less than a week, and I’m flipping through the pages of the latest Elle Decor and I spot the Eva chair again, this time in the Manhattan living room of designer Carol Fertig. Fertig’s piece features woven cotton webbing, a more iconic upholstery option than we see in the ROM’s version of the chair (a sidebar note - check out Fertig's web project at www.object-lesson.info).

The Manhattan living room of designer Carol Fertig, photographed by Christopher Sturman and published in this month’s Elle Decor (July/Aug 2012)

And then just yesterday, this one showed up via Pinterest (original source Elle Decor, and I apologize to the designer and photographer involved, if anyone can enlighten me I would love to give credit where due). This version features fresh upholstery and a matching foot stool. It isn't the Eva, or the Grasshopper (another Mathsson design). Is it even by Mathsson?

All this begs the question, how many times have I seen this chair before and simply not registered? Familiarity definitely breeds…familiarity. As for my radar screen, the Eva Chair is now firmly implanted.

Here's a little background.

With a nod to his Finish forefather Alvar Aalto, Mathsson was interested in ergonomics and organic form. Aalto, Mathsson and the other Scandinavian designers of the era approached Modernism in a softer, warmer and less austere manner than their French and German counterparts. Less obsessed with the machine aesthetic, the Scandinavians favoured wood over tubular steel. This resulted in a more ‘palatable’ strand of Modernism that enjoyed global popularity.

Alvar Aalto, Paimio Chair (1932)

Jens Risom (1941). Danish-born Risom partnered with Knoll in the U.S. to create the Side Chair. It references Mathsson’s use of woven webbing from the previous decade.

Swedish designer Bruno Mathsson (1907-1988)