Otto Wagner

Armchair no. 721

c. 1903

Bent beech wood

32”H x 22.5”W x 21.5”D

Otto Wagner (1841-1918) was an Austrian architect, designer and professor who had a lasting impact on the progress of modernism in Europe. In his architectural work, Wagner broke with tradition while placing emphasis on function, material, and structure. In 1894, Wagner was appointed professor and director of architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where his architectural work would go on to have a profound influence on his students which included: Josef Hoffmann, Adolf Loos, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Richard Neutra, and RM Schindler. It was not uncommon for Wagner to design a building as well as everything inside. This chair is a variant of a chair Wagner designed for his most famous project, the Postal Savings Bank (1904-1906). Wagner was commissioned by both J&J Kohn and rival firm Gebrüder Thonet to produce the chair, thus its existence in several variations. This version, with a perforated plywood back and a saddle-shaped seat, appears in the J&J Kohn catalogue supplement of 1903. Sensitively restored.