Lounge Chair and Ottoman
- Designed by
- Oscar Niemeyer (1907–2012) and Anna Maria Niemeyer (1930–2012)
- Material
- Stainless steel, aluminum, polyurethane foam, wool upholstery
- Produced by
- Mobilier International, Paris, France
- Dimensions
- Chair: 67 x 77.5 x 104.1 cm; Ottoman: 27.9 x 76.8 x 76.8 cm
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, D97.105.1–2
Best known as the architect of Brasilia, a city planned in 1956 to provide a more central location for the new capital of Brazil, Niemeyer also designed furniture for his buildings and for production, such as this low lounge chair and ottoman. It was designed in collaboration with his daughter for a French manufacturer when they were living in Paris.
Its form is not new—upholstered lounge chairs with low backs and ottomans are seen in Italian design of the 1960s and ’70s—but the Niemeyers’ use of a broad band of stainless steel, bent to support the back and seat cushion, reflects the curving forms seen in his architecture.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, photo: Giles Rivest.