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A circa-1970 Eero Saarinen Womb chair and ottoman sold comfortably within its $1,500-$2,000 estimate for $1,800 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2023. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

Eero Saarinen made mid-century Modern furniture timeless

Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Sheila Gibson Stoodley

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A circa-1970 Eero Saarinen Womb chair and ottoman sold comfortably within its $1,500-$2,000 estimate for $1,800 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2023. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.
A circa-1970 Eero Saarinen Womb chair and ottoman sold comfortably within the $1,500-$2,000 estimate for $1,800 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2023. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

<IN PROGRESS>

NEW YORK — In business since 1938, furniture maker Knoll has worked with several acclaimed designers, but it was Eero Saarinen (1919-1961) who put the company on the map with his now-famous Womb chair in 1946.

“Eero Saarinen is one of the absolute pioneers of post-war American design. The first major design they [Knoll] bring to market is the Womb chair by Eero Saarinen — an absolute icon of design,” said Richard Wright, CEO of Rago/Wright. “They also work with Jens Risom early on, but it’s really the Womb chair that breaks through.”

Born in Finland, Saarinen was 13 when his family emigrated to Michigan, and in his early years, he was exposed to great design. His father Eliel, also a designer, was a professor at the acclaimed Cranbrook Academy of Art and its first resident architect.

The younger Saarinen designed iconic architectural landmarks such as the TWA building at New York’s JFK airport and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, but is widely known for his furniture designs for Knoll. He became famous winning a home furnishings design competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1940 with Charles Eames for molded plywood chairs. He then began collaborating with Hans and Florence Knoll in 1943.

Another angle on a circa-1970 Eero Saarinen Womb chair and ottoman, which sold comfortably within its $1,500-$2,000 estimate for $1,800 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2023. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.
Another angle on a circa-1970 Eero Saarinen Womb chair and ottoman, which sold comfortably within the $1,500-$2,000 estimate for $1,800 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2023. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

One of his earliest designs for Knoll, and arguably the most iconic, was his aforementioned Womb chair, which he explained was based on a theory that many people haven’t felt as comfortable or secure as they were in the womb. The chair was his attempt to correct that. According to Knoll’s website, the design came out of a request by Florence Knoll for a “chair that was like a basket full of pillows – something she could really curl up in.”

Knoll has continued producing Womb chairs and even vintage examples, made after Saarinen’s death, are highly collectible today. A circa-1970 upholstered Womb chair and ottoman, having an enameled steel frame, sold comfortably within estimate at $1,800 plus the buyer’s premium at Wright in August 2023.

Another Womb chair sold together with a matching stool — both recently reupholstered in a cream boucle — brought $5,500 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023 at Auctions at Showplace.

An Eero Saarinen for Knoll Womb chair and stool earned $5,500 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023. Image courtesy of Auctions at Showplace and LiveAuctioneers.
An Eero Saarinen for Knoll Womb chair and stool earned $5,500 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023. Image courtesy of Auctions at Showplace and LiveAuctioneers.

Wright noted that the market for Saarinen’s furniture is eminently accessible to buyers and even new collectors, as many designs can be had for under $10,000 and most for significantly less: “His most popular designs are relatively inexpensive because they have been in production basically since they were designed.” He added that while condition plays a role in that a more modern Womb or Grasshopper chair in good condition would bring more money than an early example in poor condition, Saarinen’s chair designs, most of which are still in production, are sold at reasonable prices.

Other celebrated designs Saarinen created for Knoll were his Tulip chairs, which date to 1955-56 and have been described as resembling a tulip as well as a stemmed wine glass; and his Pedestal tables of 1957, which are sometimes referred to as Tulip tables. These two designs shared a similar base that he reportedly devised to rectify the messy undercarriage he said existed under tables and chairs. The base is certainly in keeping with his mantra of “one piece, one material”, as the table or chair stem flows into the base as one unit, instead of having separate legs.

An Eero Saarinen white marble top Pedestal dining table for Knoll, sometimes referred to as a Tulip table as it had a similar base to his Tulip chairs, made $8,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2021. Image courtesy of Brunk Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
An Eero Saarinen white marble top Pedestal dining table for Knoll, sometimes referred to as a Tulip table as it had a similar base to his Tulip chairs, made $8,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2021. Image courtesy of Brunk Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

A modern production of his Pedestal dining table for Knoll, having a white Italian Carrera marble top that retained the metal label on the underside reading “Eero Saarinen Knoll Studio 1957” made $8,000 plus the buyer’s premium at Brunk Auctions in November 2021.

In addition, a set of six Tulip chairs dating to 1956, models 150 and 151, brought $2,600 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2023 at Rago Arts and Auction Center. The upholstered chairs are in lacquered fiberglass and enameled aluminum and retained the manufacturer’s label to the seat that said “Knoll Associates Inc.”

A set of six Tulip chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll from 1956 brought $2,600 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2023. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.
A set of six Tulip chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll from 1956 brought $2,600 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2023. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center and LiveAuctioneers.

The market for mid-century Modern furniture has been robust for years and shows little signs of slowing. Saarinen is one of the most sought-after mid-century Modern designers and his work typically has a very high sell-through rate, usually landing within or above estimate. “I think it’s a pretty consistent market [for Saarinen], because of the production numbers, and it comes up fairly often,” Wright said, noting Saarinen’s furniture is popular, almost always sells, and its prices don’t tend to spike.

Seating options by Saarinen, both vintage and modern reissues, are prolific on the market; buyers need to take care to determine if they are considering an authentic original made in his lifetime or a reissue of his design. Both have their place in the market, and later models grant beginning collectors a welcome entry point.

A set of six Eero Saarinen for Knoll chrome and upholstered Executive armchairs took $2,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023. Image courtesy of Stair and LiveAuctioneers.
A set of six Eero Saarinen for Knoll Executive armchairs took $2,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023. Image courtesy of Stair and LiveAuctioneers.

Among the chairs designed by Saarinen that Knoll continues to produce today are his Executive chairs, known as the “chairs with a hole in the back.” They have been part of the company’s line for more than 70 years and look equally at home in the office or the dining room. A set of six chrome and upholstered Executive armchairs for Knoll took $2,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023 at Stair.

Saarinen applied problem-solving to ergonomic and decorative concerns with furniture design, ranging from the multiple ways one sits in a chair for different tasks to how to streamline the look of table and chair legs. In doing so, he created a rich legacy of pieces that embody the modern aesthetic. These elegantly designed furnishings are created with comfort in mind and are flexible enough to fill multiple needs in the home. The goal of great design, after all, is to solve problems and keep the end users happy. Mission accomplished.

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