Designed in 1957 by Finnish-American architect and industrial designer Eero Saarinen, the Tulip™ Side Chair was conceived for Saarinen’s Pedestal Collection. The philosophy of this collection was to eliminate the unruliness found underneath tables and chairs—the legs—by placing seats and tabletops on a single, slender pedestal. Forever futuristic, Saarinen’s Tulip Chair is one of the designs that has come to define mid-century modernism. The name of this armless design is derived from the chair’s seat back, gently curved like a petal of a tulip flower.
The Tulip Side Chair has a seat shell made from molded white fiberglass, with a base made from heavy molded cast aluminum with powder-coat paint. The removable seat cushion is upholstered in vinyl with a classic, leather-like texture which is highly durable. The Tulip Side Chair measures 32h x 20w x 21.25”d with a 18.5”h seat. The chairs can be accompanied with the Saarinen Dining Table, sold separately. Both Eero Saarinen and the table’s manufacturer, Knoll, are represented in MoMA’s collection.
