Arne Jacobsen

(active 1934 – 1961)

Eero Saarinen (1910 – 1961) was a prominent American architect and designer of Finnish origin, one of the most important artisans of the XX century. One of the brightest representatives of modernism, he was constantly in search of new expressionism and tried to embody the emotional root cause in his works. He promoted the use of unconventional materials such as ceramics and aluminum, and made extensive use of overlapping shells.

Saarinen was the son of the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, who emigrated with his family to the United States in 1923. However, it was only in 1940, that Eero Saarinen received American citizenship. From the age of thirteen, he lived at the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills (a suburb of Detroit), where his father taught. There he attended courses in furniture design and sculpture. He continued his education at the Académie de la Grande Chaumièrein Paris. In 1934, he received a diploma from the School of Architecture at Yale University and, in 1936, started working in his father’s architectural practice. 

Talented and extravagant, Eero Saarinen initially attracted the attention of the public with an original approach to furniture design. His iconic design ideas, such as the "tulip chair", the "grasshopper chair" and the "womb chair" were put into industrial production and were in great demand. This unique style of his could be recognized in both furniture and architecture pieces. There is no doubt that the prominent master’s art pieces had much in common with the works of his father: for instance, Eero Saarinen was absolutely fascinated by individualism, symbolism, and romanticism, the poise of the masses, and the purity of lines. Air terminals designed by him have been compared to soaring birds, and the stadiums he created have been compared to eastern temples.

Together with such legendary makers as Piero Fornasetti, Harvey Guzzini and Tommaso Barbi, Eero Saarinen is one of the most renowned designers of the XX century. His stunning pieces, both architectural and design, are the embodiment of modernism and, at the same time, ahead of the era.

During his short yet prolific life, the master created numerous unique furniture pieces, many of which are now being searched for at auctions all over the world.