Chair with a single piece of plywood bent to form the oval back and round seat supported by three steel tubular legs.

1952

Side Chair, Ant

Designed by: Arne Jacobsen (1902–1971)

Material: Teak-faced beech plywood, steel, plastic sheathing, rubber

Produced by: Fritz Hansens Eft. A/S, Allerød, Denmark

Dimensions: 83 x 52 x 47 cm

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, gift of Geoffrey N. Bradfield, D83.124.1

Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen turned his attention to industrial production in the 1950s. The Ant chair consists of an oval seat and back joined by a slender neck, resembling the outline of an ant, hence its name. The plywood shell, like chairs by Charles and Ray Eames from the previous decade, was molded in three dimensions.

The tubular-steel supports were attached to the plywood seat by rubber mounts and a metal plate. The popularity of the chair is seen in its continuous production by Fritz Hansens to the present day.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, photo: Giles Rivest.