Chair No. 14
1881 · Beechwood and cane
36 5/8 x 16 15/16 x 18 3/4" (93 x 43 x 47.6 cm)
Museum of Modern Art
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Michael Thonet
Artist
Representation
None documented
0
Institutional Exhibitions
9
Works in Collection
21
Assets Indexed
1
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0
Publications Referenced
70%
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Why this artist matters now
Michael Thonet was an Austrian furniture designer and manufacturer who pioneered the industrial production of bentwood chairs in the 19th century. Working in Vienna from the 1830s onward, he developed a technique for steam-bending solid wood into curved forms, which enabled mass manufacture at an unprecedented scale. His No. 14 chair, produced from the 1850s, became one of the most widely manufactured furniture designs in history. Thonet's innovation fundamentally altered the relationship between craft, industrialization, and domestic furnishing, establishing a model of democratic design that influenced modernist practice throughout the 20th century.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 26d ago
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Museum of Modern Art
New York, US
In collection
Art Institute of Chicago
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