Club Chair B3 "Wassily", 1925/26
DesignMarcel Breuer,
Pécs
1902–1981
New York
ManufacturerStandard Möbel Lengyel & Co., Berlin,
1927–1929
MediumCold-formed tubular steel, mounted with hexagonal bolts, original “Eisengarn” (iron yarn) covering
(H x W x D)72,5 × 77,5 × 70 cm
Status
on display, room 024The B3 chair by the Hungarian-American architect and designer Marcel Breuer is considered the first tubular steel armchair in the history of design. As head of the furniture workshop at the Bauhaus, he developed, inspired by traditional club chairs, an almost weightless structure using the industrial material of tubular steel; the seated person almost seems to float. The strong, so-called "Eisengarn" (iron yarn) covering of the armchair was created by the designer Margaretha Reichardt (1907-1984). Her colourful fabrics became a characteristic feature of much Bauhaus furniture. In 1933, Breuer left Germany to escape persecution by the Nazi regime. He later emigrated to the USA, where he taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
AccessionAcquisition 2025
ProvenanceAcquired on May 9, 2025, from the Ulrich Fiedler Gallery in Berlin. Inventory numberP 2025-8
Contact
sammlung@kunstpalast.de