Side Chair
Adolph Loos
Austrian, 1870–1933
J. & J. Kohn, Vienna
est. 1867
c. 1898
A side chair in bent beech wood and cane in which Loos aimed to create a simple, functional seat—using steam‑bent timber and a woven cane surface—to emphasize form and utility over ornament.
Its sinuous, continuous back and slender, curved legs read like a drawn line in space, while the warm, honeyed cane seat provides a delicate, geometric counterpoint.
The chair exemplifies early modernist ideals—rejecting applied ornament and showing how bentwood and industrial techniques could produce economical, elegant furniture that reshaped everyday design for the 20th century.
Medium
Bent beech wood and cane
Dimensions
34 x 17 7/16 x 20 7/16" (86.4 x 44.3 x 51.9 cm), seat h. 17 13/16" (45.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Estée and Joseph Lauder Design Fund
Accession
640.1980
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
